Breast-imaging specialist Amy Patel, MD, has already been named Fan No. 1 by her hometown Kansas City Chiefs. Now she’s up against national championship finalists from the NFL’s 31 other teams.
Along with NFL Fan of the Year honors, a choice set of seats at the Super Bowl hangs in the balance.
Dr. Patel’s rise as a sports fan of note comes as no surprise to her colleagues and friends at Liberty Hospital outside Kansas City, Missouri.
She’s medical director of the hospital’s breast care center, where she’s been known to wear her love for her teams on the sleeves of her lab coat.
And her recent highlight reel includes throwing out the ceremonial First Pitch at a Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball game.
But her local sports boosterism is more than just fun and games.
Dr. Patel tells Radiology Business she’s set on using her suddenly high-profile platform not only to cheer on her teams but also to promote screening mammography and educate the public on radiology in general.
In fact, she made a formidable spokesperson for those aims even before sports interests amplified her voice to a whole new volume.
A self-described “staunch advocate of radiology healthcare reform,” Dr. Patel:
- Helped pass state laws ensuring coverage of screening mammography by private payers,
- Has led regional and national efforts to recruit women to radiology,
- Was 2021 recipient of the Kansas City Medical Society’s Patient and Community Advocate Award,
- Is 2022 president-elect of the board of directors for the American Association for Women in Radiology—and 2023 president-to-be, and
- Is incoming chair of the board for the American Cancer Society of Kansas City.
Dr. Patel is a Missouri native who returned in 2018 after practicing in Boston at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and teaching at Harvard Medical School.
Her concern over healthcare access for the many rural people who live in the Show-Me State had much to do with her decision to lay down roots back home.
That, and her love for everything about her home area—not least its sports teams.
After watching the video, please consider voting for radiologist Amy Patel as the current season’s NFL Fan of the Year.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.