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.”

The Walter A. Franck Award is named in honor of retired Bassett physician Dr. Walter Franck, who served for more than 40 years at Bassett Medical Center as a rheumatologist, and eventually chief of medicine, in addition to his key role establishing the Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program and serving as associate dean of the medical school until his retirement in 2015.

“Getting this award is surreal,” Patel said in the press release. “Dr. Franck is one of the reasons so many of us came back to Bassett after our residencies. He is a force of nature. He is the epitome of class, kindness and what a doctor should be. To receive such an honor—named for him and what he represents—feels like the highlight of my career.”

Dr. Patel’s journey to become chief of oncology and hematology at Bassett Cancer Institute has been marked by decades of hard work, determination and an unwavering passion for connecting with people. At a young age, he learned the importance of community and helping others.

“I grew up in Ahmedabad, India,” he explained. “My father was a businessman, and my mother was a homemaker. They always taught me and my brother and sister that education was of utmost importance, along with reaching your community. School was a priority in our household.

“Back then, in the 1970s, it was not common for girls to attend school,” he said. “Most schools in my hometown of Ahmedabad were for boys. My father shaped a new school for girls using the family trust to give to the community. He always had a forward-thinking yearning to use his energy to help people and enrich their lives in whatever ways he could. He instilled that energy in me.”

Patel began his medical studies after high school at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad. Soon after, Patel’s uncle introduced him to his wife, Bijal.

“The rest is history,” he laughed.

Bijal lived in New Jersey, but within a few months they got married in India.

After medical school, Patel came to America with Bijal and moved to his uncle’s home in Utica to study for residency entrance exams. His uncle and aunt have played a pivotal role in his life.

“I was eager to apply for residencies while still having a family connection nearby,” he said.
Patel made plans for his residency in the northeast.

“I had pre-matched with a couple of hospitals in New York City,” he recalled. “But I was holding out for Bassett after that first time I visited. I pursued pre-residency observation to gain experience, commuting from Utica to Cooperstown.”

His top choice became a reality on Valentine’s Day in 2003, when he matched with Bassett Medical Center and began his medicine residency in the summer.

“I had no plans to pursue oncology,” said Patel. “In fact, I remember clearly the first day as a resident that I rounded on a cancer patient in the hospital. He was a young man with advanced colon cancer and was very sick. I felt so sad and helpless. I turned to Dr. Barbara Healey, the on-call oncologist that day, and said, ‘Dr. Healey, how can you do this work every day? How can you stand it?’

“I’ll never forget her response. She told me oncology is a field of medicine that requires a high aptitude…and even higher levels of compassion and a desire to forge friendships every day. ‘You’d be perfect for it, Anush,’ she said. I thought about it, and I continued to come and see the young patient in the hospital. Within a month, I realized that oncology was my path. It was always my destiny because I love people. It is that simple.”

It was Dr. Eric Bravin, an oncologist, who called the fellowship director and highly recommended Dr. Patel for Bassett’s program.

Today, as the chief of medical oncology and hematology, Dr. Patel provides treatment for patients with cancer and non-cancerous disorders like blood clots and bleeding disorders. He says team collaboration and multidisciplinary approaches to care are at the center of his work each day.

“Every member of our team at Bassett Cancer Institute plays an important role in patient treatment and care,” he says. “From the clinic and infusion nurses to nurse navigators, nutritionists, financial counselors, social workers, and administrative staff.”

“Dr. Patel treats patients from his heart,” said Heather Baker, LPN, hematology and oncology nurse at Bassett Cancer Institute in Cooperstown. “He is always inclusive, listens to his patients and their families, and is an amazing collaborator with the entire cancer team. Dr. Patel is the heartbeat of a great working environment.”

“Dr. Patel is one of those people who you like initially and immediately, trusting him implicitly,” said Alfred Tinger, MD, FACRO, medical director of Bassett Cancer Institute. “This is a wonderful trait for a physician, especially one as intelligent, competent and as genuinely caring as Dr. Patel is. He leads Medical Oncology like a father cares for his family. I find Dr. Patel to be the penultimate Bassett physician—one who loves Bassett, its community, our patients, and one who is willing to do anything for Bassett to flourish.”

Patel has a desk drawer that is overflowing with hundreds of letters and thank-you cards from patients and their families.

“I read through them from time to time,” he said. “My favorite part of being an oncologist is my patients. Each day, I try to spread light and love. I meet patients when they are in some of the most trying times of their lives. It is a privilege that they entrust me with their care and open their hearts to our staff.”

“Anush Patel has been a deeply treasured member of the Bassett community for many wonderful years now,” said Henry Weil, MD, senior vice president, chief clinical and academic officer at Bassett Healthcare Network. “He has made a great difference in the lives of multitudes of patients, coworkers and many people who live in our area. I had the privilege of interviewing him for admission to Bassett’s medicine residency those many years ago—a very lucky day for this institution. I would like to congratulate Anush on the great and well-deserved honor of receiving the Walter A. Franck Award.”

Even with more than 24 years of practice at Bassett Cancer Institute, Patel still has much he would like to accomplish with his team.

“Bassett Cancer Institute provides services to our communities that are more critical than ever,” he said. “In the next few years and beyond, I am excited to continue growing services and embracing our program’s approaches to comprehensive care and treating the whole patient. Plans are underway to expand our clinic at FoxCare Center in Oneonta, and we are always reaching.”

Patel and his wife, Bijal, live in Cooperstown with their daughters, Arya and Avni. They enjoy traveling, lake living, gardening, hiking and spending time together as a family.

“Life is good,” said Patel. “What an amazing journey it’s been. And how lucky I am to call this place home. Receiving this great honor brings tears to my eyes. Thank you to my family, including Bijal; my children; my brother and sister; my friends; and my colleagues who enrich my life and lift me up every day.”