AMAZING GIFT—Drs. Irma Harriman Thakkar, left, and Ushakant “Kant Tucker” Thakkar thank their family for years of support on Wednesday during a special reception held in their honor at Simi Valley Hospital. The couple recently donated $1 million toward the building of the hospital’s new emergency room. A native of India, Thakkar made his fortune operating several kidney dialysis centers. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers An abundance of thank-yous were showered on physicians Ushakant “Kant Tucker” Thakkar and his wife, Irma Harriman Thakkar, during a reception held in their honor Wednesday at the Simi Valley Hospital.

The local doctors recently pledged a gift of $1 million to the hospital. In recognition of the couple’s generosity, officials will name the hospital’s new emergency department the Thakkar Family Emergency Pavilion.

“The hospital has been helpful to me in many ways,” said Thakkar, who years ago simplified his birth name to “Tucker” to accommodate paging operators at the Sepulveda VA Hospital in Los Angeles who were mispronouncing his name. “I appreciate (the Simi hospital’s) confidence in me.

“I’m very grateful and wanted to do something to return the favor,” he added.

The event, sponsored by the Simi Valley Hospital Foundation, was attended by hospital and elected officials, hospital staff, and friends and family of the honorees.

“Dr. Tucker and Dr. Harriman are wonderful examples of the generous people we have in our community,” said Richard Sanders, chief development officer and foundation director. “This gift will help bring state-of-the-art healthcare to the residents of Simi Valley and Moorpark.”

Both doctors specialize in the treatment of kidney disease. In 1981, Thakkar started a private practice in Simi Valley. The following year, Harriman joined him.

“I was looking for a place to open a private practice, and driving through Simi Valley, it was very beautiful and quaint,” Thakkar said. “The doctors I met here at the time were very encouraging.”

Thakkar grew up in India, where his family endured financial hardships. Still, he was able to fulfill his dream of going to college, first studying engineering and then medicine, earning a full scholarship to the University of Bombay.

In June 1975, Thakkar arrived in the U.S. with one suitcase in his hand and $108 in his pocket.

He stayed with a relative in New York City. He said the view of the Statue of Liberty inspired him as it has so many who came before him.

However, the “mean streets” lived up to their name. He was mugged at gunpoint and lost everything but a token for the subway. Undaunted, he secured a position as an intern at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.

During the ensuing years he became a specialist in the field of nephrology —a subspecialty of internal medicine that studies and treats kidney disorders.

In 1980 he became an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and was made chief of nephrology at the affiliated Olive View Medical Center.

Thakkar’s association with Simi Valley Hospital started in 1982, when he approached hospital officials about building a renal dialysis center across the street from the main building on Sycamore Drive.

“There were patients here who were very sick and needed dialysis. They had to travel to the San Fernando Valley for treatment,” Thakkar said. “There wasn’t anything close by to help them. The hospital agreed to help fund my project. It was a needed service and good business.”

The Kidney Center of Simi Valley opened its doors in November 1985. Tucker now heads of one of the largest nephrology groups in Southern California, with several kidney dialysis centers.

Irma Harriman Thakkar grew up in Indonesia. Medicine was always her calling. She often helped her father tend the animals on their farm. As a female and a Christian in a Muslim country, she struggled to gain permission to attend school.

The woman, now known to her patients as “Dr. Harriman,” persevered and graduated at the top of her class at the University of Diponegoro, Indonesia. During breaks from her studies, she founded a health clinic to help those in need.

“I organized a few of my friends, and we ran the clinic as nurses as well as the cleaning ladies,” Harriman said. “It was very rewarding helping the poor people.”

Thakkar and Harriman were married in 1989 and live in Chatsworth. The couple raised three children, Michael, Tejal and Amit, and have two grandchildren, Isabella, 2, and Chloe, 8 months.

Their gift is the largest individual contribution to the hospital to date.

“The doctors are most gracious, and their gift will help people in many years to come,” Sanders said.