Editorial

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.

Accolades

Certificate of Appreciation

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 Events

HR Retreat 2023

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.

New AOP Supervisors, Tutors and Performers

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.

TNOA Mid-year Sandhippu

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.

Workshop on Simulator-based Training in Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery

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.

Library Week

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.

Pongal CME

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

Aurolab Day

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.

TPM Deployment

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.

Auro-Pongal Festival

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.

Participation in Conferences

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.

LAICO

Visit to Cape Coast Teaching Hospital

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.

Management Priorities in Eye Care Delivery for Heads of Eye Hospitals

LAICO, January 15-21

LAICO conducted the 21st 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.

Kaushalam

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.

Conference Attended

Genomics India 2023 Conference

Bengaluru, February 2-3

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

Publications

  1. Rajendrababu S, Senthilkumar VA, Tara TD, Uduman MS, Aila LA, Shukla AG. Short-term outcomes of micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation as a primary versus additional therapy in eyes with uncontrolled glaucoma. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):140-145. View More
  2. Bhaskaran S, Sahoo JK, Mishra C. Commentary: Low vision devices are boon to patients with visual impairment due to retinal dystrophies. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):201-202. View More
  3. Pawar N, Ravindran M, Fathima A, Ramakrishnan K, Sithiq M, Paranjape M. Identification of potential barriers for timely access to pediatric sibling eye check-up in a tertiary eye care hospital. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):215-221. View More
  4. Kumar M, Kowsalya A, Narayanamoorthy J, Kumarasamy D, Chitradevi, Balakrishnan H, Chaudhary S. Erythropoietin as a treatment option for indirect traumatic optic neuropathy: A pilot study. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):235-240. View More
  5. Krishnaveni G, Joseph S, Thulasiraj R. Uptake pattern of training programs over two decades at an International Ophthalmic Training Institute in India. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):268-274. View More
  6. Khadia A, Gupta I, Thangaraju D, Assadi FA, Ghosh A, Veena K, Mouttapa F, Venkatesh R. Important signs to check posterior capsule integrity. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):287-289. View More
  7. Chandrakanth P, Verghese S, Shiroya P, Khan AA, Gosalia H, Revathi R, Narendran V. Smartphone co-aided cobalt blue anterior segment with intraocular lens photography. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;71(1):290-293. View More
  8. Kogachi K, Lalitha P, Prajna NV, Gunasekaran R, Keenan JD, Campbell JP, Song X, Redd TK. Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Detect no Morphological Differences Between Culture-Positive and Culture-Negative Infectious Keratitis Images. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023 Jan 3;12(1):12. View More
  9. Cole E, Mathenge W, Kiage D, Ravilla T, Mayorga E, Palis AG, O’Banion J, Golnik K, Pettey J, Sun G, Cherwek DH, Edward D, Joltikov K, Chan RVP, MacIntosh PW; American Academy of Ophthalmology Task Force on Academic Global Ophthalmology. GO-ing for Gold: Global Perspectives on Creating a Gold Standard for Global Ophthalmology (GO) Education. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2023 Jan 1;63(1):5-13. Epub 2022 Dec 27. View More
  10. Ehrlich JR, Shantha JG, Mathenge C, Fashina T, Cole E, Al-Khaled T, Ravilla T, Chan RVP, Yeh S; American Academy of Ophthalmology Task Force on Academic Global Ophthalmology. Research Partnerships and Guidance in Academic Global Ophthalmology. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2023 Jan 1;63(1):15-24. Epub 2022 Dec 27. View More
  11. Sobhy M, Cole E, Jabbehdari S, Valikodath NG, Al-Khaled T, Kalinoski L, Chervinko M, Cherwek DH, Chuluunkhuu C, Shah PK, K C S, Jonas KE, Scanzera A, Yap VL, Yeh S, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Chiang MF, Campbell JP, Chan RVP. Operationalization of Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening by the Application of the Essential Public Health Services Framework. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2023 Jan 1;63(1):39-63. View More
  12. Gosalia H, Kene RD, Oh M, Shah PK, Campbell JP, Paul Chan RV, Venkatapathy N. Coincidental Ocular Abnormalities Found in Telescreening of Retinopathy of Prematurity Conducted During the COVID Pandemic at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, India. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2023 Jan 1;63(1):65-77. View More
  13. Thamizhselvi S, Pooja A, Prajna L, Rameshkumar G, Prajna NV, Karpagam R. Incidence, Clinical Profile – Course and Management of Keratitis Caused by Uncommon Species of Pseudomonas at a Tertiary Eye Care Center. Cornea 2023 Mar 1;42(3):359-364. View More
  14. Nunez do Rio JM, Nderitu P, Raman R, Rajalakshmi R, Kim R, Rani PK, Sivaprasad S, Bergeles C; SMART India Study Group. Using deep learning to detect diabetic retinopathy on handheld non-mydriatic retinal images acquired by field workers in community settings. Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 25;13(1):1392. View More
  15. Sura AA, Sun Y, Reddy AK, Rathinam SR, Gonzales JA, Thundikandy R, Vedhanayaki R, Kanakath A, Murugan B, Doan TA, Lim LL, Suhler EB, Al-Dhibi HA, Acharya NR; FAST Research Group. Reduced Dose Methotrexate and Mycophenolate Mofetil in Noninfectious Uveitis: A Sub-Analysis from the First-Line Antimetabolites as Steroid Sparing Therapy (FAST) Trial. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2023 Jan 26:1-6. [Epub] View More

Training

Enrolments for February 2023

Course title
Training Centre
No. of enrolments
Long Term Fellowship Programmes – For Ophthalmologists
Fellowship in Cornea Madurai 1
Tirunelveli 1
Fellowship in Orbit & Oculoplasty Coimbatore 1
Fellowship in Retina Salem 1
Tirunelveli 1
Fellowship in Glaucoma Tirunelveli 1
Madurai 1
Fellowship in Paediatric Ophthalmology Coimbatore 1
Short Term Training Programmes – For Ophthalmologists
Clinical Observership Program In Diagnosis and Management Of Glaucoma Coimbatore 1
Madurai 1
HelpMeSee Simulation-based Training in MSICS Madurai 1
Short term training in vitrectomy Coimbatore 1
Phacoemulsification Madurai 2
Pondicherry 1
Coimbatore 2
Tirunelveli 2
Small Incision Cataract Surgery Pondicherry 1
Tirunelveli 1
Coimbatore 2
Short Term Training Programs – For Paramedicals
FFA & USG Madurai 1
Refraction techniques Madurai 1
OT Techniques Madurai 1
Ocularist Madurai 1
Management Courses
Management Priorities in Eye Care Delivery LAICO 13

Statistics

Patient Statistics – January 2023

Hospitals
Total
Madurai
Tirunelveli
Theni
Coimbatore
Pondicherry
Tirupur
Dindigul
Salem
Tuticorin
Udumalpet
CbeCC
Chennai
Tirupati
Kovilpatti
Hospital Out-patient visits
Paying (New & Review) 220,570  52,302  27,649 8,314  32,177 21,079  4,875  5,944  10,483  5,196  3,621  4,222  30,208  11,917  2,583
Free:Direct walk-in (New & Review) 68,962  17,825  6,214  2,537  10,145 6,795  1,790  3,832  1,063  1,742  8,267  8,135  617
Outreach Out-patients
Comprehensive Eye Camps 23,026  5,928  3,213  1,359  4,816  3,621  240  979  382  130  1,548  810
Diabetic Retinopathy Camps  1,288  602  270  416  –  –
Refraction Camp 4,363 529 735 145 2,065 133  –  96  473  187
Mobile Refraction Unit  1,621 129 640  852
School Screening  5,674 972 256  141  731 89 810  2,056
Paediatric Eye screening camps 835 337  –  498  –
RoP Screening  1,846  293  354  178  718 93  187  27
Vision Centres 75,668  23,982  14,319  6,036  5,839  11,431  6,450 3,933  1,727  1,951
Community / City Centres 16,228  8,785  2,637 2,329  2,477
Total OP Examinations 420,081 111,218 55,377 21,775 57,547  46,831 13,355 5,944 20,175  6,641  7,693 4,222 43,158 22,945 3,200
Total number of camps 116  22  21 5 22  17  2 7 2 1 8 9
Surgeries
Cataract 24,120 6,635 2,637 931 3,858 2,649 461 456  1,478  278  588  196  2,485  1,327  141
*Other Surgeries 18,514 5,384  2,355  403  3,831 2,100 73 127 550 67 68  159  2,395  979 23
Total Surgeries 42,634 12,019 4,992 1,334 7,689  4,749 534 583 2,028 345 656 355 4,880 2,306 164
*Other surgeries include major surgeries, minor surgeries, intra-vitreal & other injections and laser procedures.