Sankara Nethralaya News
Melodious music touches the soul and moves hearts at Lemont
The auditorium at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Lemont presented a festive picture on the evening of Sunday August 12th, 2018 with Carnatic music aficionados from Lemont and neighbouring areas gathered in good numbers. The occasion was a Carnatic music concert to create awareness on the cost free community service to poor visually impaired patients in India by Sankara Nethralaya the premier, non profit eye hospital in Chennai, among the local Indian community and raise funds in aid of the same, the concert was organized by Mrs Vanita Achar, a long time well wisher, supporter and grand niece of Dr S.S. Badrinath, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya.
The concert began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha by Mrs Vanita Achar, after which she extended a warm welcome to the audience and expressed her sincere thanks for their presence, followed by a brief note on the objective of the concert. Mr. Vignesh Ramakrishnan the ‘Master of Ceremonies’ (MC) introduced the 4 artists of the day’s concert, Smt Minu Pasupathi of Akshaya Music Academy, the Lead vocalist, Ms Akshaya Kannan providing vocal support, Shri Rishabh Ranganathan on the Violin and Shri Sivagangai Vishvak Kumaran on the Mridangam, all of whom were performing cost free for a noble cause, in response to a request made by Mrs Vanita Achar.
The highlight of the concert was its thematic presentation, the special effort made to choose kritis having a direct connection with eyes, vision and awakening was very evident and impactful. The first 3 Tamizh songs were as follows – Sadashivakumara, Panneer Kondoru, Kadaikkan Vaitthennai, followed by Shambho Siva Sankar (Sanskrit). This soulful rendition of songs about the eyes was followed by a short 8 minute video about Sankara Nethralaya and its services, especially to the weaker sections of society and the need to support its noble initiatives. This was followed by an ‘Eye Donation Pledge’ drive by Dr Raj Rajaram, supporter and well wisher of Sankara Nethralaya. He highlighted that there was no greater gift to mankind than the ‘Gift of Sight’ and fervently appealed to the gathering to help in bringing the lost light and smile back on the face of the poor visually impaired in their motherland by donating generously. The second part of the concert included the following popular songs – Raaraa Rajeeva Lochana (Telugu), Annapurne Visalakshi (Sanskrit), Kandu Kandu Nee (Kannada) and concluded with the song Man ki Aankhen (Hindi).
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the well synchronized performance by the singers and musicians. The event was sponsored by 8K radio, media partner who promoted the event cost free for 2 weeks leading to the event date on their radio and Facebook page. The event concluded with the felicitation of artists, with the audience loudly applauding their sterling performance rendered cost free for a noble cause, as each of them made their way to the dais to be presented with a stemmed rose and honoured by draping of a Pashmina Shawl around their shoulder. Smt Minu Pasupathy the lead artist was honoured with a special memento from Sankara Nethralaya. The evening of fun, filled with soothing music was enjoyed by one and all!
SankaraNethralaya’s quest for a solution to ocular surface disorders reaches far beyond the surface!
The Ocular Surface and Keratoprosthesis Conference (OSKON-2018) the international conference to debate and discuss the challenges faced by the ocular surface of the eye and Keratoprosthesis, conducted from the 27th to 29th of July 2018 had all the elements that make a Sankara Nethralaya event, in a well balanced proportion.
If the 3 day, high power conference attended by national and international expertson the field from the world over went into the depth of the ocular surface, unravelling new facts,questioning old theories,throwing light on new technology, sharing new approaches and real time experience through case studies,the valedictory function held at the packed to capacity Ball Room of The Taj Coramandel on 29th of July 2018,was a giant step towards creating awareness on the gravity of the issue among the political dispensation, seeking political will, mandate and legislation, to give teeth to preventive measures discussed in the meet; another element that gave the conference a distinct Sankara Nethralaya flavour was the fact that it was held as a ‘Thanksgiving’ and ‘Honour’ to the ‘Gurus’ in keeping with the institution’s avowed Guru-Sishya Parampara, to Professor Giancarlo Falcinelli whose revolutionary process Modified osteo-odonto Keratoprosthesis (MOOKP) brought new hope to those suffering with extreme ocular surface issues and Dr G.Sitalakshmi who steered the concept in India.
Extending a warm welcome to the Chief Guest Shri Venkaiah Naidu the Vice President of India, Guest of Honour Shri Bhanwarilal Purohit, the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri C.Vijaya Baskar, Health Minister and Shri D.Jayakumar, Minister for Fisheries, at the grand valedictory session, Dr Prema Padmanabhan, the veteran cornea specialist from Sankara Nethralaya observed that the conference was something beyond an academic event confined to acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, she highlighted that it was a collective assertion of the moral responsibility of the cornea fraternity against ocular surface disorders especially those caused by human misconduct and folly, a multi layered approach to a multilayered challenge. Dr Prema Padmanabhan expressed that the presence of the Vice-President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu a dynamic statesman who was unflinching in his beliefs, as the Chief Guest of the event filled everyone with the hope that the entreaties made at the conference will get the right political direction. Her sentiments were echoed by Dr GeethaIyer, Senior Consultant and Organizing Secretary, OSKON 2018, who described ocular surface disorders, especially the ones caused by external factors like accident, careless handling of hazardous substances and planned assaults which disfigured the victim’s appearance as a physical, psychological, social and economic problem impacting the career and marital prospects of the victim. Simplifying the MOOKP process to the non-ophthalmic section of the audience, Dr Iyer added interest to the proceeding with a highly absorbing and emotional short movie of the grandmaster of the art and science of MOOKP, Professor Giancarlo Falcinelli, capturing not only his genius but the warm human being in him. If the short movie capturing their experience in terms of revival of vision, by victims of acid attack and their physical presence at the event came as a real time testimonial to Sankara Nethralaya’s expertise in the process, Dr Geetha’s observation that 70% of MOOKP processeswere done totally cost free at Sankara Nethralaya highlighted the service orientation of an institution, which took the most advanced ophthalmic processes and technology totally cost free to its indigent patients and drew loud applause from the large national and international gathering
One of the primary objectives of OSKON-2018 was to sensitise the ruling dispensation, seek political will and legislation to give teeth to the resolutions passed at the conference. An institution known for spearheading key initiatives like making it mandatory for maternity hospitals to check expecting mothers for the presence of galactose in the blood since it could result in the babiesbeing born with cataract, an institution which succeeded after a lot of persuasion and presenting of real time evidence in convincing the Union Health Ministry to permit cataract surgeries to be performed in a mobile OT far away from the base hospital, in a remote village and more recently an institution whose study on classroom illumination and seating pattern have been accepted as a blue print by the State’s Directorate of school education, as a guideline to regulate classrooms across the State, Sankara Nethralaya joined hands with likeminded institutions like the All India Institute for Medical Science, New Delhi, Government Eye Hospital, Chennai, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Arvind Eye Care, Madurai and NGOs like MEER Foundation and ASFI to present a memorandum to the Vice President for passing a legislation prohibiting the sale of slaked lime or ‘Chuna’ in plastic pouchesas well as implement the ban on sale of acids
The event marked the launch of a national campaign towards prevention of corneal blindness due to Chemical Injuries. Speaking on the occasion Dr Shwetha S.Agarwal, Consultant, Cornea Department and member of the OSKON 2018 organizing committee, made a strong case for making it mandatory for chemists and stores to dispense acid only to customers furnishing an ‘Aadhar Card’ to keep track of buyers and avoid its misuseIf the 3 day scientific session shed new light on the diagnosis and treatment of Ocular surface disorders, the successful treatment of vision loss and damage to the ocular surface caused by the most vitriolic substances including molten metal, the valedictory session succeeded in its objective of reaching out to the ruling dispensation represented on the dais by the Vice president of India, the Governor of Tamil Nadu and two senior Ministers of the state. The leaders in their address expressed high admiration for Sankara Nethralaya’s pioneering role in battling blindness, the one of its kind ‘Mobile Eye Surgical Unit’ (MESU) and its revolutionary outreach, its self sustaining financial model, its role in knowledge dissemination, the OSKON 2018 being a good example of the same, they raised their voice in favour of eye donation, advocated state-private partnership in healthcare, outreach programs benefiting the rural poor etc, everyone of them had a high word of admiration for the visionary spirit of founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr.SS.Badinath.
Acid attack survivors being presented with a plaque in admiration of their courage and fighting spirit and the presentation of a plaque of honour by the Vice President of India as a tribute to the grandmaster of MOOKP Professor Giancarlo Falcinelli a humanitarian doctor and simple human being, which was received by rof Christopher Liu in the presence of Mr.Sauro Mezzetti the Italian Consul in Pondicherry, were important highlights of the day.
The highly charged proceedings came to an end with Dr Bhaskar Sinivasan coorganizing secretary OSKON-2018 expressing his sincere thanks to the dignitaries and delegates and everyone who had contributed to the grand success of the event.
A simple adaptation of critical findings of a real time study on ‘Classroom illumination and student seating pattern’ finds place in popular health magazine
We take great pleasure and pride in sharing a case of a niche research initiative by Sankara Nethralaya’s senior optometrist and researcher finding real time significance and high recognition. Ms Kalpa Neglioni, PLOS one Senior Research Optometrist, LASFIN project, Sankara Nethralaya and Lecturer at the Elite School of Optometry (ESO) has been working for long on the prevailing illumination levels and seating modalities in typical Indian classrooms and their impact on the visual comfort and health of children, a most significant and relevant study, in view of the fact that children between 5 yrs and 16 years spend 6 hours every day at the classroom. The studies were done under the guidance of Dr RR. Sudhir, Senior Consultant, CJ Shah Cornea Services, Sankara Nethralaya. The team had made several corrective recommendations in this regard based on their findings. It was a moment of crowning glory to the institution when the recommendations of Ms Kalpa Negiloni made from the understanding of studies conducted over a large number of schools in Tamil Nadu, was adopted by the Directorate of School Education, Tamil Nadu, as a benchmark in regulating the same and shared as a guideline circular with the District Education officers in the State. It is noteworthy to mention here that an earlier study on the topic of lighting and ergonomics in Indian classrooms by Ms Kalpa had found its place of pride, as a human interest article in the ‘Times of India’, she was also recognized by the Elite School of Optometry, for converting her conference paper as an article in a peer reviewed journal.
The entire Sankara Nethralaya family congratulates and salutes Ms Kalpa Neglioni, her team and Dr. Sudhir for this most critical finding and eye opener which would impact the eye health and vision of millions of children in the State. We complement Shri Irungovel, Manager – Patient Counselling and Education for communicating the same to the general readers through his simple adaptation of the same in a popular health magazine.
A grateful institution rejoices in playing host to the launching of the biography of a great friend and supporter
The name Nani Palkhivala conjures a variety of images like few other personalities do, the sheer versatility of the man leaves anyone thoroughly amazed and awed. A man who was the nation’s foremost constitutional lawyers, civil rights champion, economist whose interpretation of the union budget was more awaited than the budget itself, a seasoned diplomat whose stint as India’s Ambassador to the USA marked a new height in Indo-US relations, the list is endless, but what made the man different was the ‘Connect’ he had with the common man, he was not the esoteric genius who lived in an ivory tower whose philosophy and beliefs were understood only by the intelligentsia, but a man who was sensitized by happenings around him and sensitized the common man on the same. A man who brought terms like human rights, diplomacy, impact of the budget etc within the understanding and concern of the common man. His observation of Sankara Nethralaya as a place which replenishes his faith in the goodness of mankind, is a classic example of his deep understanding of an institution and its functioning seemingly far out of his purview.
The 20th of July 2018 marked a very special and emotional day for Sankara Nethralaya as it was hosting the launch of the biography of a man who was one of its greatest well wishers, supporters and champions of its cause. The VD Swami auditorium at the Sankara Nethralaya main campus where the launch of the book aptly titled ‘Nani Palkhivala – God’s gift to India’ by Shri Dharmendra Bhandari was happening, presented a picture of an intimate audience, to quote the words of Chief Guest Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi who was releasing the book. Speaking on the occasion senior members of Sankara Nethralaya, Chairman Emeritus and Founder Dr SS.Badrinath and Dr Girish Rao, Director Medical Affairs recalled how a single visit to the institution left a deep impact on Shri Nani Palkhivala and became a most important chapter in the institution’s history. Srimathi Akila Ganesan, Director -Administration took the audience on an interesting journey of the institution and its service to mankind since inception as perceived by late Nani Palkhivala
The distinguished audience on the dais reflected the values for which the man whose biography was being released. Chief Guest of the evening Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi the highly principled and public spirited civil servant who served both as a diplomat and the governor of West Bengal with distinction, Retired Judge of the Madras High Court Justice Prabha Sridevan an upright legal luminary, artist, author, human rights/women’s rights activist and member of the Intellectual property rights commission, Shri Dharmendra Bhandari the author, a highly principled auditor and litterateur and Mr S.Mahalingam a master of the art of communication who was known in corporate circles as a man who knows what, when and how to communicate, a simple man under whose chairmanship TCS scaled great heights and a dedicated member of the Nani Palkhivala Foundation.
The book launch marked an intellectually invigorating evening with highly captivating recollections of the genius, his values, his intellect, sense of justice and fair play, charity, humour and humility. Shri Dharmendra Bhandari recalled him as a rare combination of a corporate czar who worked like a super computer to lead TCS to the status of a world class company, a legal luminary who was appointed into the Law commission by India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru twice, a man who served as the attorney general for a single day and a man whose eloquence at the UN assembly decided a large tract of disputed land in the Rann of Kutch in favour of India. Guest of Honour Justice Prabha Sridevan observed with vehemence that if Nani Palkhivala was alive today he would have taught people the true meaning of freedom, emphasised the need for judicial recusal to judges, raised the prestige of the judiciary and demystified GST and demonetisation. Sharing his concern that we are living in a period of greed and gloom, when status has replaced stature, position has replaced prestige, sensation has replaced sacrifice, rhetoric has replaced reason, manipulation has replaced value system, Chief Guest Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi hastened to add that not all is lost and the nation’s judiciary stood as a shining example of high ethical standards, values and independence. He observed that the recent judgements by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Madras High court on the case pertaining to right to privacy and the Supreme court’s pronouncement on the right of the elected government vis-a-vis the Lt Governor were indeed great verdicts which would have rejoiced Nani Palkhivala, if he was alive today.
Delivering the Vote of Thanks Shri S.Mahalingam recalled that he had the privilege of working under the legend and recalled that late Nani Palkhivala held Dr SS.Badrinath and Sankara Nethralaya his institution in the highest esteem, adding that the only occasion his eloquence exceeded his budget speeches was the occasion when he spoke at the Sankara Nethralaya campus during one of his visits.
The author and publisher of the biography offered the great work at a special price of 50% of the actual cost on the day of launch and committed the entire sale proceeds to Sankara Nethralaya, as a tribute to the man who held the institution in the highest esteem and close to his heart, the same would be utilized to provide cost free eye care to the poor and needy who cannot afford to pay for their treatment.
A high power knowledge dissemination exercise throws light on a least studied/understood ophthalmic challenge!
The 12th of July 2018 marked an important day for an institution passionately committed to knowledge dissemination and alleviation of pain and suffering through the same as the institution’s ophthalmic specialty departments namely ‘The Department of Orbit, Oculoplasty, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Services’ & ‘Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Department of Vitreo Retinal Services’ came together to organize the ‘OcularTraumaCon-2018’a, high power, international four day conference on ‘Ocular Trauma’ a serious vision impairing condition which according to the WHO affects 55 million people worldwide, leading to partial to total blindness besides causing pain and agony and social stigma owing to disfigurement. While pain or trauma could be an accompanying condition for most kinds of ophthalmic disorders, with the concerned specialty department engaging itself in the relief and control of the same, the Orbit, Oculoplasty, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Services department specializes in damage control and pain management to a very large extent owing to the nature of the ophthalmic service it offers and the OculartraumaCON-2018 was the fruit of long period of hard work and planning by Dr Bipasha Mukherjee, Director of the department and her team of Dr Kirthi Koka, Dr Sonam Nissar Poonam, Dr Vathsalya Vijay and other members of the above department. The curtain raiser was held at the Sri V.D.Swami Auditorium Sankara Nethralaya main campus on the 12th of July 2018 with a warm welcome to the forthcoming event by Dr Bipasha Mukherjee and an interesting note on what it held in store by Dr Kirthi Koka which generated a lot of interest and expectancy towards the conference. A video messages by Dr Muna Bhende, Deputy Director, Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Department of Vitreo Retinal Services Department, which partnered in organizing the event, underlining that Ocular Trauma had an impact on livelihood and the hope that the conference promises to hold the answers to it gave a good perspective to the forthcoming event and the description of ocular trauma as something which did not comply to conclusive evidence or conformity but is interpreted by subjective observation and enhanced with learning from other’s experiences by Dr. Nisar Sonam Poonam, Associate Consultant at the Department of Orbit, Oculoplasty, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Services set the tone for the conference. Ocular TraumaCon 2018 assumed great significance as it was being jointly held by three major ophthalmic bodies namely the Ocular Society of India, Asia Pacific Ophthalmic Trauma Society with support from the ‘European School for Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology’ (ESASO) and also doubled as Sankara Nethralaya’s ‘Retina Summit-2018’.
The international meet to discuss pain and suffering, aptly described by Dr Pramod Bhende, Medical Director-Clinical Services, Sankara Nethralaya as a ‘theme based knowledge dissemination initiative’ got off to the soothing tunes of Maestro Amjad Ali Khan’s Sarod in accompaniment with Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash at the packed to capacity Rajendra Hall, ITC Grand Chola, Chennai on 13th July 2018. The event generated significant interest and expectancy as it was an attempt to decipher and better understand one of the least recognized and studied factors causing blindness and was being participated by a galaxy of experts specializing in different ophthalmic specialties from the world over, since ocular trauma could occur in any region of the eye.
The three day event witnessed talks by more than 150 star speakers from across specialties who shared the latest treatment modalities, techniques and advances in handling ocular trauma and their critical real time experiences, which came as a source of great learning. Speakers strongly emphasised on a multi-disciplinary approach to treating ocular trauma, involving every sub-specialty of ophthalmology into it, creating awareness among the public and the need for government policy/legislation among policy makers, having an exclusive trauma care unit in every ophthalmic centre, creating a Fellowship and certification course in trauma care, grooming young ophthalmologists in the field of trauma care, creation of evidence based medicine, tested and proven guidelines, the need to make quick decisions when a patient is brought with a serious traumatic condition etc. Highlights at the meeting underlining the scope of trauma care were the observation by Dr Rupesh Agarwal, Secretary, Asia Pacific Ocular Trauma Society that the US military’s eye care division was willing to extend help in developing this field as a separate sub-specialty in view of the large number of soldiers who suffered damage in the eye during combat and showcasing of their ‘Air Ambulance’ which is pressed into service to transport accident victims to the hospital, shrinking time and distance, by Dr S.Raja Sabapathy, Head of Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore.
While the 3 day meeting facilitated a robust sharing of perceptions, approaches, current best practices in ocular trauma, leading to a better understanding of the same, the greater achievement of the exercise was that it succeeded in gaining ‘Ocular Trauma’ it’s long overdue recognition and place as a distinctly different and critical branch of ophthalmology.
The huge success of Ocular TraumaCON 2018 is a matter of great pride to Sankara Nethralaya the host institution as it reflected the meticulous planning, organizing and execution of the event by Dr Rajiv Raman and Dr Pradeep Susvar, Senior Consultants from its Vitroretina department who played the role of the Organizing Secretary and Joint Organizing Secretary of the event. Dr Pradeep Susvar in his address highlighted his department’s role in terms of the large number of patients it served every day, Fellows trained, offering 24X7 trauma care services for clinical and surgical management, large scale diabetic retinopathy screening, contributing to 50% of literature on DR, its highly impactful Lions skill transfer program and the department being completely digitalized and equipped with State of the Art equipment. Dr Rajiv Raman extended his sincere thanks to every delegate attending the TraumaCON-2018 for sharing their knowledge, understanding and personal experience which made the event a great learning opportunity and memorable to all attendees.
The event witnessed the induction of Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus and Founder Sankara Nethralaya and a leading light and doyen of ophthalmology, referred to as ‘Father of Vitroretina’ in India’ and Dr S.Natarajan, Founder and CEO of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital, Mumbai into the ‘Retina Hall of Fame’
Report on VIBS – Hands-on Summer Training programme (14th May – 1st June 2018)
The Hands-on-summer training programme is a scheduled annual training programme conducted under Vidyasagar Institute of Bio-Medical Science (VIBS) a Unit of Medical Research Foundation, with an objective of imparting real time knowledge and experience in Basic medical sciences including application of advanced techniques in the field of Medical Biochemistry, Microbiology and Human genetics to post graduate students from Science and Arts college /Research Institutions/Engineering colleges. The programme was conducted between 14th May and 1st June 2018 with the inaugural function conducted by Dr.H.N.Madhavan, Director of VIBS, alongwith Dr.N.Angayarkanni, HOD, Biochemistry on 14th May 2018.
A total of 17 candidates (3 each from Stella Maris College, Loyola College,1 each from Madras Christian College, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Saveetha Medical College and hospital, SRM Arts and Science College, &VMU-Aarupadaiveedu Institute of Technology in Chennai, one each from SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry, Periyar University, Salem, Mahatma Gandhi Degree College, University of Bradford (MDIS), Singapore and 2 from Andhra Pradesh underwent hands on training programme in advanced techniques in the 3 departments of Basic Medical Sciences (7 candidates in R.S. Mehta Jain Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 4 in SN ONGC Genetics & Molecular Biology and 6 in L & T Microbiology Research Centre).
The valedictory function was conducted on the last day of the training programme on 1st June 2018. Dr.S.S.Badrinath Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya was the chief guest for the programme. The programme started with a prayer song by Dr.S.R.Bharathi Devi and presentation of VIBS activities by Dr.K. Lily Therese, VIBS – Co-ordinator. The participants gave a good feedback on the programme and faculty from each department also shared their experience of conducting the hands on summer training programme, by appreciating the student’s interest and enthusiasm in learning the techniques which reflected in their good performance in the evaluation conducted at the end of the programme. The participants were requested to share the acquired knowledge and impart the skills to their juniors and colleagues in their respective colleges.
Chairman Emeritus Dr.S.S.Badrinath alongwith the respective faculty from each participating department distributed the certificates to all the participants and the programme came to an end with high tea and a group photograph. We take this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge the support of the managements of Vision Research Foundation & Medical Research Foundation for providing the facility and the Founder of VIBS, Padmashri Iravatham Mahadevan, I.A.S. for providing the wonderful opportunity to share the acquired knowledge and skills with Post graduate students from various Science & Arts Colleges & Research Institutions, which is one of the major objective of this great Institution!!.
The ‘Temple of the eye’ takes a giant step in its journey of ‘Service to Mankind’
The 23rd of April 2018 was a ‘Red Letter Day’ for an institution that came into existence with one simple objective ‘Serving mankind and alleviating suffering of the masses through quality eye care’ it was the day the institution made an auspicious and blessed step towards fulfilling a long time dream, a most cherished dream and also a very ambitious dream. The institution started on the principle of serving eye care totally cost free and with a personal touch to poor patients, had over the 4 decades of its service reached a position of pride wherein it treated 50% of its out patients and performed 35% of its surgeries totally cost free, its cost free eye care initiatives had also recorded magnificent outreach, with quality eye care being dispensed to poor patients in inaccessible, remote regions like the deep interiors of the Sunderbans in West Bengal, Vellimalai Hills in Tamil Nadu and more recently in the tribal regions of Singhbum in the State of Jharkand. Building and operating a large, well equipped and easily accessible community hospital, dedicated exclusively to cost free treatment to indigent patients remained a collective dream of the institution. The idea was to have a State of the Art facility which would cater to a large number of walk-in patients, serve as a referral base hospital to patients screened at the outdoor camps, where they could be brought provided boarding, lodging and free treatment, a place where the institution’s community outreach vehicle including the MESU (MOBILE EYE SURGICAL UNIT) could be parked between their trips.
The biggest and first challenge in starting such a large facility, the availability of a large tract of land, in an accessible part of the city was solved when in a most generous and thoughtful gesture Mrs Kausalya Appukutty, Volunteer- Sankara Nethralaya Auxiliary Services (SWAN) made available the same totally cost free at the Dr VG. Appukutty Campus, named in honour of her late husband and generous supporter of Sankara Nethralaya, from where the CU Shah Sankara Nethralaya and the Elite School of Optometry function. The Bhumi puja for the facility was held with traditional piety with the chanting of mantras, vedic hymns and Homam at the proposed site, in the presence of a large number of friends, well wishers and employees. Srimathi Anuradha Narayan, lecturer at the ESO extended a warm welcome to the attendees and expressed the institution’s deep gratitude to Ms Voltas, Ms Infosys, Ms Trent Ltd, the Rahm Sitaraman family, USA and long time friend and supporter Shri Iravatham Mahadevan for their generous donation which would serve as the critical ‘Seed’ capital for the new initiative. Speaking on the occasion Col Raghavan, Director-Projects and chief architect of the initiative observed that the institution was able to embark on a ‘not for profit’ facility with such a high capital outlay only because corporate houses and individual donors open their purses generously when Dr SS.Badrinath the institution’s founder makes an appeal for support.
In a moment that captured the spirit of the day, special guest of the event Shri Iravatham Mahadevan expressed that if only he had been 10 years younger he would have visited every home in the locality to mobilize funds for the noble endeavour, the fact that the octogenarian had already made an appeal to the families in his apartment complex became apparent when a co-resident from the complex expressed that every family in the complex would donate towards this noble cause. This was followed by presenting of donation cheques by Srimathi Surekha Mehta, on behalf of SWAN and by Mr Sanjay who operates the staff canteen at the VG Appukutty campus.
Greeting the gathering on the occasion well known Litterateur and Editor of popular Tamil magazine ‘Amudhasurabhi’ Shri Thirupur Krishnan, a friend and well wisher recalled the glorious days when he served under Shri Iravatham Mahadevan, a highly principled civil servant, he observed that as a hospital which would be serving the masses it would only be appropriate that it is funded by donations from the common man, he drew a parallel of the same by narrating how Swami Vivekaanda wanted his trip to the World Congress of Religions in Chicago, to be funded by small donations from the common man and not by a few wealthy donors, as he was representing the entire nation.
Speakng on the occasion Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus and Founder, Sankara Nethralaya expressed his thanks to all who had assembled and the team working on the project, he had a special word of thanks to Srimathi Kausalya Appukutty, member SWAN for making available the land, without which the project could not have been envisaged. He welcomed and expressed his thanks to special guests Shri Iravatham Mahadevan and Brigadier VS.Joon, Station Commander and President Cantonment Board, for his critical role in obtaining the necessary sanctions and permits for the proposed building, from the Army authorities.
Students from the ESO rise magnificently to a knowledge exposition challenge of global proportions!
FORCE (Future Ocular Research Creativity Event)was a competition that had every element that goes to make a high profile knowledge evaluation exercise, the sponsor was among the biggest names in contact lens and visual aids and it was a national competition which would propel the winner into the highly charged world of European optometry. Students of the Elite School of Optometry known for their capacity to pull up their socks in short notice and prove their mettle, rose admirably to the occasion, reiterating beyond all doubt that they are indeed a ‘Force’ to reckon with in their field!
We take pleasure in sharing a spirited,step by step, first person account of the competition and how Jude Remedios Menezes the star performer from the ESO made his way to the European Finals at Budapest, Hungary.
The National round of the cooper vision force presentation was held on 2th of March, 2018 at the Orchid Hotel in Mumbai. A team of 5 Members, namely, Akshara, P Gaurav, PoojaNandagopal, VivekSuganthan R and Jude R Menezes represented the Elite School of Optometry at this prestigious, First of its Kind National Contest. This team was accompanied by its mentor and guide, Dr Rajeshwari M – The contact Lens stalwart faculty from ESO.
This Contest required from the participating students, a presentation of a Research Study, Case Report or a Review article to be judged by a team of three well renowned clinicians in the field.
In the preparatory stages, Dr JameelRizwana, Dr Viswanathan, Ms Rinu Thomas and Mr Asif Iqbal played a significant role in addition to the core Guidance from Dr Rajeswari in mentoring of the participating students who worked hard to streamline their presentation slides and skills within the time constraints that this contest had demanded.
After a week of intense study and practice the team was flown to Mumbai in the early hours of the day of the presentation and delivered their best.
Gaurav presented his research results on the “Impact of introducing Comfilcon A spherical soft contact lens at a tertiary eye care centre- A retrospective Review( 2015-2018)”, Akshara presented a Case Series on “ comparison of subjects with RGP and soft torric contact lenses”, Vivek and Pooja teamed up to present a review on “Toric Soft Lens Stabilization: Is it Stabalized? ” and finally Jude presented a review on the “Success of the soft contact lens market: How new techniques, Tests and Instruments can help?”.
The results couldn’t have been more in consistence with the quality of the presentation, with the Elite School stealing bragging rights with the best presentations of the Day.
Jude’s Presentation made him the country winner and won him a ticket to Budapest, Hungary to compete for the title ‘European FORCE winner- 2018’ at the International Cooper vision Future Ocular Research Creativity Event(FORCE).
All in all, right from the very start, the trip proved to be a memorable experience for the students and provided them with a rare exposure to presentation at a professional level, boosting their self-confidence and enhancing their exposure to the soft contact lens industry.
The students and their mentors take this opportunity to thank the management of SankaraNethralaya for this rare opportunity of participating in a high level competition and for their constant encouragement and support
The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses its hearties congratulations to the ESO team consisting of the participating students and their mentors for keeping the SN flag flying high and conveys its very best wishes to Jude Remedios Menezes in his single minded pursuit towards winning the ‘European Force winner – 2018’
An eye care institution preferred by the world is acknowledged for its universal appeal across boundaries and service
Sankara Nethralaya has been a preferred eye care destination to patients not only from different parts of India but from all over the world, right since its early days. It has an exclusive ‘overseas patients’ department serving a steady flow of patients from the world over. We take great pleasure in sharing that Sankara Nethralaya has been adjudged as the ‘Best Medical Tourism Hospital’ in the ‘Tamil Nadu Tourism Awards 2018’. The award was presented on the 14th of March 2018 at a function organized jointly by Ms Madura Travels and the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, at Kamarajar Arangam. The award was presented by Singing Legend, Padmabhushan Srimathi P.Susheela and well known Industrialist and philanthropist, Chevalier, Kalaimamani Shri VG. Santhosham and received on behalf of Sankara Nethralaya by Srimathi Nirmala Kurien, General Manager, Human Resource Department.
Nation’s premier newspaper confers high honours on Sankara Nethralaya and its founder
The Hindu Group Publishing Pvt Ltd, among the nation’s oldest and highly prestigious media houses honoured Sankara Nethralaya as one of the 21 healthcare institutions in the State and its Founder Dr SS.Badrinath for their service to society. The awards were presented by His Excellency Banwari Lal Purohit, the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu on the 17th of March 2018 at ‘Hotel Feathers’, Chennai and attended by Shri C.Vijaya Baskar, Health Minister and Shri J.Radhakrishnan, Health Secretary, Tamil Nadu. The event also witnessed the launch of The Hindu’s coffee table book honouring leading institutions which have contributed significantly to healthcare in the country. The first copy of the book titled ‘Doyens Guardians of Healthcare – Tamil Nadu 2018’, which has an exclusive chapter dedicated to Sankara Nethralaya was launched by the Governor and received by Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Ambassador of West Bengal.