Dr Raghavendra Ramanjulu is the recipient of the ‘Frontline obsession for Clinicians’ Award on 27th April, 2023
We are delighted to share that Dr Raghavendra Ramanjulu (Lead Consultant, Palliative Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru) has received the ‘Frontline obsession for Clinicians’ Award at a ceremony held at Aster CMI, Hebbal, Bengaluru on Thursday, 27th April, 2023.
The award was presented to Dr Ramanajulu by Dr Azad Moopen (Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare) in recognition of Dr Ramanjulu’s excellence in high-end Rehabilitation and Palliative care services at Aster CMI.
On receiving the award, a further motivated Dr Ramanjulu shares, “I would like to thank our Chairman, Dr Azad Moopen, for recognizing and supporting palliative care services at Aster CMI Hospital. We are happy to share that Aster is the only corporate multi speciality hospital chain in Karnataka to have integrated palliative care covering oncology and non oncology patients. This was achievable only due to our Chairman’s vision and the commitment to care for all the sick and needy.”
Congratulations Dr Raghavendra! We wish you greater heights.
Dr Kalpana Balakrishnan is presented with the Rotary’s ‘Dame Cecily Saunders – Vocational Excellence Award’ on 29th May, 2023
We are pleased to share that Dr Kalpana Balakrishnan (Associate Director, Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai) received the Rotary Club of Madras Mid Town’s ‘Dame Cecily Saunders – Vocational Excellence Award’ at a ceremony held at the Taj Connemara, Chennai, on Monday, May 29th, 2023.
The award was presented to Dr Kalpana Balakrishnan by Rtn V Karthik (President, Rotary Club of Madras Mid Town) in the presence of Rtn Krishna Routhu (Director – Vocational Services, Rotary Club of Madras Mid Town) and Rtn Kamal Narendra (Secretary, Rotary Club of Madras Mid Town).
The ‘Dame Cecily Saunders – Vocational Excellence Award’ is provided to individuals working in palliative care, in recognition of one’s commendable services to develop and provision palliative care services to alleviate the suffering of patients in the community.
An elated Dr Kalpana shares, “This recognition for palliative care as a speciality will lead to increased awareness towards the role of Palliative care in delivering quality Cancer care. Even during the ceremony, several members from the audience were keenly interested to learn and know about the recently simplified advance directives. By working together, I am hopeful that we will collectively pave the way forward to ensure ‘dignity in death’.”
Congratulations Dr Kalpana! We wish you further accolades.
Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya, celebrated their 24th Anniversary on 1st May, 2023
It is heartwarming to share that the Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya, commemorated their 24 years of service provisioning with their 24th Memorial Day celebrations at the hospice on Monday, 1st May, 2023.
The observance celebrates the day the hospice began provisioning in-patient palliative care services as it aims to honour and remember those patients the hospice had cared for and are still continuing to care for.
The event began with a ceremonial lighting of the lamp and the inauguration of the Art Gallery, which displayed pictures taken / art work done by the hospice’s staff and patients. The celebrations were attended by the hospice’s current patients and their families, their former patients and their families, their well-wishers and staff, several of whom shared their experiences with the hospice. The event also provided a platform to their patient, Ms Sheela Mary, who launched a collection of her recipes in a book, ‘Joy of Cooking’. The evening concluded with a delightful musical program presented by Team Chrome, a group of volunteers from an MNC who offer support to the hospice.
On this momentous occasion, Dr Mathew Chandy (CEO, Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya) shares, “Karunashraya in Kannada (regional language in Karnataka) translates to an ‘Abode of Compassion’. The word compassion itself derives from Latin and means ‘to suffer together’ and Compassion involves feeling another person’s pain and wanting to take steps to help relieve their suffering. We are daily called to this high service and we rededicate ourselves to the cause today and in years to come”.
Congratulations, Team Karunashraya! We wish you keep surpassing many such milestones.
AIIMS Deoghar begins palliative care OPD services from 16th May, 2023
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Deoghar, has formally established a palliative care out-patient department (OPD) at their institute from Tuesday, 16th May, 2023.
The services will be rendered from a shared space in an OPD which is currently shared with the Department of Onco-Surgery. The services will be led by a ‘Palliative Care Team’ comprising of three doctors and two nurses.
Until now, palliative care services at the hospital were provided only as OPD consults, with no provision to dispense Morphine. With the establishment of this formal OPD service, patients of both oncological and non oncological conditions will be able to avail these services along with having access to morphine twice a week (i.e. every Tuesday and Thursday) at the hospital.
The services at the clinic will be offered free of cost to the patients and their families.
On this occasion Dr Kahkasha from the ‘Palliative Care Team’ shares, “I thank Prof. Dr Saurabh Varshney (Director, AIIMS Deoghar) on behalf of our team for leading the relentless effort to establish palliative care services in the Santhal Pargana tribal belt of Jharkhand. I also thank our mentors from the CTC-5 project for their continued guidance”.
Congratulations Team AIIMS Deoghar! We wish you the best in your endeavour.
‘Mandara Hospice’ completes two years of service provisioning at Hyderabad on 27th May, 2023
The Mandara Hospice, a children’s hospice at Hyderabad, Telangana, has successfully completed two years of provisioning services on Saturday, 27th May, 2023.
The hospice is located within the Shivananda Rehabilitation Center, Kuktapally, Hyderabad.
Dr Mohammad Ishak Tayoob (Consultant, Pain Relief & Palliative Care Society) shares, “The Mandara hospice caters to the needs of child patients with both cancer and non-cancer. The hospice provides these services via their 12 bedded In-patient services, Day care service, Out-patient services and also home care services”. Services at the hospice is provided free of charge to the patients with support from the Pain relief and palliative care society.
The hospice is managed by a dedicated team constituted by a Pediatric palliative care physician, a physiotherapist, a social worker and nurses. Dr Jagadeeswara Reddy A (Consultant, Mandara Hospice) shares, “Since inception the hospice has rendered care to 457 pediatric patients, both cancer and non-cancer, via its in-patient services.”
Dr Gayatri Palat (Center Incharge, Mandara Hospice) shares, “The complexity of dealing with heterogeneous conditions requiring paediatric palliative care and dealing with rare diseases when sometimes we didn’t even have a proper diagnosis was a unique and challenging experience. Symptoms and psychosocial issues were complex. Our multidisciplinary team took up the role of multitasking and coordinating beyond their means like providing acute medical care, finding resources to diagnose, treat, rehabilitate, interdisciplinary coordination, genetic counselling and helping with planning future pregnancies etc.”
Congratulations Team Mandara Hospice! We wish you the best in your journey.