WALTHAM – Dr. Sahdev R. Passey of Holden has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) as the 2019 recipient of its Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award, which recognizes a senior member of the society who has shown a dedicated commitment to volunteerism and to sharing medical experience and expertise.
Dr. Passey, current president of the MMS Worcester District Medical Society, guided the founding and opening of the Free Health Stop in Shrewsbury in 2005. The Free Health Stop is a charitable project of the India Society of Worcester and the Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE).
The clinic provides health care to the underserved and uninsured in the local community. Dr. Passey is a staple and an organizational and clinical leader at the Free Health Stop, where he has provided direct care for more than a decade.
Dr. Passey and his wife, Carolyn, have been integral in inspiring and mentoring a dedicated team of volunteers comprised of physicians, medical students and other staff members who see patients of all ages and backgrounds, especially those who are recent immigrants and refugees to Worcester and the surrounding area.
Dr. Passey’s volunteerism extends beyond the clinic and into myriad roles in Worcester. He established the India Day Festival for the India Society of Worcester in 1989 and chaired it for 26 years. He was also one of the founding directors of the South East Asian Coalition of Central Mass. a non-profit organization of refugees and immigrants from South East Asia and recently from Middle East, to help them assimilate in main stream America. He also established the Asian Festival for the organization and had chaired it since 2003. For his service to others, Dr. Passey has been honored with several awards, including the Key to the City of Worcester, Community Service Awards from both IMANE and the India Society of Worcester, the Community Clinician of the Year Award from the MMS Worcester District Medical Society and a citation for community service from former Massachusetts governor William Weld of Massachusetts.
Dr. Passey, a graduate of the Gandhi Medical College at Bhopal University in India, is a board-certified pediatrician in private practice at Quality Kids Kare, PC in Worcester for the last 41 years. For more than 30 years, he has been a member of the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
