Sankara Eye Hospital

Sankara Eye Hospital is a not for profit charitable trust which aims at providing affordable eye care and eliminating curable eye blindness in India.^[1] Having its headquarters in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Sankara is among the largest community eye care providers in India with ten super specialty eye care hospitals across the country performing over 150,000 free eye surgeries annually.

The hospital follows an 80:20 business model, in which 80 percent of the patients from rural parts of the country are treated for free, and the remaining 20 percent are the rich and the middle income sections of the society, who pay for their treatment, thereby cross-subsidizing the free surgeries and making the Hospital self-sustaining. ^[2] In 2013, Sankara counducted its one millionth free eye surgery.^[3]

History

The organization was started by Dr.R.V. Ramani, one of the earliest Doctors of Coimbatore, and his wife Dr. Radha Ramani. The origins of Sankara Eye Foundation can be traced back to the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Trust. During the initial 5 years of the Movement, the Honorary Panel of Doctors slowly expanded and 75 Consultants from various specialties of medicine came forward voluntarily to join the team in an honorary capacity. By 1982, the activities of the Trust had grown considerably well, and in 1985, the Trust identified community eye care as the major specialized activity. Sankara Eye Hospital was thus established in Sivanandapuram, Coimbatore on the land donated by Late N. Natraj & Family.^[4]

Expansion

The Sankara Eye Hospital since its inception has now established 10 hospitals across the nation replicating the 80:20 model.

Guntur, Andra Pradesh Sankara Eye Hospital, was established in the year 2004 (March). Built in over 4.35 acres land, the hospital is a 225 bed capacity facility.

Krishnankoil, Tamil Nadu was inaugurated on February 4, 2004 by Sri. VijayKumar IAS, Collector of Ramanathapuram District and Sri Mohamed Aslam IAS, Collector of Virudhunagar District. Built in over 6.1 acres land, the hospital is a 225 bed capacity facility.

Anand, Gujarat Sankara Eye Hospital, was established in the year 2008. The hospital was inaugurated by then Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Built in over 5.5 acres land, the hospital is a 225 bed capacity facility.^[5]

Bangalore, Karnataka was inaugurated in 2008 and it has attained self-sufficiency because of the paying patients it is able to attract. Built in over 4 acres land, the hospital is a 225 bed capacity facility. It has been the recipient of many awards like “Namma Bengaluru” for providing the best community eye program.

Shivamoga, Karnataka was inaugurated on October 12, 2008. It was made possible due to the initiative of a group of residents from Shimoga who heard about Sankara and approached the group for setting up a hospital in Shimvamoga. Built in over 5.5 acres land, the hospital is a 225 bed capacity facility.^[6]

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (R.S. Puram) was established in the year 2011. The hospital functions as a facility performing day care surgery with a state of the art operation theatre complex, outpatient clinics and optical services.

Ludhiana, Punjab was inaugurated on April 2, 2012 by Charanjeet Singh Atwal, speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, in the presence of Sankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Sri Jayendra Saraswathi and Singh Sahib Giani Gurbachan Singh, Jathedhar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, among others. Built in over 2 acres of gifted land, the hospital is having 125 beds in total where 100 dedicated for the free patients and 25 rooms for the paying patients.^[7]

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh Sankara Eye Hospital, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh was inaugurated on October 12, 2014. Sankaracharya of Kanchi was present for the inaugural function.^[8]

Jaipur, Rajasthan Sankara Eye Hospital is opening its doors to eye care needs of Jaipur for the first time in December 2017. The Hospital is a centre of excellence having State-of-art technologies to perform Refractions to advanced eye care surgeries of Cataract, Retinal surgeries, Corneal Transplants, Paediatric Eye care and Squints, Glaucoma. SEH Jaipur provides absolute healing with its opulent touch of care and comfort to our beloved Rajasthani’s from the local community and beyond the bounds. The architecture and operational design of the Hospital is meticulously executed around the needs of the patient to enhance the quality of eye care and treatment.

Services

Sankara offers total eye care- speciality services including Preventive, Curative and Rehabilitative • Routine check-up

• Diagnostic

• Clinical Laboratory

• Pharmacy

• Cataract & IOL Clinic - The Cataract Clinic at Sankara Eye Hospitals is equipped to screen, detect, diagnose and offer right procedural corrections for cataract and cataract related eye disorders.

• Cornea & Refractive Services - The Cornea Specialist team is trained to deliver care for a variety of corneal disorders, such as corneal infections, corneal injuries, tear disorders, corneal dystrophy and other degenerative disorders. The department works in close coordination with Sankara Eye Bank for immediate and effective corneal transplants.

• Vitreo-Retinal Services - As a matter of procedure, all patients at Sankara Eye hospitals undergo retinal examination to diagnose disorders pertaining to the retina. Preterm infants are screened for ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). The Paediatric Ophthalmology team is equipped and trained to address critical eye disorders in children – even newborns.

• Glaucoma Services - The Glaucoma Clinic at SECI specialises in effective long-term management of Glaucoma and associated complications that are likely to arise with this degenerative disorder. As a matter of procedure, all patients are screened for Glaucoma / possible Glaucoma, as timely intervention is crucial to its effective management.

• IPerfect Lasik Laser Center - At Sankara our refractive surgeons utilize the most advanced techniques and technologies to ensure patients receive best care and outcomes. Patients can opt from a range of Laser Vision Correction surgeries depending on their condition, including Femto Second Laser (blade free LASIK).

• Paediatric ophthalmology & Strabismus - Sankara has undertaken a host of initiatives to minimize long-term impact on lifestyles in children

• Ocularistry Department - For those with deformed eye requiring cosmetic correction, the Ocular Prosthesis department specializes in customized solutions which enhance appearance and confidence of patients.

• Ocular Oncology Department - The first comprehensive ocular oncology department offering the entire spectrum of care for all ocular tumors from chemotherapy, LASER surgical care and brachytherapy (radiation therapy).

• WaveLight Ex500 Excimer Laser System

• Day Care Surgical Lounge

• Contact Lens Clinic

• Opticals

• Computer Vision Clinic

• Assistive Vision Clinic Active Vision

Community Outreach

Sankara Eye Hospital has a Comprehensive Community Eye Health Programme that provides holistic eye care and has tailor-made services to address the needs of both, different age groups and various eye defects.

Sankara Eye Bank

The Sankara Eye Bank Coimbatore started functioning from 1987 with a twofold mission: to promote organ and tissue donation through a program of public and professional education and donor registration; and to procure and distribute eye tissue for transplant surgery.^[10] The Sankara Eye Bank is recognized as a model eye bank by the Government of India, receiving a pair of eyes every day.

Currently the Eye Banks are operational in Coimbatore, Bangalore, Shivamoga, Anand and Guntur.

Sankara Academy of Vision

Sankara Academy of Vision (SAV) was established in 2013 by the Sankara Eye Foundation to train human resources for both Sankara Hospitals as well as other organizations. SAV offers professional courses, programs and consultancy to the entire eye care sector in India. SAV offers the following programs:

• DNB in Ophthalmology

• Fellowship in General Ophthalmology and Sub-Specialities

• M.Sc. Optometry, B.Sc. Optometry, Fellowship in Optometry, Internship in Optometry

• Diploma in Vision Care Technician (VCT)

• Sankara Geuder Competence Centre for short term and long term training

Training Paramedics

SECI also trains women to become efficient paramedics. They select high school graduate girls from different locations and provide them with fundamental English training which is followed by an extensive medical training. SECI has over 1,300 trained women paramedics working with them currently.

Upcoming Projects

The next three replication of the 80:20 model is titled “VandeMathram’ and is planned for Jaipur - Rajasthan, Indore - Madhya Pradest, Hyderabad - Telangana, Ganjam - Odisha ^[11] and Mumbai - Maharashtra,

References