After a gap of more than two years, HR personnel across Aravind centres were brought together for a retreat at Aravind-Madurai. The retreat provided practical inputs to refine and restructure various systems and procedures of the HR department towards ensuring its effective functioning.

The concept of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is relatively new to people at Aravind. It is a strategy that operates according to the idea that everyone in a facility should participate in maintenance of equipment or instruments, rather than just the maintenance team. Recently, Aurolab has implemented it on an experimental basis and seeing promising results, the concept is now being deployed across its departments.

LAICO organised the second session of Kaushalam, the value-based leadership seminar series at the picturesque venue of Tata Advanced Systems Ltd in Hyderabad.

News about these and many more features in this issue.

Aravind – Tirunelveli, January 26

Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirunelveli received a Certificate of Appreciation for exemplary performance under Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS-AB-PMJAY).  Dr. V. Maneksha, Chief – Orbit & Oculoplasty Clinic received the certificate from Thiru. V. Vishnu, IAS honorable District Collector, Tirunelveli during the Republic Day Celebration.

Aravind-Madurai, February 3-4

Restructuring the HR Division for effective functioning was the core concept of the retreat. HR Managers from all tertiary centres and managers of secondary centres participated. Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, Director-HR, AECS welcomed the participants. Dr. R.D. Ravindran, Chairman, AECS delivered the keynote address. Ms. Cindy Harrison, Vice President – Human Resources, Henry Ford Health System spoke on the HR structuring of Henry Ford Health System and offered inputs for restructuring and streamlining HR activities at Aravind, developing a culture of belonging as well as on recruitment and retention.

Aravind-Madurai, February 2

Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai started the selection process for the positions of Supervisor, Tutor, and Performer in November 2022. There were 137 potential candidates. 360 degree feedback was obtained, personal interview was conducted by Dr. Usha Kim, Director – AOP training, AECS. She and the evaluation team selected five Supervisors, two Tutors, and 23 Performers from the potential candidates. The candidates were given the new position at a special function held in the presence of Ms. Cindy Harrison, Dr. S.R. Krishnadas and Dr. Usha Kim.

Courtallam, January 28-29

TNOA Mid-year Conference was held at Courtallam under the leadership of Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, President – TNOA and Advisor, Aravind-Tirunelveli. The conference was well planned and the sessions were organised in an interesting and engaging way. These also included talks on general topics such as work-life balance, financial freedom and independence. Thulasiraj Ravilla, Director-Operations, AECS gave a talk on unlocking the goldmine in private practice. Pattimandram fame Prof. M. Ramachandran gave a special address. Delegates from all over Tamil Nadu participated in the conference.

Aravind-Madurai, January 21-22

Cataract services of Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai organised the workshop which included classroom lectures, complex case handling video sessions and hands-on practice on the simulator. A total of 39 participants from various medical colleges took part. Sessions were moderated by faculty from Cataract Clinic and HelpMeSee.

Aravind-Madurai, January 7-25

Aravind Library and Information Centre, Madurai observed Library Week, a weeklong event from January 7 to 14, and January 19 to 25. This was a unique programme organised for all resident doctors and AOP. It aimed to reach out, teach and spread knowledge to everyone. Several competitions were conducted for the users as part of this:

Library Week started off with a Writathon arranged from January 7 to 9. A photo quiz on clinical images was anchored by Dr. Rupa, Medical Officer, Paediatric Ophthalmology Clinic, Aravind-Madurai. She also gave a motivational talk. Dr. Manju Pillai, Medical Officer, Glaucoma Clinic, Aravind-Madurai introduced the online skill test for doctors. Treasure hunt, clue-based competition based on library resources was also conducted. Dr. Madhu Shekhar, Chief, Cataract and IOL Services, Aravind-Madurai distributed the clue puzzles to participants. A debate on Google Vs Librarian was conducted. Dr. C. Gowri Priya, Scientist, Aravind Medical Research Foundation welcomed the participants to the debate. Dr. Usha Kim, Chief, Orbit and Oculoplasty Clinic, Aravind-Madurai was the judge. Dr. Naresh Babu, Chief, Retina Services, Aravind-Madurai anchored a quiz for all the library users. Skill tests for AOP were also conducted.

Aravind-Coimbatore, January 4-11

Pongal CME was organised during January 4 to 11. Mr. Gautham Kumar, Manager-Quality, Aravind-Coimbatore reviewed the incidents and errors in 2022, explained the route cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions. Dr. D. Chandrasekhar, Consultant, Aravind-Coimbatore conducted a general quiz which the participants enjoyed thoroughly.

Aurolab, January 28

After two years, Aurolab arranged a formal function to celebrate its annual day. Dr. P. Ramesh, Founder, Aarthy Eye Hospital was the chief guest and delivered a special talk. Dr. G. Natchiar, Trustee, Aurolab and Director Emeritus, AECS; Dr. P. Balakrishnan Managing Director Emeritus, Aurolab; and Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, Chief – Vision Rehabilitation Centre, Aravind-Madurai graced the occasion with their presence. R.D. Sriram, Managing Director, Aurolab offered felicitations.

Service awards were distributed to the employees. Students from Madurai Natya Kalalaya performed a dance drama, depicting the life story of the famous Tamil freedom fighter, Veeramangai Velunatchiyaar. Aurolab staff put up a skit titled, ‘Vithi Mathi Vilaiyaadal’. Winners of the various competitions held in Aurolab were given prizes during the occasion.

Aurolab, January 27

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a concept originated in Japan, is a strategic method for continual improvement and excellence in all aspects of an organisation. It helps improve productivity, quality, cost, delivery, morale, safety, and environment. A hugely successful management strategy tool, it involves everyone in the organisation regardless of cadre. Aurolab has been experimenting with TPM for about a year and the results have been fabulous. To celebrate this and to deploy it formally across the organisation, a special event was organised.

Mr. S. Ramasubramanian, Head – Manufacturing System, Sundaram Fasteners Ltd; who has vast experience in TPM implementation and won awards was the chief guest and delivered a special talk. Aurolab’s TPM counsellors, Mr. Yuvaraj, Mr. Sri Karthikeyan and TPM consultant, Mr. Vadamalaiyappan were also present at the ceremony. Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Trustee, Aurolab and Chairman-Emeritus, AECS; Dr. G. Natchiar, Trustee, Aurolab and Director Emeritus – AECS, and Dr. P. Balakrishnan, Managing Director Emeritus, Aurolab graced the occasion with their presence and presented awards to the best contributors of TPM.

A presentation on the 8 pillars of TPM was given by the chairpersons of the respective pillars. R.D. Sriram and Dr. G. Natchiar launched the TPM logo, slogan, and symbol of Aurolab.

Aurolab, January 13

Pongal festival was celebrated with great fervor at Aurolab. Senior members and doctors from the Aravind Eye Care System, and staff from the Poovanthi Institute of Rehabilitation and Elder Care attended the event. Staff put up traditional performances like Silambattam, Oyilattam and Kummi.

Aurolab participated in the TNOA mid-year conference held at Courtallam in the last week of January and created awareness on its products such as the Aurovue Vivid, Aurovue EV Toric IOL, and Hummingbird lite. It took part in the Annual Conference of Haryana Ophthalmological Society during January 21-22 and provided phaco training for doctors. It also displayed several of its products.

Cape Coast, Ghana, February 5-11

Dr. R. Venkatesh, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind-Pondicherry and K.M. Sashipriya, LAICO visited Cape Coast Teaching Hospital to provide inputs on developing the hospital to become a centre of excellence in eye care.

LAICO, January 15-21

LAICO conducted the 21^st batch of the course, Management Priorities in Eye Care Delivery for Heads of Eye Hospitals in the second week of January. A total of 19 participants from India, Bangladesh and Nigeria participated.

Hyderabad, January 5-8

Second session of Kaushalam, the value-based leadership seminar series anchored by LAICO was organised at Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), Hyderabad. A total of 25 participants comprising senior doctors from across the Aravind centres as well as senior executives from Aurolab and TASL took part.

Bengaluru, February 2-3

Dr. P. Sundaresan
– Gene therapy for an inherited eye disorder and mitochondriopathy