Physicians group promotes recycling, healthy goals
BY UMA KODURI
Friday, December 02, 2011
12/02/11 at 4:36 AM
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) Tulsa chapter was officially formed on July 1, 2010, by a group of physicians of Indian origin living in Tulsa area with the main goal of doing community service, health education and health fairs.
The National AAPI was formed in 1985, and over the years several local chapters have been formed in major cities.
The mission of national AAPI is to provide a forum to facilitate and enable Indian-American physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs.
AAPI is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States and represents the interests of more than 50,000 physicians and about 15,000 medical students/residents of Indian heritage.
As the Tulsa area now has more than 100 Indian-American physicians, it was time to have an organization to tap their resources and do community service. Since AAPI-Tulsa was formed, we have participated in the Tulsa Heart Walk, a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. We raised money in 2010 and in 2011 and donated to the American Heart Association. We have been conducting health fairs whenever possible.
Recently AAPI-Tulsa took up a major global venture of doing a World Wide Walkathon to spread the message of world peace and unity, promote healthy lifestyles including walking as the easiest way to exercise for health promotion and disease prevention, and, last but not the least, to promote recycling with the message of "Go Green World."
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett proclaimed Nov. 11 (11-11-11) as Walk Tulsa-Walk World Day, and his wife Victoria Bartlett did the ribbon-cutting inauguration of the Walk Tulsa-Walk World Walkathon at 11-11-11-11-11-11( 11 seconds past 11 minutes past 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2011).
The goal is to spread the important messages listed above to as many of our family and friends across the globe as possible by Dec. 12, 2012.
AAPI Tulsa's goal at present is to promote recycling and make it as easy in Tulsa as it is in some other U.S. cities. At present in Tulsa, recycling is optional, and those interested must call the recycling service at 918-596-9777 or sign up online at cityoftulsa.org/environment/recycling and pay a charge of $2 per month. The first recycle bin is free; an extra bin is $4, and curb-side pickup is every other week.
In San Jose, Calif., for example, recycling is mandatory, and every household is given three bins: one for waste, one for recycling, one for yard waste. Waste pick-up is just once a week as is the recycle/yard waste pick-up, which is very efficient use of resources and manpower.
Germany is a world leader in recycling. Germans separate their trash instinctively and enthusiastically. They have color-coded bins - brown for biological waste, blue for paper and cardboard, yellow for plastics and metals, and gray bins for household.
Our AAPI organization is requesting the city of Tulsa to make changes so recycling is made easy, to encourage everyone in Tulsa to participate.
Uma Koduri, M.D., is founder and president of the Tulsa chapter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.
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Dr. Uma Koduri: AAPI Tulsa's goal at present is to promote recycling and make it as easy in Tulsa as it is in some other U.S. cities.
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin is asking the city of Tulsa to make changes so recycling is made easy. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World file
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