Shaped By His NYMC Experience, SOM Alumnus Dr. Gavras Gives Back
Jonathan B. Gavras, M.D. '86, Shares His Takeaways
Jonathan B. Gavras, M.D. '86, was the type of student that every school dreams of educating and sending into the world. Dr. Gavras is not just generous in his financial giving, he also happens to be something far more rare: He is generous of spirit.
“I want to give them more of my time,” says Dr. Gavras, 62, who is president of the Florida division of Bright Health, an innovative insurance company. “I want to give back to the school that set me on the course of my career and success.”
Dr. Gavras feels fortunate to this day to have chosen New York Medical College (NYMC) for his education and training. Not only were the professors knowledgeable, but they were devoted to the students and passionate about graduating top physicians. Dr. Gavras, who graduated med school in 1986, still marvels over the clinical training opportunities that allowed him to do something extraordinary and unheard of as a medical student. “At my time in one of the affiliated hospitals, I helped deliver 30 babies. Delivering those babies is one of the highlights of my career and of my life. I would not have gotten that life-changing experience anywhere else.”
He believes in showing his gratitude in pragmatic ways. Dr. Gavras, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife, a nurse, has donated funds for the Dr. Jonathan and Debra Gavras Endowment. “A medical education is expensive, and I wasn’t an affluent kid,” says Dr. Gavras, who began his career as a pulmonologist before going on to leadership roles in several leading U.S. health companies. “I do not want to see students burdened by huge loans. I want them to concentrate on being compassionate physicians.”
Dr. Gavras also is leading the effort to raise money to build a state-of-the-art thoracic medicine simulation lab and is beginning to mentor students in pulmonary medicine as well as those interested in a career in academics or healthcare economics. “My education and clinical experience at New York Medical College was tremendous,” says Dr. Gavras. “It shaped me, it taught me about the importance of compassion for patients, listening to patients, where they came from, what were their experiences. It made me a better doctor and a better human being.”