voices-of-vellore-spring-2016-newsletter

VOICESof VELLORE NEWSLETTER New York, NY

vellorecmc.org

Spring 2016

FOUNDATION

PRIORITIES

2016

Center New Trauma

Jawadhi Hills

Initiative

Supporting CMC Global Leadership in Healthcare Dear Friends of CMC, I want to thank all our donors for helping us finish the year strong and ahead of last year. We are growing each year which is satisfying, but I know we can do more. The Foundation is maturing, the Board is fantastic and has formidable goals, and I hope this year we will move to the “next level.” What does that look like? A strong American CMC alumni base, loyal annual donors and some larger grants from foundations and individuals. We’ve named two special projects to interest major donors which are in this issue: the new Level 1 Trauma Center, and the Jawadhi Hills model village.

A month ago I returned from a great 3-week visit to CMC. An historic Council meeting; time with our international Friends of Vellore colleagues; visits from several members of our Board; and daily trips to see programs that many of you fund; all these filled my days. When I got back to New York I was inspired to

delve into CMC history, looking through our archives of pictures, articles and documents from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s etc. to learn about the American doctors, nurses, medical professionals and chaplains who followed Dr. Ida Scudder and helped build the base from which CMC operates today. They are true heroes. Are you one of those people? I would love to hear your stories about the rapid growth of the Hospital, the opening of new education buildings and hostels for students, and your experiences with some of the great people who were there with you.

With best wishes,

Katherine D. Guenther, President Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation

FOUND

ATION

ITY PRIOR

2016

A World- Class Trauma Center

Architectural designs illustrate the plans of this magnificent project

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n the largest new-hospital construction project ever built in India, CMC has begun work on a 1500-bed facility for the super-specialties that will include a state-of-the-art Trauma Center. With design and technology based on worldwide best practices, the Center will open in 2018 in the

nearby village of Kannigapuram, just a few kilometers down the highway from CMC. The Foundation has chosen the Trauma Center as its major capital funding project because of its uniqueness and its urgency. The number of life-threatening traumatic injuries in India is staggering.

The need for advanced, emergent services is at an all-time high. In fact, Tamil Nadu has the highest rate of roadside traffic accidents in all of India. The critical sixty minutes after a traumatic injury usually make the difference between life and death, recovery or disability. The new Trauma Center will be self-contained, with high-end imaging capability, six operating rooms, advanced procedure rooms and a cardiac wing that will have special ambulance bays to streamline care.

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Meeting the Needs of India Level I trauma centers such as this provide multidisciplinary treatment from a coordinated team of surgical and related specialists who have extensive training and onsite resources. CMC’s medical and nursing students will gain exposure to complex scenarios that include mass casualties, neuro and orthopedic injuries and more. Research will also be an important component in the Center. The Foundation Board is fortunate to include Dr. H. David Reines, trauma surgeon at the renowned Inova Hospital in Fairfax, VA. This February Dr. Reines visited CMC for the second time, with his friend and colleague, neurologist Dr. Bibhuti Mishra (Batch of ’71) to work with architects and engineers for the Trauma Center (below right). He studied drawings, ran through difficult “test” scenarios and made some significant suggestions. The architectural plan is sound and makes good use of space. The challenge in a teaching hospital like CMC, when a multi-trauma case comes in, is having adequate passage and workspace for all people and equipment needed. This was a key factor as the Center plans were discussed. This technologically advanced facility and specialized team of healthcare professionals will be meeting the needs for this generation and beyond.

Dr. Reines also met with several of CMC’s young surgeons (below left) who are new to the Trauma Team model that the Center will use. He has offered fellowships for the surgeons to visit Inova in Washington, DC and Shock Trauma in Baltimore, to observe and prepare for this new CMC service that they will be creating.

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FOUND

ATION

ITY PRIOR

2016

Bringing Clean Water, Sanitation, Economic & Community Development

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ommunity Health & Development (CHAD) at CMC is the department that specializes in working with the poorest people in remote areas. Since their earliest days CHAD staff has travelled up the steep winding roads and footpaths into the Jawadhi Hills to bring healthcare to the tribal people who live there. This new project is designed to bring a comprehensive program that includes clean water, sanitation and personal hygiene education, healthcare, economic & community development to make lasting replicable change for future residents.

Right now there is no dependable supply of clean water and there are no household toilets in the Hills.

Although the people live very insular lives, they have a strong trust of CHAD and have said they would like to have these innovations introduced to their villages. CHAD knows that there is much more than installation involved in bringing water and sanitation to these villages.

The proposed model villages will provide approximately 30,000 people in all with significant advantages to improve their health and socio-economic status. One of the project’s long-term objectives is to end seasonal “distress migration” from rural to urban areas – a common occurrence due to limited skills and poor farming conditions. The current lack of opportunity to achieve a decent standard of living brings about many of the chronic social problems that have proven difficult to resolve. The model villages are designed to be “hubs” that will lead to further development in the full Jawadhi Hills area served by CHAD, impacting over 80,000 people.

You can read all that is going into this project on our website www.vellorecmc.org

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To the Remote Villages of the Jawadhi Hills

In January Dr. Anu Rose (l), who leads the works in the Hills, brought 20 people, including Foundation Board members – Dr. Honorine Ward (Foundation Board Chair), Dr. Christine Wanke (r), and Friends of Vellore from around the world, to see the proposed sites.

Clean drinking water is not available to the residents of the Jawadhi Hills villages where CHAD is working. Water provided by the government is fetched from miles away and is carried home in urns on women’s heads.

The alternative is to take water from streams and rivers; water that is polluted and unsafe to drink.

None of the homes have toilets; family members go to fields or forested areas to relieve themselves.

It is extremely difficult to find educated dependable teachers to work in these remote schools. With its partner Don Bosco, CMC runs evening sessions for students to get extra help, complete their homework and form healthy bonds with mentors.

Adolescent girls have no privacy or hygienic means of taking care of themselves – a source of concern, embarrassment and sometimes illness.

Although not unique to the Jawadhi Hills, children here are at extreme risk of malnutrition and other illnesses because of poor sanitation, lack of clean water, and incomplete or absent immunizations. Girls are commonly seen as burdens and face other risks, while boys are prized as wage earners and the future support of their elderly parents. These are among the many health and social problems that CHAD’s programs address.

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Our Senior Training Fellows 2015-2016

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e congratulate the 2015-16 Senior Training Fellows sponsored by the Foundation. Most have completed their work in the US and have returned to Vellore to complete Phase II of their projects, implementing trainings, systems and procedures, and new areas of competency, modeled after those they studied in their respective host hospitals. In each case the fellows were selected because their projects offered professional growth that could be shared with fellow CMC faculty members and fill a need at CMC. The Fellows design plans to share their expanded experience with colleagues, students and patients once they return to Vellore.

Here are summaries of a few selected projects: Dr. Anna Pulimood (Batch of ’82), Professor of Pathology in Gastrointestinal Science Dr Pulimood spent six weeks at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston where she observed gastro-intestinal conditions and tumors that have been considered rare, but which are becoming more common in India. She also met with faculty at Tufts University Medical Center who shared recent changes in the medical curriculum. One Tufts faculty member has since visited CMC and conducted workshops on these changes.

Dr. Pulimood then spent six weeks at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pediatric Pathology, where again she was able to observe diagnostic techniques for conditions becoming more common in India that are complex and difficult to identify.

Dr. Binu Susan Mathew, Department of Clinical Pharmacology Dr. Binu spent the first part of her fellowship working with Dr. Michael Neely at the USC Laboratory of Applied Pharmacokinetics (LAPK) of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Quoting from their web site, the Lab is “a pharmacometric resource for optimal study and control of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic systems and for individualized drug therapy and personalized medicine.” Dr. Binu worked closely with Dr. Neely to learn Pmetrics, a library package that he developed, for simulation and parameter estimation in linear and non-linear pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic systems. She also worked with the BestDose application that predicts dosage levels based on variables.

In the final two weeks of her fellowship Dr. Binu travelled to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she was able to work with an effective but less expensive method of estimating acylcarnitines in newborns; she also visited the Clinical Pharmacology team to see the value of pharmacometrics in a clinical setting.

Dr. Vinod Joseph Abraham (Batch of ’89), Associate Professor, Community Health Dr. Vinod spent his full Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. As a Community Health practitioner he is focused on the range of services that bring stability to the family and in turn to the community. Access to primary care is one of CMC’s primary outreach goals. In Dr. Vinod’s work he studied tools and environments that promote health and safety, while sustaining independence and improving quality-of-life among the aged.

Specifically he examined means of planning and providing support to prepare for the major transition that comes with aging – including social, physical and emotional changes.

He brought strategies back to CMC for caregivers to offer targeted services and support that are better integrated into the current care delivery system. Care for the disabled and dying was a critical aspect of Dr. Vinod’s work. He also made an effort to develop networks for further collaboration in research and service in these fields.

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Ms. Sonia P. Abraham, Lecturer in Operating Room Nursing Ms. Sonia spent three weeks at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, studying their excellent systems and protocols for peri-operative patient safety. She worked with OR nursing colleagues observing Nationwide’s best practices in documentation, use of the evidence-based check list for patient safety, fire safety, the “Policy, Protocol & Procedures for Safety in the OR” provided to all OR staff, and staff development opportunities for related personnel. One key objective was to gain expertise in the prevention of thermal injuries using warming solutions, the Bair Hugger Therapy, and tools in the Electrosurgical Unit (ESU). Updated sterilization techniques and instrument maintenance were also areas studied by Ms. Sonia.

Ms. Amalorpavamari Lucas, Professor-College of Nursing will visit Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston this spring. We’ll update you when she finishes her fellowship!

We are pleased to announce the 2016-17 Senior Training Fellows:

Dr. Joy S. Michael, Professor of Microbiology Dr. Maya Mary Thomas, Professor of Neurology Dr. Sudha Jasmine Rajan, Associate Professor of Medicine Mrs. Nirmala Emmanuel, Associate Professor in the College of Nursing Mrs. Shanthi Johnson, Reader in the College of Nursing

CON Chapel Furnishings Will Honor the Memory of Dr. Suren Kumar Dr. Surendra Kumar (Batch of ’60) was an active CMC alumnus, a member of the Vellore CMC Foundation and a staunch supporter of CMC. He passed away in November 2015. In his memory, his wife Margaret Kamalini Kumar (nee Ramnath CON Batch of ’63) has started a fund to furnish the College of Nursing Chapel with chairs/pews; the goal for the project is $30,000. The beautiful and peaceful chapel was built with the generous donations of Alex and Valsa Kuruvila (Batch of ’66 CMC and CON) and Wiji and Josephine Ratnathicam (Batch of ’66) in honor of their parents. Now that the new hostels have opened, many more will be using the CON Chapel for their main place of worship.

Margaret wrote “Surendra, who was a man not only of his word but also of the Word of God, would be so honored if the chapel could be furnished in his name. He consistently reminded people that Vellore would not be what it is today if not for the excellent nursing and paramedical professionals that worked alongside and supported the doctors. ”We appeal to all medical, nursing and AHS alumni who knew and loved Suren, and want to ensure that his memory lives on. On behalf of the US alumni and the Vellore CMC Foundation, which strongly supports this initiative, please give generously.

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NEWS & UPDATES RUHSA’s New Out-Patient Department is Open for Business!

The beautiful new Out-Patient Department building will be officially inaugurated this July during the Council meeting.

However, because of the overwhelming demand for more space, Head of RUHSA Dr. Rita Isaac (Batch of ‘76) and staff have already started seeing patients. What an incredible improvement this has been!

Many US donors generously contributed to this significant project. Dr. Rita will graciously acknowledge all of the benevolent donors this July.

RUHSA’s New Out-Patient Department

Thank You to all our Board Members Who Visited Vellore in January!

Dr. Honorine Ward (Batch of ’69)

Dr. Christine Wanke

Dr. Bibhuti Mishra (Batch of ’71)

Dr. H. David Reines

Welcome Trish Carroll!

We’re so pleased to welcome Patricia Carroll (Trish) to the Foundation.

She is Office Administrator extraordinaire, coming from a strong professional background in financial services. We’re lucky to have her – call and say hello!

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Dr. Meredith Hawkins

USAID/ASHA’s Chief Engineer Visits CMC CMC engineering staff was pressed into service last month when Mr. Mohammed Latif, (l) Chief Engineer for USAID all together in Washington, paid a visit to the campuses in Vellore.

Mr. Latif had boundless energy and was delighted to be accompanied by CMC’s team, who had answers at their fingertips for even the toughest questions. Much to Mr. Latif’s delight CMC has two women on the Engineering staff and he made a point of saying how unusual that is, and how impressed he was to encounter gender diversity in a traditionally “male” field.

The Three Knocks Kate had the opportunity to visit Ida S. Scudder’s parents’ bungalow where the fateful “three knocks” occurred. The house at Tindivanam is in a state of disrepair and will have to be razed. However these gates and other Ida Scudder memorabilia will be brought to the CMC Bagayam Campus where a dedicated walking path will tell the story that changed everything.

This is the gate to Ida S. Scudder’s family bungalow where three knocks changed history

The CMC Rehab Institute is 50 Years Old This Year Some readers may remember the festivities in 1966 when the first Rehab Institute in India opened at CMC, led by the extraordinary Dr. Mary Verghese. Drs. Paul and Margaret Brand were also instrumental in creating this facility to provide the rehabilitation that leprosy patients needed to return to productive society. The Institute remains unique in India for its residential long-term treatment and follow-up.

In celebration of this milestone, we are offering free copies of Dorothy Clarke Wilson’s biography of Dr. Mary, Take My Hands, The Story of the Wheelchair Doctor. Email the Foundation at Foundation@vellorecmc.org and ask for your copy.

Dr. Mary Verghese and a young patient.

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NEWS & UPDATES “ With God All Things Are Possible”: LCECU is Guided to a New Outreach Site A little over a year ago Dr. Sunil Abraham, Head of the Low Cost Effective Care Unit (LCECU) led the staff through a planning process to explore unmet needs in the Vellore slums. What came about was this: “We were clear that we needed to increase our work among the poorest of the poor…(since) many of them do not come to the LCECU base hospital, we knew we had to go to them.”Dr. Abraham and others walked the town to search for new areas to expand the work of LCECU. They came to RS Nagar, the prostitution area of Vellore for many years, an area with great stigma located on the side of a large open drain (sewer). Most of the people live in a row of rooms, hardly houses, just very small rooms.

Dr. Sunil continued his story: “As we walked in the area on a Friday afternoon, the LCECU social workers showed me a church building and noted the name and phone number of the pastor written outside the small single room building.

The following Monday I was in Clinic for Family Medicine. A lady came Dr. Sunil Abraham (l) with LCECU partners in front of the new site with her husband for her checkup and during the conversation I found that he was a pastor. He mentioned that his church works in RS Nagar and confirmed that it was their building we had seen on Friday. We were all amazed to see the hand of God in this. The church had been praying for Helping the poorest of the poor in a notorious Vellore slum four years that CMC would get involved in the work there.“ The outreach clinic is held only once a month so far, but the LCECU medical team makes weekly visits, following up with patients, bringing them to the base hospital if they need help. Noting their occupation during intake, Dr. Sunil recounts “rag picking, begging... “And then he adds, just as Ida Scudder would have, “What a privilege to serve these people.”

Watch a moving and informative video about LCECU at: https://www.vellorecmc.org/watch-this-wonderful-new-video-about-lcecu/

CMC Preparing for 200th Anniversary of Medical Missionaries in India On June 8, 1819 Dr. John Scudder and his wife Harriet (l) sailed on the brig “Indus” for Calcutta. He was the very first medical missionary in India, laying the path for his granddaughter Ida S. Scudder to make history in Vellore.

CMC will launch a celebration of this anniversary in 2018, when the entire Scudder family has been invited to visit CMC as honored guests. Watch for details as they are finalized!

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An Historic Photograph is Found We are proud to present this magnificent photograph of the original Mary Taber Schell Memorial Hospital, built by Dr. Ida S. Scudder in 1902. This is the only existing photo that we have seen. The building was razed to make room for the LCECU Clinic and Hospital, and the Schell Eye Hospital, currently on the historic site.

Mary Taber Schell Memorial Hospital, 1902

Peter and Irene Albrecht Present a Special Gift to Dr. Chandy FOV Germany Director Dr. Peter Albrecht and his wife Irene brought a special surprise to Dr. Sunil Chandy in January – a German Hohner harmonica or mouth harp. In presenting it Dr. Albrecht played one of Germany’s most beloved folk songs, Evening Song, for Sunil and Gigi.

Absolutely charming!

Dr. Gigi Chandy, Irene Albrecht, Dr. Peter Albrecht and Dr. Sunil Chandy

Welcome Ruth Tuckwell!

A Warm Welcome to Ruth Tuckwell, daughter-in-law of FOV UK’s longstanding Board Chair Gareth Tuckwell, who has taken over administration of the Friends of Vellore office in the UK. Ruth moves into the position as Richard Smith retires.

Good luck Ruth! If you would like to welcome Ruth by email you can reach her at friendsofvellore@gmail.com

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Every Dollar You Donate Gets Us Closer To Our Goal!

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s this issue of Voices of Vellore demonstrates, CMC is blessed with talented and passionate individuals who have a powerful work ethic and commitment to fulfilling Ida Scudder’s dream. Because of these gifted people… and because of YOU…CMC continues to be a global leader in healthcare, medical education and research. The Foundation is grateful for your continued benevolence. We know that because of you, we are able to help turn goals into reality. Thank you and God bless you.

CMC has a residential block for poor patients and their families who travel from distant places and who need long term care. One of many specials things at CMC.

To donate online, visit VELLORECMC.ORG/MAKE-A-DONATION Or mail your check to: Vellore CMC Foundation, Inc., 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 725, New York, NY 10115 We’ve also included an envelope for your convenience.

PRESIDENT

MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION*

Katherine D. Guenther

Varkey K. Abraham, MD (’55) C.J. Alexander, MD BOARD OF DIRECTORS Saramma Alexander, MD (’60) Officers Rev. Ben Chan (American Baptist Church USA) Honorine Ward, MD (’69), Chair Bobby J. Cherayil, MD (’74) George Varughese, Vice Chair Susan Cherian, PhD (CON ’75) Prasad Palla, Treasurer Abraham Fenn Cheriyan, MD (’71) Madelon Finkel, PhD, Secretary Rev. Lisa Durkee Directors Anindya Dutta, MD (’75) S. Balasubramaniam, MD (’58-’59) Robert Fish, DMD (The Scudder Association) Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, PhD (General Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida (ELCA) Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists) Diane Jedlicka, PhD Jamshed Bharucha, PhD Cyrus Kapadia, MD (’59-’60) Niranjan Bose, PhD Shanta Kapadia, MD (’59-’60) Shanker Krishnamurthy, MD (’65) Meredith Hawkins, MD Rev. BBC Kumar Sajiv John, MD (’78) Rev. Dr. Deenabandhu Manchala Albert Johnson, MD (’61) (Global Ministries/UCC) Emma Koshi Susan Mathew (CON ’69) Rev. Canon George Kovoor Thomas Mathew, MD (AHS ’89) Margaret Kumar, PhD (CON ’67) Krishen Mehta Anil Kuruvilla, MD (’82) Arjun Mohandas, MD (’86) Ranjit Mathew, MD (’68) Renu Mohandas, MD (’86) Bibhuti Mishra, MD (’71) Tina Narayan, MD (’73) Aparna Muralidharan Jim Oehrig (American Leprosy Missions) Raj Narayan, MD (’69) John J. Paul, PhD Philip Ninan, MD (’69) Catherine Poornaselvan (CON) Thomas Philips, PhD Puthucode N. Rajamani H. David Reines, MD William Scudder (The Scudder Association) Rev. William Sadler Annie Samuel (CON ’77, ’83) Mark Steinhoff, MD Johnson Samuel Prathibha Varkey, MD (’95) Rev. Elizabeth Senft Christine Wanke, MD Jane Srinivasan, MD (’59) Honorary Directors John Stevens, III Margaret Brand, MD (1919-2014) Ponna Thurairatnam, MD (’73) Lucile Carman Mark W. Tibbetts, PhD Robert Carman, MD Robin Varghese, MD Nissi Varki, MD (’68) Mani Mani, MD (’55) Abraham Verghese, MD Rebekah Mani (AHS) Elise Youth, PhD Anish Mathai Rex Zachariah Edwina Scudder-Youth

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS American Baptist Churches USA, Valley Forge, PA American Leprosy Missions, Greenville, SC Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Indianapolis, IN Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago, IL General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, Silver Spring, MD Presbyterian Church (USA), Louisville, KY Reformed Church in America, New York, NY The Scudder Association, Darien, CT Southern Baptist Convention, Richmond, VA United Church of Christ, Cleveland, OH United Methodist Church, New York, NY FOUNDATION STAFF Katherine D. Guenther, President Patricia Carroll, Office Administrator Deepika Srivastava, Church Relations * In addition to those listed, members of the Board are Corporation members.

475 Riverside Drive, Suite 725 New York, NY 10115 800-875-6370 or 212-870-2640 fax: 212-870-2173 vellorecmc.org foundation@vellorecmc.org

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