Dr. Anush Patel Honored with Bassett's Walter A. Franck Award

COOPERSTOWN—Anush Patel, MD, FACP, chief of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Bassett Cancer Institute, has been honored with the 2025 Walter A. Franck Award for Physician Excellence. The award recognizes a physician, nominated by peers, who exemplifies excellence in the areas of clinical care, scholarship and citizenship. According to a press release, it is among the most prestigious recognitions awarded by Bassett Healthcare Network to its caregivers.

Dr. Patel has called Bassett home for nearly 25 years, officials said, even before he began his residency in Cooperstown as a doctor fresh out of medical school.

“It was a cold day in late fall when I first visited Bassett Medical Center in 2002,” recalled Dr. Patel. “I sat in a conference room on the third floor of the hospital, interviewing with Dr. Henry Weil in hopes of pre-matching to Bassett’s medicine residency program. That day, I knew Bassett was the place I wanted to spend my career.”

It was the academic atmosphere and palpable respect among team members that drew him in immediately, Patel said.

“The attending physician that day was Dr. Douglas DeLong,” continued Patel. “I observed as he interacted with the team of residents on the floor, and I could tell he was brilliant. Most importantly, he was kind. He treated residents and interns with deep respect and taught with candor and compassion. I wanted to be just like him. And as I came to know more clinical mentors and life mentors at Bassett—like Dr. James Dalton—they shaped me as a doctor and as a person.”