DR. CHANCHAL KHANNA

A retired pathologist and member of the Doylestown Health medical staff for over twenty years, Chanchal Khanna, MD, enjoys being active at Pine Run Retirement Community. “Moving to Pine Run five years ago was easy,” says Dr. Khanna. “It’s in a country setting where I can enjoy nature and stay close to family.” Dr. Khanna also draws inspirations from her surroundings: “This place helps me stay active with gardening, going to the fitness center, and my volunteer work at the Doylestown Hospital Cancer Institute,” she says.

Dr. Khanna and her late husband, also a physician, emigrated from India in the 1960s and practiced in New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals. During her tenure at Doylestown Hospital, Dr. Khanna witnessed great progress. “Advanced testing used to be outsourced,” she recalls, “and now complex tests are done right in the hospital. It’s a benefit to patients.”

Pine Run Retirement Community’s distinction within the Doylestown Health network is also important to Dr. Khanna. High-quality healthcare is readily accessible for residents, backed by the clinical expertise of Doylestown Hospital. This integration allows Dr. Khanna to stay engaged in the healthcare community. “It’s my hospital,” she shares proudly. “Our community hospital has care as good as, or better than, that of a university hospital. The physicians and nurses are of the highest caliber.”

A pathologist does not usually have an opportunity to interact directly with patients. “I was very well-versed in many types of cancer,” she recalls. “I often thought about the patients and the impact that a cancer diagnosis would have.” In retirement, Dr. Khanna eventually realized her desire to work hands-on as a volunteer in Doylestown Health’s Cancer Institute.

Volunteering in the Cancer Institute connects Dr. Khanna to her own experience of losing her mother to the disease. “She died quite young in her early fifties back in India and I couldn’t be there to support her in-person,” she remembers. With this in mind, Dr. Khanna empathizes with the patients she helps. “They touch my heart,” she says. “I might only offer them a cup of tea or a blanket, but I’m inspired by their courage. I get more out of it than I can give to them.”

Staff in the Cancer Institute are grateful for Dr. Khanna’s presence in the Outpatient Infusion Center. “Dr. Khanna is a sweet soul who cares deeply for people,” says Laura Heacock, MSN, CRNP, Doylestown Health’s survivorship clinic nurse practitioner. “As a pathologist who has diagnosed thousands of cancer patients, she understands the gravity of that diagnosis. She has such compassion for them and is such a hard worker.”

In addition to her volunteer work, Dr. Khanna also found a way to combine her passion for people and health with a generous gift to ONE VISION: The Campaign for Doylestown Health, the comprehensive philanthropic campaign advancing growth in all facets of Doylestown Health. An early priority of the campaign, the new 37,000-square-foot Pine Run Community Center features multiple dining venues, entertainment galleries, a swimming pool, and fitness facilities. Dr. Khanna enjoys all the amenities in the new center, but her favorites are the fitness facilities and indoor pool. She says sharing this with others promotes healthy bodies and healthy minds, “which are all necessary for a healthy society!”

Maria Santangelo, Executive Director of Pine Run Retirement Community, says, “Dr. Khanna is always thinking of the well-being of our residents. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Khanna offered to help with education and patient care if needed.” The support of people like Dr. Khanna “allows us to improve our facilities and offer more ways for our residents to live healthy, engaged lives in retirement,” says Santangelo.

Giving back and volunteering are essential to the way Dr. Khanna views her life purpose. “My father taught me that one must contribute to society. Not just money but time, talent, and skills. It’s a responsibility, a duty—a little something of a bigger picture,” she says.

“Deep within all of us we have a longing to make a difference,” Dr. Khanna shares. “As one person, I can’t build a big hospital, but I can add my contribution to others and we can build it together, not just for my generation but for future generations. The women of the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown (VIA) planted the seed and each decade it grows. It’s our responsibility to keep it going.”

Article appears in the 2020 Philanthropy Report

About Doylestown Health Foundation

As the philanthropic arm of Doylestown Health, the Doylestown Health Foundation raises funds to safeguard the future of excellence in patient care and improves the quality of life for all members of our Central Bucks County community and beyond.