140th Birthday Celebrations of Mahakavi Subhramania Bharathiyar
The Sankara Nethralaya Academy (TSNA), the academic arm of Sankara Nethralaya, has always been a front runner in conducting numerous co – curricular and extra – curricular activities to motivate the students and to help mold their personality through interactions with influential personalities.
One such initiative is the Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar on 23rd December2022 at (TSNA), The Sankara Nethralaya Academy in the V G Appukutty Campus, Guindy.
Mrs. Girija Raghavan, noted Film and Television Personality, Activist and Editor, ‘Ladies Special’ Magazine addressed the students on the topic of ‘Accham Thavir.”
The event started with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by ‘Tamizh Thai Vazhthu’, students of Faculty of Management Studies (FOMS) rendered the famous song of Mahakavi, “Oli Padaitha Kanninai Va Va Va” in which the great poet, exhorted the youth to be brave and fearless. Assistant Professor and Head of Management Studies, Mr. G. Senthilkumar, welcomed the gathering. Mr. A P Irungovel, Sr. Asst. Professor, Medical Sociology, introduced the Chief Guest Mrs. Girija Raghavan, as the woman who broke the glass ceiling in a male dominated media industry. Mrs. Girija Raghavan, praised the students for their discipline and enthusiasm and thanked the organisers at The Sankara Nethralya Academy for giving her an opportunity to share her memorable journey.
Mrs. Girija shared her experiences in the media industry and the struggles she underwent before attaining success. She advised gathered youngsters not to lose heart whatever hurdles come their way and expressed pain at students resorting to extreme methods like suicide to destroy themselves even due to trivial issues like not having a smart phone. She took an assurance from The Sankara Nethralya Academy students that never, ever they will resort to such means, whatever be the circumstances.
The Program ended with students’ interaction with Ms. Girija Raghavan and Dr. Anuja R Singh, Principal, TSNA proposing a Vote of thanks.
29th Sri Maha Periyava Aradhana observed with devotion
Dhingra Trust Awards Distributed were distributed to the meritorious children of Sankara Nethralaya’s employees
On 7th January 2023, the staff and employees of Sankara Nethralaya gathered at the Sri V. D. Swami Auditorium to observe the annual homage to the inspiration behind this institution- the Maha Periyava of Kanchi and seek his blessings.
The programme was compered by Dr. N. Anuradha and was followed by the students of Sri Sankar Alayam, Chetpet singing a Veda Ghosala. Welcoming the audience with their sweet voices, Ms. Priya and Ms. Soundaraya, undergraduate students of the Elite School of Optometry, captured the audience’s hearts with a prayer song.
Dr. Angayarkanni Narayanaswamy, Chief Scientist / Professor, Laboratory Services, introduced the Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. V. Kamakoti, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, who is faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He also received his Ph. D from IIT- M in 1995 and is known for leading his team to build the indigenous SHAKTI microprocessor. Dr. Girish S. Rao, President and Dr. T. S. Surendran, the Chairman, honoured Prof Dr. Kamakoti and invited him to the podium.
More than all these accolades, it is his connection to Sankara Nethralaya through his father, Dr. N. Veezhinathan, which was forged when he was a young child that links him to Sankara Nethralaya. In his discourse, he recollected his memories of Sri Mahaperiyava’s cataract surgery when he was around 4 y.o. The Chief Guest complimented SN saying it was with the sage’s blessings that this institution has achieved the volume of footprints in one day equal to a month’s or a year’s worth of footprints in many other places.
He also complimented the eye hospital for its scale of operations compared to many hospitals in the West. The Chief Guest also lauded the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) for reaching the centennial milestone of the 100th camp.
Dr. V. Kamakoti concluded his speech by wishing Sankara Nethralaya many more years of successfully serving the community. He gave young people in the audience a few pearls of wisdom from Sri Maha Periya, the first was that “simplicity is natural power and luxury is artificial poverty” and the second piece of advice was that working towards achieving one’s goal would automatically bring riches and fame instead of seeking fame and fortune only.
Dr. V. V. Jaichandran, Deputy Director, Department of Anaesthesiology, introduced the SN Health Bytes app to the audience. The app represents the employees of the institution, providing a showcase for their talents. Dr. V. V. Jaichandran described the app as a way of communicating birthdays, achievements, etc in a very easy manner.
Dr. V. Kamakoti inaugurated the app, and a short demo video introducing the app, which was developed in-house, was played.
The Dhingra Trust awards
Sri Ram P Dhingra (California), one of our long-time supporters, helped establish the Dhingra Family Trust in 2004 to provide scholarships for higher education to the children of Sankara Nethralaya’s employees. The merit awards are given each year to benefit academically- inclined children. This year, 12 meritorious students received the awards from the Chief Guest, Dr. V. Kamakoti, much the pride and joy of their parents.
The aarthi was received by the devout at the end of the ceremony.
Sankara Nethralaya [Elite School of Optometry and Vidyasagar Institute of Biomedical Technology and Sciences] holds 33rd Institutional Award Ceremony
The 33rd Institutional award ceremony of the Elite School of Optometry(ESO) and Vidyasagar Institute of Biomedical Technology and Sciences(VIBS), Medical and Vision Research foundation was held on 26 November 2022 at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. The annual event was well- attended by proud parents and students of Sankara Nethralaya’s academic wing.
Ms. Janani and Ms. Swetha, Faculty of Elite School of Optometry compered the event gracefully. The event was auspiciously begun with an invocation song by the students of ESO – Ms. Jayanthi, and Ms. Soundarya.
Dr. Angayarkanni N., Chief Scientist / Professor, Vision Research Foundation, welcomed the gathering, the graduating students, Dr Girish Rao, President – Medical Research Foundation, Dr T. S. Surendran, Director – Department of Pediatric Opthalmology, and Professor Padmaja Sankaridurg, Head, Myopia Program and Head, Intellectual Property Manager at the Brien Holden Vision Institute and Conjoint Professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, Sydney, Australia – a “warrior against myopia”. She also welcomed Dr Smita Praveen, Director- Academics, Dr Anuradha Narayanan, Principal – Elite School of Optometry, and Dr Rashima Asokan, Head of Dept of Occupational Optometry Services, Professor – Elite School of Optometry.
Dr. Smita Praveen, Director – Academics, gave the Academic Report of Vidyasagar Institute of Biomedical Technology and Sciences for 2022- 2023 and added that VIBS is highly sought after for its various programmes as evidenced by its alumni. Dr Anuradha Narayanan, Principal, Elite School of Optometry (ESO), presented the academic report for the year 2022- 2023. She went on to report on the academic achievements of the ESO alumni and the accolades they brought to their alma mater. The students also benefitted from the ESO- VISTA, a scientific session initiated by endowments from Dr P P Santanam and his family. Two other endowments instituted by his family provided a research grant to SN’s Dept. of Occupational Optometry Services to understand the occupational visual needs of farmers and support for PhD scholars. The vigorous community activities conducted by ESO included over 88 eye screening camps for over 20,000 children and approximately 3,800 adults, along with screenings for senior citizens in old age homes. The educational institution also screened over 10,000 indivudals for World Sight Day and received an award for Outstanding Achievements from the Optometry Council of India and Essilor.
Dr. Rashima A., Professor, ESO & TSNA, Head – Occupational Optometry Services and Vision Enhancement Clinic introduced Dr. Padmaja Sankaridurg, Conjoint Professor of Optometry, School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW| Consultant – and an alumna of Batch BO1, graduating from ESO in 1989. She participated as an expert at the WHO-BHVI global meeting of myopia, 2015 and is an advisory board member, and a member of the Interventions and Harmonisation Committee, International Myopia Institute. Vision Monday named her as one of the “Women of Influence in Optical Industry Innovator section” for 2018.
On her address to the graduates, Dr Sankaridurg emphasised on the importance of optometrists and their roles across the world. She motivated the optimistic youngsters telling that people will visit them at once in their lives and said that their experiences would be different from hers. She closed her speech by wishing the graduates all the best for their future careers and thanked the institution for the honour of making her a part of the ceremony.
One PhD scholar, nine post graduates and twenty seven undergraduates of Optometry received their honors apart from the best students of the first, second and third year of optometry. Besides, the awards for Best Optometrist, Best Research Publication and Best Research in Optometry instituted by ESO, Best Junior & Senior faculty were also conferred to the recipients. In addition, the institutional awards for various ophthalmology specialties and research were also awarded.
Specialty Contact Lens Workshop by Sankara Nethralaya & CooperVision Eye Care
“The Department of Contact Lens, Sankara Nethralaya, Medical Research Foundation in collaboration with Silver Line Laboratories (Blanchard lenses, CooperVision Specialty EyeCare conducted a Two-day workshop on Specialty Contact Lenses to for all the practitioners covering the fitting aspects of the specialty lenses and case-based approaches in various clinical settings on November 26th & 27th, 2022 (Saturday & Sunday). The main objective of this workshop was to train and reach private contact lens practitioners, ophthalmologists, postgraduates, and fellows on the concepts of Orthokeratology and Scleral Contact Lens fitting. This workshop has indeed met its purpose, and we have got around 35 registrants across the states with distinguished years of experience who had actively taken part on both days.
Dr. Sumitha Agarkar, Deputy Director, Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology welcomed the audience and briefed on the importance of Myopia management aspects in India. Following this, Ms. G. Aparna, Doctoral Researcher from the Myopia Clinic addressed the “Myopia control options practiced at our hospital “on the first day.
On the second day, Ms. S. Madhumathi, In-charge Contact Lens Clinic delivered a talk on the “Overall Scleral Lens fitting approaches” before the guest talk.
“For the first time in India, We had the honor of launching Coopervision Eyecare’s FDA-approved Myopia control lens – Paragon CRT – Ortho K lenses and Onefit MED Scleral lenses” at Sankara Nethralaya during the Workshop.”
We had International and National Speakers, Mr. Moodi Kupperman, Global Professional Services, CooperVision Eyecare, and Mr. Gagan Sahni, Technical Director of Silverline Laboratories who had briefed on the fitting aspects of FDA-approved orthokeratology lenses – Paragon CRT lenses and OneFIT Med Scleral lenses.
We had brainstorming and interactive discussions with the guest Speakers on the fitting aspects of these specialty lenses in different case scenarios.
We had a “LIVE fitting demonstration of the Specialty Contact Lenses “on two of our patients who gave their consent to participate in the workshop.
Also, Silver line Laboratories have come upon and agreed to waive the lens cost for those 2 deserving patients who participated in the LIVE demo fitting.
As a part of their support, they have contributed the “Onefit MED Scleral lens trial set to our Contact Lens Clinic “for encouraging many more lens fits.
All the participants received the participation certificates at the end of the workshop. Overall, the program was successful and garnered lots of positive remarks such as a “well-organized event and gain of good knowledge about the specialty lenses and suggestions to conduct more such Workshops in the future.”
The entire contact lens team, led by Ms. Madhumathi, including Ms. Karpaagavalli, Ms. Manju, Ms. Akshaya Balakrishnan, Mr. Ronit Dutta, Ms. Varsha Harinya, Ms. Flora Fathima Mary, and Ms. Glady, helped us from the flyer preparation to the patient’s coordination, and their efforts and active participation were instrumental in the workshop’s success. We thank Mr. Abdul Majid, Ms. Juliet, and Ms. Malliga for lending a hand during the workshop and taking care of the clinic.
Sankara Nethralaya Wins the Global Digital Health Innovation Awards 2022.
We heartily congratulate the IT dept on their contributions towards making eyecare accessible for our patients in remote locations. Your teamwork and dedication is the heart of this recognition.
We especially thank and appreciate Dr R. R. Sudhir, Head of EMR Development and Implementation, and Ms. Geetha N., Manager, Dept of IT & Systems – IT Development, for their innovative and nurturing leadership, and everyone in the IT dept. for their diligence and dedication.
Congratulations on being the Fellows of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO)
The Sankara Nethralaya family finds pleasure in congratulating Ms. Najiya Sundus K. Meethal (under the scientific category), Ms. Akshaya C. Balakrishnan, and Mr. Ronit Dutta (under the clinical category) for successfully earning the distinction of Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) designation. The prestigious tags were announced during the Academy’s 100th annual meeting that happened in San Diego, CA.
We are honored to witness your achievement, which is a reflection of your perseverance and commitment to enriching your education and/or research interests. Hearty congratulations once again!
TSNA Successfully Conducts the 18th Batch Of CPHIC Contact Classes
The Certificate Program in Hospital Infection Control (CPHIC) was initiated in 2013 and over 600 participants from 17 batches have benefitted from this course. TSNA conducted the 18th batch of CPHIC contact classes from 12th October till 15th October 2022 at Jayasree Venkatraman Auditorium, 6th Floor, JKCN Campus. Twenty eight different sessions were conducted over 4 days by 22 eminent faculty members in the field of Microbiology and Hospital Infection Control.
The four day program was awarded 30 CME credit points by The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University. Some noteworthy topics specifically pertaining to HIC including – Best Practices in Specimen Collection, MDRO and the Role of Infection Control, Implementation of Antibiotic Policy and Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Hospitals, Occupational Health and Infection Control, Hospital Outbreak Management, Surveillance Program, HIV, HBV, HCV and Healthcare Acquired Viral Infections, the Operation Theatre Issues in Infection Control and Prevention in Various Clinical Settings including Surgical Site, CAUTI, VAE, VAP, CLABSI, NICU, PICU, PD & HD, Neoplastic Diseases and Solid Organ Transplants.
The 22 faculties include many stalwarts in the field of Microbiology – Dr. Mary Jesudasan (Former HOD, Microbiology, CMC), Dr. Banerjee Jesudasan (Surgeon, CMC), Dr. Hema Paul (HICC Officer, CMC), Dr. Rajalakshmi (Senior Consultant, HIC KIMS, Trivandrum), Dr. J. Jayalakshmi (Prof. & HOD – Microbiology, KMCH Coimbatore), Dr. Shobana (Senior Consultant, Dept. of Neonatology, Rainbow Hospital, Chennai). Dr. Padma Srikanth (Prof, Dept. of Microbiology, SRMC), Dr. Ranganathan N Iyer (HOD-Microbiology, Gleneagles Global Hospital, Hyderabad). Dr. Anusha Rohit (HOD-Microbiology, MMM Hospital), Dr. V.R. Yamunadevi (HIC Apollo Hospitals, Chennai), and Dr. A.R. Anand (SN).
The Program was conducted in hybrid mode and 22 participants attended in person. The participants in attendance were mostly microbiologists and infection control nurses (ICN). The participants visited the OT & Lab on the concluding day. After four days of intense teaching sessions, the participants took part in a fun quiz program based on the four day topics, for which prizes was sponsored by M/s. Schulke India Pvt. Ltd.
The participant feedback was excellent with the average participant feedback for the program ranging from 4.0 – 4.8
TSNA students win laurels in 3rd International IVI Conference
The 3rd IVI International Optometry Conference on the Theme: “Of Eye Health in a Changing World” was held at the IIT – Madras Research Park, Taramani Campus from 13th to 15th October 2022 in hybrid mode. A total of 13 abstracts were submitted from TSNA in the scientific session.
There was a tie- breaker between two of TSNA’s M. Optom., 2nd year students, Ms. Indira Rengarajan and Ms. Shagufa Behlim, who won the Best paper presentation under the category of Low Vision and Rehabilitation. Ms. Sowmya V K, won the best paper award under the category: “Spectacle Dispensing Trends.” Dr. Anuja R Singh won the best paper under the education category for her work on “Assessment Methods in Optometry Education.”
TSNA Students were the backbone of the organizing Committee as six of the Fellowship Students took part as volunteers for the 3 day event, winning praises and appreciation for their services rendered.
TSNA students win laurels in the Continuing Medical Education on Good Clinical Laboratory Practices
The Department of Biochemistry and Medical Education, Unit of Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre – Pondicherry, conducted a Continuing Medical education (CME) programme on “GOOD CLINICAL LABORATORY PRACTICES (GCLP)” on October 10th 2022.
UG and PG students, Faculties and technicians from various medical colleges participated in the one day programme.
Various useful topics pertaining to clinical practice like Lab Errors, Risk Assessment, Biomedical Waste Management was taught by eminent faculties from various institutes.
The event had competitive events like QUIZ, POSTER PRESENTATION and fun games like RANGOLI was conducted for the participating college students.
There were totally 10 participants (BSc & MSc MLT) from The Sankara Nethralaya Academy (TSNA) and they were accompanied by a faculty member.
The UG & PG Students of TSNA participated in quiz competition. There were totally 10 teams from various famous & prestigious medical colleges like JIPMER, IGMCRI, MGMCRI, SMVMCH, and Empire College, Kerala.
Our Students from TSNA, Mr. Rajesh, S MSc MLT Student, along with Ms. Snekha and Mr. Dhayalan, second year BSc MLT Students, won first prize in Quiz Competition.
Quiz winners were appreciated and awarded with textbooks pertaining to subjects in MLT.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Sankara Nethralaya Orange Vision Centre Arrives at Valasaravakkam
The Sankara Nethralaya Orange Vision Centre in Valasaravakkam, was inaugurated on Vijayadashami, 05 October 2022. The Orange Vision Centre was launched with the support of Rotary Club of Chennai IT City, and the Rotary Foundation for the benefit of the residents of Valasaravakkam and surrounding neighbourhoods. The Gopalasamy Family Charitable Trust, which is based out of the USA, has munificently contributed towards the Orange Vision Centre. The Orange Vision project covering South and North India was conceived by the Rotary Club of IT City to bring affordable eye examination to every nook and corner of India.
Present at the simple inauguration were Chief Guest, Ms. Rajalakshmi Gopalaswamy, Gopalasamy Family Charitable Trust, who inaugurated the premises. Dr. S. V. Chandra Kumar, Project Director, TN Blindness Control Society, RTN Radha Srinivasan, Rtn Dr. Senthilnathan – President of IT City, Mr. Aravind Parthasarathy, Mr. G. P. Sarathy, Rtn PDG Muthu Palaniyyappan, and other distinguished members of Rotary Club took part in the inaugural function.
Dr. Girish S. Rao, President, Sankara Nethralaya, Dr. N. Anuradha, Principal, Elite School of Optometry, Dr Sripriya Krishnamoorthy, Senior Consultant, Mr. Suresh Kumar, General Manager, Administration & Operations, from Sankara Nethralaya were present to offer their felicitations and support at this event.
The Sankara Nethralaya Orange Vision Centre offers Comprehensive Eye Examinations at New #10, Old #69 Thiruvallur Street, Valasaravakkam, Chennai – 600087 between 9 am to 5pm. (Sunday Holiday). Call 044- 3501 0071 | 35010072 to book your appointments.