Gastroenterology

Priya Jamidar

Good Samaritan Hospital

Gastroenterologist Priya Jamidar earned one patient’s unequivocal trust a few weeks ago when a classic medical catastrophe occurred.

Thomas Gottwald, 34, who had his gallbladder removed when he was 18 and has had hereditary medical problems for years, developed complications from gastrointestinal surgery in Bakersfield, where he works for the Kern County Sheriff’s Department as a detention officer. Suffering from intense abdominal pain, Gottwald contacted his surgeon, who immediately called the physician most qualified to treat his patient Jamidar.

“Dr. Jamidar insisted on getting me down to Good Samaritan in an ambulance,” Gottwald remembers. “We were stuck in Los Angeles traffic and arrived late, but he canceled his plans for the night, came in at the last minute, and he held his staff over for hours.” Gottwald’s surgery was successful and now, he says, “I can eat what I want.”

Gottwald’s physician is not the only one who considers Jamidar’s work in treating pancreatic diseases (gallstones, pancreatic cancer, etc.) as superior. Under his direction, Good Samaritan’s gastroenterology program was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report in its survey of America’s top hospitals. The newsmagazine ranks Dr. Jamidar’s staff which includes a nursing director, two full-time nurses who specialize in gastroenterology, a radiation technician and program coordinator among the nation’s leading gastroenterology teams.

Jamidar is a foremost national authority on pancreatic disorders such as Gottwald’s. The doctor takes his success in stride, but he knows why he’s effective: exceptional hand/eye coordination, plenty of years of practice due to his large volume of patients and his own personal commitment to the individual patient.

“What I like about what I do is being able to blend the clinical aspect of medicine with the procedural,” says the Nairobi, Kenya-born physician, who came to the United States in 1985 and is now an American citizen. “I’m able to see each patient’s progress from start to finish.”

Prior to joining Good Samaritan as medical director of the hospital’s gastroenterology and pancreaticobiliary program, the South Pasadena resident received his medical degree from the Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Jamidar completed a fellowship in his field at USC-Los Angeles County Medical Center. Today, he treats a variety of pancreatic diseases and conducts extensive research in several areas, including chronic pancreatitis and duct strictures and stones.

Scott Holleran