Indian-American helps with life-saving medication during hurricane harvey

Houston: When a Texas hospital called to request a rare disease medication, an Indian-American CEO of a pharmacy firm got it shipped by to Houston from Orlando by sending his employee to pick it up as all logistics company were unable to deliver overnight due to Hurricane Harvey.

Harish Katharani, founder and CEO of Southside Group of Companies, explained Impavido - only oral treatment drug used for critically ill patients with Leishmaniasis - costs about USD 49,000 and hence is not readily stocked by pharmacies.

Mr Kathrani sent one of his employee to get the drug shipped to Texas Children's Hospital in the midst of Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit the US mainland in 13 years. Harvey has left a trail of destruction across Texas, pummelling the region with heavy rains. Around 13 million people have been battling "catastrophic" flooding in Texas.

In another incident, Medicare Advantage provider TexanPlus contacted Southside's Texas Medical Centre to inquire if the firm could provide services to their patients during the hurricane weekend.

Despite not being contracted by this health maintenance organisation, Southside readily volunteered to provide healthcare services to their patients during this crisis.

TexanPlus circulated an internal memo letting their case workers know about Southside's availability during Hurricane Harvey.

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston's Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia stated that he was proud that one of their Chamber members was going above and beyond the call of duty to serve the community in this hour of need.

Southside is a pharmacist owned and operated company established in 1992. They ship specialty medication to over 35 states. Their pharmacies will remain open during the weekend's regular hours but their pharmacist and nurses are on call 24/7 to help Texans tide over the troubles case by the hurricane.

Mr Katharani, who came to the US in 1972, is a generous donor to various charitable organisations such as MS Society, Hep-C Clinic, Liver Foundations as well as to Cancer and HIV research institutions.