Sankara Nethralaya
Encyclopedia
Sankara Nethralaya is a not-for-profit missionary institution for ophthalmic
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

 care (i.e., an eye hospital) located in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, India. "Sankara Nethralaya" means "The Temple of the Eye".

Sankara Nethralaya receives patients from India and internationally. Sankara Nethralaya does not discriminate on the basis of wealth.

Shri Nani A. Palkivala, former Indian Ambassador to United States, described Sankara Nethralaya as the "Best Managed Charitable organization in India". Sankara Nethralaya has 1000 employees and serves 1200 patients per day, performing 100 surgeries per day. The annual revenue as per the taxes is close to 100 million US$

Sankara Nethralaya or SN as it is known, has produced many famous ophthalmologists such as the founder of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital
Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital
Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital is one of Mumbai's leading eye hospital. It was rated as 'the best eye hospital in Mumbai' by Outlook , an Indian weekly news magazine in its July 2002 issue.- History :...

 in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Dr. S. Natarajan.

History

It was in 1976 when addressing a group of doctors, His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam spoke of the need to create a hospital with a missionary spirit.

On the command of His Holiness, Dr. Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath
S. S. Badrinath
S. S. Badrinath or Sengamedu Srinivasa Badrinath is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai; one of India's eye hospitals.-Early life:...

, along with a group of philanthropists founded a charitable not-for-profit eye hospital.

In a solemn function held at the premises of the Vijaya Hospital with Semmangudi Srinivasa Aiyer offering the prayer, Mrs (Dr) T Agarwal inaugurated the project.

On the auspicious day of Vinayaka Chaturthi, the sixth day of September in the year 1978, the hospital came into existence.

It was named Sankara Nethralaya, which means "The Temple of the Eye". The long journey for vision with a mission began.

Today Sankara Nethralaya has its services running at 5 locations in Chennai and also has services at Mukundapur in Kolkata, Hebbal in Bengaluru, Rameshwaran and Tirupati in Andhra Pradeshhas plans to expand in more states and possibly other countries also.

Sankara Nethralaya has fellowships in Vitreo Retina, Glaucoma, Cornea etc.BS Optometry, MSMLT and Ophthalmic Nursing courses are also run here in collaboration with BITS Pilani.

Branching Out

Sankara Nethralaya has been branching our very fast recently.Apart from the 5 centres in Chennai and in Kolkata and Rameswaram, Sankara Nethralya is now present in Bengaluru, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh as TTD Sri Srinivasa Sankara Nethralaya.

Branches

1) Sankara Nethalaya Main Campus

2) JKCN

3) C.U. Shah Sankara Nethralaya

4) Navasuja Sankara Nethralaya

5) Sankara Nethalaya Super Speciality Clinic (SNSSC)

6) Sankara Nethalaya, Kolkata

7) Sankara Nethalaya, Bangalore

8) Sankara Nethalaya, Rameshwaram

9) Sri Srinivasa Sankara Nethalaya, Tirupati

Community Ophthalmology

Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre

The Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre at Sankara Nethralaya offers free services to the Economically weaker sections

International Patient Service

Apart from receiving patients from all over the country, Sankara Nethralaya also renders service to international patients including the US and UK.

CU Shah Eye Bank

Sri C U Shah Eye Bank started functioning in Sankara Nethralaya in September 1979. The department of Medical Sociology was established in 1990 with the aim of promoting awareness on eye donation by educating and motivating the public for this noble cause.

Technology

Sankara Nethralaya was one of the first to implement Electronic Medical Records in its Facility with the complete OPD and the procedures done in the OPD available online thereby removing transferring of Records manually between complexes.Very soon Electronic Medical Records will be implemented in the In Patient area also.

Education

Ophthalmic Course

Right from its inception in 1978, the C U Shah Ophthalmic Postgraduate Training Center has been offering Fellowship programmes in Vitreo-Retinal Surgery and General Ophthalmology to holders of Postgraduate Degree and Diploma in Ophthalmology. The Center (M C I Approved) offer training programmes for graduates in Post graduation in Ophthalmology. The Center also conducts the final FRCS Examination (Ophthalmology) of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh).

Ophthalmology Courses Offered
|1) Diplomate of National Board of Examination (DNB) Ophthalmology (3 Years) recognized by National Board of Examination. New Delhi

2) Diplomate of National Board - 2 years Postdoctoral Vitreoretinal Fellowship recognized by National Board of Examination. New Delhi

3) Fellowship in General Ophthalmology, Cornea, Uvea, Oculoplastis, Glaucoma and, Vitreoretinal - Session starts April & Oct every Year

4) Cataract Surgery (Basic & Advanced) Sir Ratan Tata Fellowship of 2 Months duration. Session starts Jan / April / July & Oct every Year

5) Ph D Programmes in Ophthalmology, Biochemistry & Microbiology affiliated to Tamil Nadu Dr M G R Medical University, Chennai
|}

Elite School of Optometry(ESO)

The Elite School of Optometry, popularly known as ESO in the optometry field, is the first and leading college of optometry in India offering a four year professional degree (B.S.Optometry).

The college is run by Sankara Nethralaya,in collaboration with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, (BITS) Pilani, India. Located at close proximity to the Anna International Airport, Chennai, ESO has a diverse student community coming from various States across the country. ESO is considered the IIT of optometry in India. The college gives its students a strong academic foundation and excellent clinical training.

The SN Academy

The Sankara Nethralaya Academy — with a distinctive series of programmes and expert faculty, aims to create a pool of well-trained eye care professionals competent to meet the challenges in Ophthalmology.

The Academy serves as a platform for creating, processing and disseminating knowledge related to eye care, ophthalmic research and hospital administration.

The institution offers wide-ranging certificate and fellowship programmes to train ophthalmologist, optometrists, nurses and administration personnel. It provides ophthalmologists, optometrists, researchers and other eye care practitioners around the world an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skill.

Research

KNBIRVO

Vision Research Foundation

Vision Research Foundation (VRF) has, over the last 2 decades, been doing premier work in the areas of ocular infections, cataract, tumours, angiogenesis and genetic basis of eye diseases and pathobiology of various other ophthalmic disorders. Scientists working with VRF have developed basic techniques in applied medical biotechnology essential to understand disease processes involved in ophthalmology particularly related to etio-pathogenesis and identification of infectious, genetic and malignant disorders. VRF has applied for 4 patents in Diagnostic Microbiology. Five candidates have been awarded PhD degree and 13 doctoral candidates are registered with Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and Birla Institute of Science and Technology (BITS), Pilani. The main strength of the group lies in the fact that they work togther with Ophthalmologists and Basic Vision Scientists, besides having a large clinical resource as patients come from all over India to Sankara Nethralaya.

Vision Research Foundation has research laboratory facilities in the areas of Pathology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology. The facilities of VRF were located in an old building which has been demolished providing sufficient space to raise a new building for Vision research.

http://www.sankaranethralaya.org/research-knbirvo.html

Awards and recognitions

Sankara Nethralaya has won the Corporate Citizen Award in Economic Times Awards
Economic Times Awards
The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence are the awards conferred by The Economic Times in the field of business, corporate and government policies, economies in India...

 for Corporate Excellence 2007
.

Sankara Nethralaya has been adjudged "the Best Eye Hospital in India", by a survey conducted by OUTLOOK MAGAZINE (July 2002).

THE WEEK-MAGAZINE (April 2005) and more recently by a survey conducted by THE WEEK-MAGAZINE (April 2007).

Sankara Nethralaya received an award from NASSCOM. The award for the Best IT Adoption in the Healthcare Sector. This Function took place at Mumbai on 26-11-2008.

Teleophthalmology

A unique teleophthalmology project was started in villages within a 100 km radius of Chennai with a mobile bus offering primary eye care. It was inaugurated by the former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, in 2003. The key to the project was a mobile bus, designed by a team from Sankara Nethralaya with assistance from the Indian Space Research organization.

Sankara Nethralaya Women's Auxiliary (SWAN)

Registered as a public charitable trust in 1984, SWAN volunteers have served Sankara Nethralya in various capacities. All medical and post operative needs of Poor patients, including food and providing spectacles are taken care by SWAN volunteers. This apart SWAN volunteers assists patients in the hospital, help the Medical Records Dept, Library, Patient service dept, organise conferences, events, maintain the STD booths, utility and coffee shop at the hospital premises.

This year(2009)SWAN has added another Feather in its cap-25 years of selfless service

External links


*http://www.suppportsankaranethralaya.org/
*http://www.omtrust.org/
*http://www.ekalavya.org/sntechnologies/startup/index.asp
*http://www.eso.sankaranethralaya.org
*http://www.thesnacademy.ac.in/
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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