omlog: a blog by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India!

Sankara Nethralaya recognized for its dedicated service

29th May 2006 saw Sankara Nethralaya and some of its employees being felicitated by the Lions Club.

Lions Club of Central Madras observed Helen Keller Day on 29th May 2006. Shri N. Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu was the Chief Guest of the function. Dr. S. S. Badrinath, Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya was the Guest of Honor. Mr. Murali presented the I(Eye) care awards and addressed the gathering. He said, "Sankara Nethralaya is one of the foremost institutions in providing high quality eye care. Lions Club cannot find something better than the institution or Dr. Badrinath. We must all salute the selfless and dedicated team of doctors"; Dr. S.S. Badrinath, in his address, suggested that a mobile operation theatre that could go to the remote places would benefit the tribal communities living in the interior part of the country.  He added, “about 70 per cent of our people live in villages and 70 per cent of out doctors live in cities”.  He also appreciated the team members of the Teleophthalmology services for their selfless and dedicated service. 

Lion S. Raghavan and Lion E.S. Krishnan were honoured for their contribution to the noble cause. 

Kalaimamani PMJF Lion Dr. S. Natarajan, District Governor and PMJF Lion Dr. L. Shanth Kumar, District Governor (Elect) felicitated the function and Lion S.N. Harinarayanan, Chairman, Sight First Committee organized the meeting.

Mr. V. Murali, Manager, Electronic Communication Department, Sankara Nethralaya, Mr. S. Alagiri, Officer on Special Duty, Sankara Nethralaya and Dr. Sandeep Mark Thirumalai, Sankara Nethralaya received the Knight of the Blind award.  Mr. V. Sivakumar, Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre, Sankara Nethralaya received a special recognition.  The Rural Mobile teleophthalmology services of Sankara Nethralaya received the I(Eye) Care Award.

Age Related Macular Degeneration Workshop

Continuing Medical Education programme on "Age Related Macular Degeneration "was organized by Sankara Nethralaya in collaboration with Novartis on 28th May 2006. It was attended by over 70 ophthalmologists from Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Calcutta.

The Sankara Nethralaya faculty emphasized the role of various investigative tools to detect early stages of ARMD was discussed. Dr. Tarun Sharma, Director of Shri Bhagvan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Department,Sankara Nethralaya said that the role of general ophthalmologists in early detection and treatment can be extremely important. He also spoke on the changing scenario in treatment of Age Related Macular Degeneration.

The technique and guidelines of a new treatment modality called photodynamic therapy was elaborated. This has been recognized by FDA for treatment of vision threatening type of ARMD i.e. the ‘wet’ ARMD. Photodynamic therapy is a two step procedure which involves an intravenous injection of a nontoxic photosensitive drug followed by its activation by non thermal laser setting up a photochemical reaction. This reaction causes selective ablation of the new vessels formed under the macula without causing collateral damage to the overlying retina. Various clinical trials conducted worldwide have proven its efficacy to prevent severe visual loss in ‘wet’ Age related macular degeneration.

Other upcoming treatment modalities like intraocular injection of steroids as well as vascular endothelial growth factor in inhibiting further growth of sub retinal vessels were discussed.  Role of a healthy life style and eating habits cannot be overemphasized. Where smoking an alcohol can increase the incidence of ARMD, vegetables and fruits contain antioxidants which can have a protective effect.

Sankara Nethralaya - A model Institution

Professor N. Ravichandran from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad visited Sankara Nethralaya on 15th May 2006 to do a case study about Sankara Nethralaya.  He was taken on a tour of the hospital.  He spent time interacting with Chairman and other employees.

National Accreditation Board

Dr. Thuppin Venkatesh, Professor & Head, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore as Lead Asessor, NABL, New Delhi visited Sankara Nethralaya on 14th May 2006 for pre-assessment audit for NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories), New Delhi for the SNSC Clinical Laboratories that included all the Clinical Laboratories at all three centres of Sankara Nethralaya.

A Guest Lecture

Dr. Quresh B. Maskati, Director, Cornea Services, Maskati Eye Hospital, Mumbai visited Sankara Nethralaya on 14th May 2006.  He delivered a talk on "Asian experience with the Pintucci Kerotoprosthesis".

Distance Learning Programme in Optical Sales

Medical Research Foundation and the Silmo Essilor Trust are offering a correspondence course in "Optic Sales" for the first time in India.  This course is called the Certified Course in Optical Sales and aims at improving the technical knowledge of optical sales counter personnel.  As the culmination of the nine month program, contact classes were held in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkatta, Delhi and Chennai.  The students were assesed following the classes and they received the certificates.  The final contact class was held in Chennai at the Elite School of Optometry.  Dr. S. S. Badrinath, Chairman, Medical Research Foundation addressed the students.  He congratulated them on successfully completing the program and urged them to continue upgrading themselves.

Ministering Angels

Madam Florence Nightingale, “The Lady with the Lamp”, Patron of Nursing Profession was born on May 12, 1820. Her birthday is celebrated as “International Nurses Day”. It is indeed a landmark day in any calendar for it celebrates the spirit of sacrifice and dedication shown by the nursing profession. The nursing personnel form the backbone of any hospital. They are the silent caretakers of sick and ill, working tirelessly to ensure the well being of the people in their care. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Hon’ble President of India while speaking to nursing students once said: “When I see doctors, I see pain removers. When I see dentists, I see those who bring smiles on the faces of people. When I see nurses, I am reminded of angels moving in a full moon night. In a hospital, when no doctors, no relatives are around in the nights, the nurses provide consolation and relief. At that time, nurses appear to be angels.”

Sankara Nethralaya has been celebrating International Nurses Day for the last 5 years. This year Nurses Day was celebrated on a larger scale than before by conducting a seminar, which was attended by the nurses from Sundaram Medical Foundation, Kanchi Kamakoti Child’s Trust Hospital, and Meenakshi College of Nursing besides the nurses from Sankara Nethralaya. The theme of the program was “SAFE STAFFING SAVES LIVES”. The seminar included topics like Emergency patient care in Intensive Care Units, Caring for paediatric patients, and Needs of Elderly patients. Over 100 people attended the seminar. The speakers at the seminar included Dr. S. Sivakumar, Geriatrician, Ms. Jayrani, Nursing Supervisor, Sundaram Medical Foundation and Ms. Manimegalai, ICU Nurse, Kanchi Kamakoti Child’s Trust Hospital.

As part of the celebration, the Nursing personnel who had completed over 15 years at Sankara Nethralaya were felicitated. These included Mrs. Alice Math, Mr. A. Mahalingam, Mr. P. Suresh Kumar and Mrs. E. Porchelvi.

Visitor from Australia

Mr. Nigel David from Perth, Australia, visited Sankara Nethralaya on 8th and 10th May 2006.  Mr. David was accompanied by Mrs. Thor Hanssen and Mr. Gerry Hanssen from Perth.  Mr. Hanssen, a philanthropist, was interested in seeing the hospital facilities.  They were taken on a tour of the hospital following a meeting with Dr. S. S. Badrinath, Chairman and Dr. Lingam Gopal, Chairman-Elect, Sankara Nethralaya.

Quality Assurance

BVQI Team visited Sankara Nethralaya for the annual surveilance audit of the ISO 9001:2000 systems on 3rd & 4th May 2006.  They visited the teleophthalmology department on 4th May 2006.  The audit team was very appreciative of the systems and the continual improvement being implemented by Sankara Nethralaya.

Summer Training

One month computer training for Sankara Nethralaya employee's children was inaugurated on 27th April 2006.  This programme has been organized as a summer activity for the children.  Fifty two children utilized this opportunity.

Visitor

Mr. Aunali Khalfan, Chairman, Central Health Board, DAR, Tanzania and Dr. J. J. Merali, Medical Director, EHICH and team visited Sankara Nethralaya on 27th April 2006.  They discussed with Dr. Lingam Gopal, Chairman Elect about sending patients with eye complications for treatment to Sankara Nethralaya.

A Carnatic Vocal Concert

The Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust Inc. invites you with family and friends to “ A CARNATIC VOCAL CONCERT” BY Smt. S. Sowmya accompanied by Rudrapatnam Ramkumar (Violin) and Neyveli Narayanan (Mrudangam).

Date & Time:  Saturday, June 03, 2006, %.00pm – 9.00pm

Venue:  Sri Siva Vishnu Temple Auditorium, 6905 Cipriano Road, Lanham MD – 20706

Donations: $ 10 per person

Please make a positive, life-long impact on the needy, by helping to restore their vision.

Invitation enclosed (click here)