The American Health Council is honored to name Harkesh Sandhu, MD as one of “America’s Best Doctors” for his unparalleled professional dedication and extraordinary contributions to the field of medicine. Dr. Sandhu has used his clinical acumen, natural compassion, and public spotlight to relieve underserved patient populations, constantly working to remedy health care inequity. His generous character shines through his professional work and personal life. He used his proficiency charitably, particularly in service of needy veterans. Of his countless professional honors, Dr. Sandhu considers the success of his nonprofit organization, Sahaita Inc., to be his crowning professional achievement. The American Health Council applauds Staff Physician of VA-Northern California Harkesh Sandhu MD for his professional integrity and dedication.

Dr. Sandhu’s professional aspirations stem from his childhood. Dr. Sandhu’s childhood friend dreamt of a physician career where he can heal others, but this honorable dream was tragically crushed by circumstances of poverty. This incident motivated Dr. Sandhu to take advantage of his advantages, attain a medical degree, and then use his authority to reverse the phenomenon and help virtuous people like his childhood friend.  Dr. Sandhu devoted his considerable intellect to a medical profession, graduating with honors from Punjabi University in 1979 with a Medical Degree. He then excelled in his Fellowship at Guru Nanak Dev University, which he completed in 1983. He will be bringing his expertise in Internal Medicine and Otolaryngology.

Dr. Sandhu’s almost four-decade-long career encompasses a variety of dynamic experiences. His professional career is marked by individual leadership and a remarkable initiative to lead the charge against inequitable societal imbalances and uneven healthcare access. Twelve years ago, Dr. Sandhu founded Sahaita Inc., a nonprofit charitable organization that works to provide health care to underserved populations in India, feed and house needy children and elderly people, and run educational student initiatives. Next, Dr. Sandhu employed his distinct entrepreneurial spirit and leadership to be part of two private corporations. Dr. Sandhu founded Capital Medical Extended Care Services (CMEC) with two other partners in 2013 and California Post-Acute Care Services (CPAC) on his own in 2015, although the two institutions work in close association. While Dr. Sandhu spends some professional time with CPAC, CMEC, and Sahaita, he primarily works at the Veteran’s Association Northern California Health Care System as Staff Physician for the past 23 years till he took retirement from VANCHCS on July 31st, 2017 to devote his full time to support and grow both CMEC and CPAC. Interestingly, Dr. Sandhu was also a physician of the father (Veteran) of the first personal physician of Mr. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States.

His exceptional clinical performance and promotion of honest respect for the dignity of persons have been widely recognized by peers and medical authorities alike. He has received a plethora of honors and awards in his many years as a public servant. Most notably, Dr. Sandhu received a personal letter from the personal physician of former-president Bill Clinton appreciating his services to Veterans of the United States.

This was a surprise as all these years Dr. Sandhu never knew this veteran was the father of such a highly placed physician, who described how moved he was by Dr. Sandhu’s penchant for going out of his way to help needy veterans any way he could. Towards this end, when Sahaita carried out initiatives to feed the homeless, Dr. Sandhu verified that they picked facilities housing veterans.

Dr. Sandhu has enjoyed extraordinary professional success in his career thus far, for which he primarily credits his family’s encouraging support. A professional integrity and hunger to help others shine underline his professional conduct.

Dr. Sandhu went twelve years without a vacation, so he could continuously provide his services for others. American Health Council would like to applaud Dr. Sandhu for his unparalleled determination and recognize the significant consequences of his efforts.

In his free time, Dr. Sandhu enjoys spending time with his family. A testament to his virtuous character, Dr. Sandhu feeds the homeless in recreation. In addition to the altruistic work he perpetrates with Sahaita Inc., Dr. Sandhu also donates his time and resources to other non-profits dedicated to education and healthcare. The American Health Council’s Physician Board recognizes Dr. Sandhu’s commitment to the improved human welfare and welcomes him to its extensive network of outstanding healthcare professionals.