I first came to know Dr. Bhatia over a decade ago when I was working in administration at Jewish Hospital. As a cardiac anesthesiologist, to say she was busy with clinical demands would be a gross understatement. And yet, she always found time to devote herself to making our facility a better place for patient care. We spent many hours together in Medical Executive Committee meetings and on hospital committees, and later served together on the GLMS Board. Despite the stress and demands on her time that came with caring for complex patients, she never hesitated to do what was needed to improve the world around her.
I always appreciated her efforts to address issues that had failed to receive the attention they warranted. For example, having never been inside the women’ s locker room in the OR at Jewish Hospital, I was completely unaware of how inadequate it was relative to the men’ s locker room. It was Dr. Bhatia who asked me to see it for myself, and as she showed me around, I was embarrassed by the
disparity that had been allowed to persist for so long. Through her efforts, the medical staff arranged for a renovation that ensured all our surgical staff had access to equitable facilities.
Before I left Jewish Hospital, Dr. Bhatia mentioned she was considering pursuing her MBA from Indiana University, and I encouraged her to do so. She has since graduated from the KMA’ s Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute, served on the KBML and preceded me as Vice President of the Greater Louisville Medical Society. It has been my pleasure to work with her so closely over the years, and we are all fortunate to have her lead us as the next President of GLMS.
Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, MS
June 2026 9