“If you have never been in pain, you will not understand what people in pain go through…. I am well trained in it, and we are the pioneers of interventional pain management.” – Dr Godwin Maduka
There are many reasons the name of Dr Godwin Maduka, CEO and medical director of the Las Vegas Pain Institute & Medical Centre (LVPI), has become globally synonymous with expertise, excellence and empathy. For starters, he is an accomplished medical doctor, with specialisation in chronic and acute pain management and anaesthesiology.
However, he has further distinguished himself by becoming the pacesetter in the advanced subspecialty of interventional pain management. With gifted hands and a golden heart, he skilfully treats all levels of pain, using sophisticated and minimally invasive techniques. This not only ensures effective pain control but also has fewer side effects and faster recovery times.
Even more interesting is that Maduka is not just a physician but also a clinical pharmacist, with extensive training and experience in both fields. His uncommon ability to integrate medical and pharmaceutical expertise propels a holistic approach to patient care, ensuring that his treatment plans are not only medically sound but also pharmacologically optimised.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the online space pulsates with plaudits from his past and present patients. One of them gushed: “Dr Maduka literally gave me my life back. When I went to Las Vegas Pain Institute, I was at the end of the road and had no hope. Other doctors had told me that I would be in an electric scooter in the next couple of years. Thanks to Dr Maduka and his wonderful staff at Las Vegas Pain Institute – they all saved me! It’s been three years and I do not use a walker and do not have a scooter! Thank you to Dr Maduka and the entire staff at Las Vegas Pain Institute for helping me more than words can possibly express. May you all be blessed.”
Another recalled, “Dr Godwin Maduka appeared and announced that Dr Martin was on vacation. At that point I almost got up and left. However, Dr Maduka also advised me that he would be taking personal care of me. End result was THE BEST experience I’ve ever had while wearing a surgical gown. Spinal epidural had me in and out in 65 minutes, handled by a very cordial and professional staff, all with ZERO pain during and since the procedure. It doesn’t get ANY better than this!”
Titanic tycoon
It does get better with Dr Maduka, however. While his professional proficiency has been constantly hailed as profound, his entrepreneurial and managerial acumen has been nothing short of prodigious. Over the course of a few decades, he has successfully transformed his medical expertise into a massive, multi-million-dollar business empire, shattering the myth that medics cannot be magnates.
He established the Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre (LVPI) in 1999 – two years after completing his residency and postgraduate medical training in anaesthesiology, critical care and pain management; and one year after being certified by the American Board of Anaesthesiology. Through his consistent commitment to excellence, patient-centred care and visionary leadership, the facility gradually expanded to a state-of-the-art network of medical centres, dedicated to providing cutting-edge, minimally invasive pain management solutions.
In Maduka’s words, “We own six medical centres in the US, and in Las Vegas alone, I own more facilities in pro-health pain management than any other doctor. We are the largest in Nevada, and in terms of quality, we are still one of the best in the US, as well as the world.”
Over the years, the various centres of the LVPI have gained a reputation for offering comprehensive care that significantly improve patients’ quality of life. Moreover, Maduka’s strategic investments in research and development have kept the facilities at the forefront of medical advancements. Each facility is a one-stop destination for a wide array of medical services, including primary care, preventative care, urgent care, radiology, lab work, and even surgery.
Phenomenal philanthropist
Another distinctive trademark of Dr Maduka is his unwavering devotion to humanitarianism – the belief in improving people’s lives and reducing suffering. This lifestyle principle has been a major driver of his astronomical success. So selflessly committed is he to alleviating suffering and pain through his profession and philanthropic gestures that he was once named “philanthropist of the millennium”.
A little over 20 years ago, the renowned pain specialist visited his hometown, Umuchukwu (originally Nkerehi), in Anambra State, for the first time. That experience would change him and the community forever. According to him, “When I came to Umuchukwu, things were so bad. It was all about poverty, despair, and underdevelopment. I was so sad about that visit and I promised myself that I won’t allow the village where I grew up to remain the same. It was out of “positive anger” that I decided to build a semblance of an American city.”
True to Maduka’s words, from that time of his visit to date, he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure the transformation of the rustic village to a megacity. He has built roads, bridges, several houses, schools, churches, market stores, police stations, courts, as well as quarters for judges and the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps. This is in addition to his investments in youth education and vocational training. He also provided a 5-star hotel, a hospital, a filling station as well as electricity transformers and other infrastructural landmarks.
Most remarkably, he built a $100 million-dollar ultramodern 17-storey medical research centre in the community. Indeed, efforts are currently in full gear to turn the research centre into a full, world-class academic institution – the Transatlantic Medicine and Health Science University – with the National Universities Commission (NUC) visiting the premises and expressing satisfaction on the progress made so far.
But it is not only Umuchukwu that is being transformed by Maduka’s magnanimity. The entire Anambra State is feeling the positive reverberations. His combined personal investments in the various sectors of the state in the past 20 years are estimated to have contributed over $500 million to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Beneficial beginnings
When Dr Maduka says he has been “well trained” in managing pain, he is not just referring to his professional training but also his unique upbringing. He was born in 1959, in former Nkerehi, Orumba-South LGA, in Anambra State, to a traditional doctor father and a petty trader mother. Despite growing up in poverty and deprivation, he learnt to dream big and to prioritise empathy for others, especially as he watched his father attend to the need of his patients and others.
Maduka attended Comprehensive Secondary School, Nawfia, as well as All Saints Grammar School, Umunze, both in Anambra State. He was to study Medicine at the University of Port Harcourt but had no one to sponsor him. After a while, he was able to secure partial scholarship to study Chemistry at Rust College, in Mississippi, United States. His brother, who had started selling auto spare parts in Abuja, volunteered to help out with the remaining expenses. He sold everything in his shop to fund Maduka’s travel expenses to the US in 1982. According to Maduka, that incident is another catalyst for his present big-heartedness. “I told God that if my brother gave me all he had, that I will never relent in my act of kindness to humanity. I will always give my all,” he recalls.
Maduka graduated summa cum laude in Chemistry from Rust College in 1984 and got another scholarship to study Pharmacy at Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, graduating in 1988, with PharmD. After graduation, he worked as a pharmacy technician, before getting a full scholarship to study Medicine at University of Tennessee, Memphis, where he completed an internship and graduated in 1993. He proceeded to Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre for his postgraduate training and residency in anaesthesiology, critical care and pain management, graduating in 1997.
Maduka is certified by the American Board of Anaesthesiology, the American Academy of Pain Management and the American Academy of Minimally Invasive Spinal Medicine and Surgery. Aside from his roles as CEO and medical director of the Las Vegas Pain Institute & Medical Centre, Maduka is also a clinical faculty supervisor and adjunct professor of pain management and anaesthesiology at Touro University Nevada. He is also a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Medicine.
Awards and accolades
Dr Maduka has received many prestigious awards and recognitions for his exceptional commitment to both his patients and the broader community in US and Nigeria. Aside from being a “Heartbeat of America” Award winner, he has been honoured as “Man of the Year” and “Philanthropist of the Year” (2020). In the same 2020, he won the Who is Who’s Stand of Fame Award for being “An Exceptional Humanitarian”. He also won the “Most Friendly Philanthropist of the Year”, the “Peace Man of the Year” (2020) and the SRTV’s “Legendary Award” for investment in human capital development. In 2021, he won the Michael Okpara Leadership Prize as “Philanthropist of the Millennium”. He also received the “Impact Builders Award” in the same year.
There are several other awards and recognitions that Maduka has received but which space would not allow here. In all, however, the “Okosisi Orumba”, as he is fondly called, remains humble and thankful to God and all who have contributed to his success. “I’m here for a purpose,” he says. “What happened to me, doesn’t happen often. From the jungle to Harvard… how often do you see that happen?” Not very often, we would agree.
Quite impressive he is a source of inspiration and a role model for both physicians especially anaesthesiologist and entrepreneurs.