Manohriday

Dear readers,

Each time we bring out an issue of Manohriday, we ask ourselves the question, “What is it that you, our readers, would like to know?” Great work happens at Swami’s hospital in a quiet, selfless way. Swami believed that our greatest advertisements are the smiles of poor patients that are healed, rather than headline news in the national media. With this in mind, we bring you a talk by Dr. A.S. Hegde, our erstwhile Director, during the hospital’s anniversary celebrations; recounting the precious advice of our founder and His vision of the road ahead.

It’s five years since Swami’s last visit to the hospital. We go back in time to relive the memories from His past visits to the hospital and His interactions with the staff and patients.

Swami continues to inspire us in our pursuit of excellence, as seen by the numerous conferences conducted at the hospital with participation from around the country. We are constantly pushing the bar on our services to patients, be it ensuring strict compliance with hand hygiene, introducing programs in basic life support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), or strengthening our nursing training program. Our doctors are constantly “sharpening their saws”, with international training and conferences, and we continue to excel academically, as evident by the spurt in national awards bestowed on our staff.

The hospital continues to be a great place beyond work too; with families of staff bonding over aeroshows, music programs and art sessions. We have also opened our doors to those devoted to service, engaging Bangalore’s software professionals in the joy of volunteering at the hospital. We believe that His message of love should go around, and we can’t be selfish about what we have, can we?

– The Editors

Cover: The Dhanvantari Statue in front of the Hospital

Dhanvantari is an Avatar of Vishnu from the Hindu tradition. He appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the physician of the gods (devas), and the god of Ayurvedic medicine. It is common practice in Hinduism for worshipers to pray to Dhanvantari seeking his blessings for sound health.

Transcript of Dr. Hegde’s speech at SSSIHMS Whitefield on Jan 19, 2013

My humble pranaams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan. Sai Ram. Good Evening. It’s a great feeling to be back here. Every time I visit here which now-a-days is as frequent as once every week, it charges me with energy; I feel good. Before I say a few words, let me express my gratitude to Dr. Swarna Bharadwaj, our Director, for inviting me and my wife to the function. Thank you, Ma’am.

I can’t believe that Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences is twelve years old. It appears like it was just the other day that we were planning the Neuro and the Cardiac facilities. Swami used to come every day to check. Those were great days, where we saw Swami’s vision and had great times with Swami.

It is sad to recall that one of our elders, who guided us through the early years, Dr. Safaya, is no more with us. I pray to Bhagawan to take him in His Fold. May his soul rest in peace.

I met Swami for the first time in 1999. It was, I think in June 1999, when He announced that the Sathya Sai Trust is going to build a hospital in Bangalore, a super-specialty hospital with Cardiac and Neuro facilities. And Swami had invited doctors from the city for a meeting one day. I was also invited for the same. That was the first time I met Swami. Later, thanks to His blessings, I was asked to plan the Neuro facility. It was my good fortune that during this planning, I met Swami many times. And I sought His blessings and visualized what was in His mind while planning this facility.

It was very interesting because the first time I asked him about the neuro facilities, He said it should be one of the best facilities in the world. The next time when I met Him, I repeated the same question. He then said, “No, we are not in competition with anybody.” I thought it was contradictory, until I realised that yes, you can be the best because you want to offer the best and not because we are in competition with any other institution. So that’s what I finally understood. It took some time for me and for a few days I was wondering whether Swami was contradicting Himself. Actually, I was the one who was confused; Swami was always very clear about what He wanted.

I must acknowledge that in parenting terms, our early parenting was very good. Swami kept coming to the hospital every now and then. He guided every activity, was there for every occasion, and with His support, we grew to be a healthy and fast-growing child. Swami inculcated the basic ethos of functioning in this Institution - it should be patient-centric, providing holistic care, care that heals? and nobody who seeks treatment will be refused. He taught us to serve without ego. And He taught that selfless service with compassion and that sacrifice is the best thing to do; so we must genuinely try to help every poor patient and heal the patient. Over a period of time, this Institution has grown from strength to strength and has come to be known for its spiritual, serene and peaceful environment. In fact, everyone who has visited the hospital over the last ten-twelve years has said that it feels different inside here, the vibrations are good and it is very peaceful. That is the usual comment people make. In real terms, Swami has turned this place into a Temple of Healing.

Swami loved people who cared for the sick, and so, doctors were His favourites. He often quoted two popular sayings, ‘Service to Man is Service to God’ and ‘Vaidyo Narayano Hari’ to inspire people to take this path of service. A solid foundation was also laid to this Institute in terms of work ethics, direction to grow and the guidelines to grow.

Swami always made it clear that the hospital is for the patients. Anytime, somebody would say, “Swami, this is your hospital” He said, “No, not My Hospital; it is your hospital.” And His principle for administration was that this hospital will treat patients first and patients first always. Attention is to the patient rather than anything else. The Institutional interest came next and the individual interest the last. Whether it is telemedicine – when we decided to have telemedicine centres at Kolkata - or any other step we took, it was the patient who mattered. Convenience of the patient was the first thing we considered.

Swami had His own ideas. I remember having met Him because we had problems with the number of nursing staff, and that too, properly trained nursing staff. Every institution in the city, state or country has different standards of training, and our standards were going up and down in terms of patient care. When I discussed this with Swami, He said, “We must have our own training programs.” That’s how the nurse training and technician training courses started. He was very clear that our country needed skilled personnel and we were going to be a part of it and we were going to be a model. And that’s what I see today that our nurses and others who have cleared the examination - the first batch - are going to be the best trained people in India in terms of practical skill, knowledge as well as in terms of their spiritual outlook and service-minded behaviour.

I remember during His last visit, Swami had directed our orientation a little bit towards research. His initial focus was clinical services to stress that aspect to us, then He emphasized skilled personnel training; and finally, He guided us to work on research. He said that we must do research but such research that is useful for our country -research regarding diseases that affect our people, research to cut costs in patient care. And He also urged us to I wish to express my grateful thanks to all those people who have worked here and who have gone out. We don’t have any regrets. I feel great pride to be a part of this family and I would like to re-affirm that if, those who have worked here inculcated even a part of this Institution’s work culture, then definitely they will serve poor patients better in their own way; and I am sure that will certainly go a long way in making this world a much better place.

A word about training. I think we should revamp the training a little bit to make it more organized while maintaining our own ethos. All of us are responsible for that and hence, we should monitor the curriculum better so that people are well-trained and do not reflect any inadequacy in their training when they work in other institutions. People who are trained here should be considered the best anywhere in the world. There should be no questions asked. And it is our responsibility to ensure that this happens.

As far as the future is concerned, I am very optimistic. We have Swami’s blessings and committed staff members and volunteers, the Seva Dal. What else can one ask for? We can’t fail. We simply cannot fail. We will succeed and reach our goal to be the number one in the world in patient care. We will continue to offer state-of-the-art technology and we will be one of the best institutions in patient care, training, and research in the world.

We should be the best patient-care and training centre in India and comparable to the best in the world. The best University. This is possible. I am sure Swami will bless us with success if we are sincere in our efforts to do that. Let us forget personal ambitions, greed and ego. Let us trust each other. Let us respect each other. Let us support each other and focus our energies to build a great institution. We owe it to Swami. This Institution should remain as the best patient-care and training centre for centuries to come. Let us pray to Swami to bless us in this endeavour.

Thank you.

Sai Ram.

health education. I think this is one area we must move towards. This Institution has tremendous capacity like Swami’s other Institutions because we are very careful with expenditure. No money is wasted. It is all the hard-earned money of the donors which we are spending. So I think we can be a model for many institutions to follow. And health economics-wise, we could be leading in the country to show others the way to run institutions in a very, very careful way.

Unfortunately for us, then, as it happened, Swami suddenly left us. Personally, I always used to think I should ask Swami a few things. Then, whenever I met Him, I would think I will ask Him the next time. And then suddenly, there was no chance for asking anything more. It was a depressing period. However, when I look at the positive side that I had the opportunity to interact with such a God or Bhagawan for so many years, I am grateful to Swami for giving me the opportunity to be in His mission and to be part of His team which cares for patients.

The age of twelve years is very interesting. We are becoming adolescents and we know adolescents are usually rebellious, but fortunately, I think here we have been taught good values. We should go further and we should be known in the world for our good work. I think we should not forget the guidelines Swami has given us: to be compassionate to patients, to provide patient care in a spiritual environment without discrimination holistic care and in a manner where we are service- minded and with the spirit of sacrifice. The quality of care should be the highest and the safety of patients is of the utmost importance. And as Swami always said, these are the Institutions which provide care for the patient with the state-of-the-art infrastructure. It is not like any other charitable hospital engaged in secondary care. We are still one of the best-equipped or perhaps, the best-equipped hospital in the country. I can boldly say it. I have seen private hospitals, government institutions, national institutes. We are still the best. I wish to place on record our grateful thanks to the Sathya Sai Trust for supporting and providing the latest technology to treat patients in our Institution.

I would like to add just a few more words to what I have said. Ours is a service institution. It may not be possible in an institution like this to pay remuneration similar to the private sector to all those people who serve here. But one will have the freedom, the honour and pleasure of work while working in this Institution which they will not get anywhere else in the world. Let us remember that all of us who have worked here and who are working here have benefitted by this training, the opportunities that we have got and the variety of work that we have done. The experience has been fantastic and I have discussed this with many of my colleagues in India and abroad. I think this is something that is phenomenal which no institution can provide be it anywhere in India or abroad today.

CME

The SSSIHMS Anesthesia Conference (SANCON) 2013 on Anesthesia Machine & Monitoring Equipment was held on 29-30 March. The focus of SANCON was to integrate textbooks with the practical use of equipment in the everyday OT Anesthesia practices. Anesthesia equipment and instrumentation is currently not covered to the extent required in postgraduate medical teaching in India. SANCON provided an opportunity to address this gap, by facilitating delegate interaction with renowned faculty using didactic sessions and workstations.

The two day conference had 18 didactic presentations and workstations by leading professionals in Anesthesia in Bangalore and across India. Over 180 medical practitioners from across India were exposed to the latest, available Anesthesia equipment.

A separate session during the conference focused on post graduate medical students facing the Diplomate of National Board (DNB) practical exams in Anesthesia. Dr. Baljit Singh, one of the leading anesthesiologists in the country, gave a number of tips to face the rigorous exam with confidence.

Dr. Pankaj Kundra of JIPMER delved on the latest techniques in Anesthesia delivery systems and touched upon how the technology evolved over the years.

Dr. Kolli Chalam, HOD of Anesthesiology, SSSIHMS-WFD; elaborated on technological advancements in equipment related to pediatric anesthetic care.

Dr. K. Muralidhar, Professor, Anesthesia, Narayana Hrudayalaya; spoke on Cardiovascular monitoring during sedation.

Dr. Thanga Prabhu, Clinical Director GE Healthcare, spoke on Anesthesia Data Management Systems and e-charting solutions for critical care patients.

Dr. Sushant Thapa GE Healthcare, provided insights on how adequacy of Anesthesia can be measured in high-risk patients through advanced monitoring equipment.

There was a separate session on Monitored Anesthesia Care, comprising five lectures focused on different monitoring techniques covering aspects related to airway, neuromuscular, neurological, and cardiovascular factors.

Considering the increasing usage of ultrasound in Anesthesia, a separate session of four lectures concentrated on how ultrasound assists in optimising patient management within the setting of Anesthesia. Ultrasound-guidance in regional Anesthesia, vascular access and hemodynamic monitoring were delved in depth by Dr. Sanjaya Viswamitra of SSSIHMS and Dr. Manimala Rao of Yashodha Hospital, Hyderabad.

The second day witnessed a rewarding panel discussion on Patent Safety & Quality, where faculty provided real world experience on tools & techniques they currently use to sustain high levels of patient safety during Anesthesia procedures.

On both days, the workshops spanned four topics: Anesthesia Machines, Monitoring, Ultrasound, eCharting and data management. GE Healthcare brought in their engineers to demonstrate the intricacies of the latest equipment in Anesthesia Monitoring and Ultrasound.

The participants pointed out that seminars on the usage of OT Anesthesia equipment are not held anywhere in Bangalore and rated the SANCON conference at par with the other two forums on this subject - RACE and ARC (held by Sri Ramachandra University and Tata Memorial Hospital respectively).

SANCON aims to be an annual forum where experts in Anesthesia can share their experiences with young medical professionals and inspire them to be responsible anesthesiologists.

Dr. Swarna Bhardwaj, Director, was conferred the “Vidya Rattan Gold Medal Award” and a “Certificate of Education Excellence”, for her outstanding achievements and remarkable role in the field of education by the Indian Solidarity Council, in association with the International Institute of Education and Management.

The International Institute of Education and Management also conferred upon Dr. Swarna Bhardwaj the “Rajiv Gandhi Education Excellence Award”. This was conferred on 28th May during the National Seminar on Education and Economic Development at New Delhi.

Dr. Prayaag Kini, Fellow, Interventional Cardiology presented 9 papers at the National Interventional Council 2013, Kolkata, of which “Innovation in distress”, won the best case-based presentation at the national level. As part of the award, he has been offered a three-month training program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York in the coming year.

Dr. Reeta Varyani, Consultant, Cardiology, presented 3 papers at NIC 2013, of which “Transcatheter VSD closure - a single center experience at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bangalore”, won the 2nd prize in the presentation category. As an award, she attended the interventional C3 summit at Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, between 17-21 June, courtesy NIC.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences was recognized as the only center in the country to have presented 11 papers at the NIC, the largest number from a single center at the event. All abstracts were published in the Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention Journal, May 2013.

The department of Cardiology and Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery conducted a one-day conference on pulmonary hypertension on 13th Mar. A heterogeneous group of close to 140 cardiologists, pediatric specialists, intensivists, anesthetists and surgeons participated in this event. A number of nationally-renowned speakers addressed the gathering on insights and challenges in the management of patients with pulmonary hypertension. The program witnessed the return of a number of specialists who had earlier worked at the Sri Sathya Sai Institutions, and have now grown into experts and opinion leaders. Many described the event as a “homecoming”, and recounted cherished moments spent in the hallowed portals of the institute. As one of the faculty, Dr. S.R. Mohanty, senior consultant cardiac surgeon from Mumbai aptly put it, “I may have had to leave the Institute after my term here, but the Institute’s cherished ideals of service and pursuit of excellence can never leave me. We are now ambassadors of the message wherever we may work”.

The department of Cardiology conducted two electrophysiology workshops during the month of May. Dr. Satish R. Goyal from Jacksonville Heart Center, Florida and Dr. Ashok Garg from the Arizona Heart and Arrhythmia clinic led these workshops, conducting a wide variety of advanced electrophysiology procedures including 3-Dimensional mapping. They spent a total of two weeks at the hospital interacting with the staff.

Dr. P.K. Dash, Sr. Consultant and HOD-Cardiology, presented two posters at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), Orlando, USA: “Concomitant Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and Rupture of Sinus of Valsalva (RSOV) device in a young patient with heart failure”, and “Bailout balloon atrial septostomy for recalcitrant pulmonary edema due to mechanical complication of Myocardial Infarction.” SCAI is considered the mother body of interventional cardiology across the world and both presentations were highly appreciated by the interventional community. These papers were among the very few representations from India in this conference.

“I first met Prof. Juha in a micro neurosurgery workshop at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in 2011. Impressed by his surgical skills and his reputation in the area of complex cerebrovascular surgery, I wanted to spend some time with him as a clinical observer. When I approached our Director, she not only granted me a two-month leave, but she also initiated contact with the International Sai Organisation in Finland, to support me with my stay there.

Mr. Gaiyer Altay, from the Finland Sai Organization, helped me tremendously with my stay in Helsinki, and was instrumental in arranging my accommodation very close to the hospital.

The time I spent with Prof. Juha was very memorable. He is known to be one of the best cerebrovascular surgeons in the world and holds the record for clipping the largest number of intracranial aneurysms till date. Neurosurgeons from different parts of the world come to Helsinki to learn the subtle nuances of micro-neurosurgery under his able and inspiring leadership.

The two-month stint gave me an opportunity to observe complex cases of aneurysms and Arterio Venous Malformations (AVM) being operated, and to learn various new, effective techniques and apply them in daily practice.

Dr. N.A. Sai Kiran, Consultant, Neuro surgery, attended a two-month training in cerebrovascular surgery in Helsinki, Finland under Prof Juha Hernesniemi, Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, between 1st March to 30th April 2013.

Here’s an account of his clinical observership.

Apart from learning technical skills, it was an absolute thrill to watch the service-minded spirit of Prof. Juha. A true Karma Yogi - Prof. Juha sets a very high work ethic by inspiring young neurosurgeons with his surgical skills, dedication and hard work. To handle his load of administrative work, he is at the hospital by 4 am, even when the temperature is -200 F ! And he goes back home only by 11 pm. At times, he operates 6 to 7 cases a day.

In Finland, where education and medical care are completely free of cost, and there are no private hospitals, Prof. Juha doesn’t get any financial benefits for the hard work he puts in. It is the dedication to his profession, and the satisfaction he derives in serving society, that makes him work so hard.

He often doles out pearls of wisdom to inspire the staff working with him. He loves to say, “You must be so honest that it must hurt you.” Here are other quotable quotes:

“Work hard as hard work is difficult to beat”

“Every person owes a debt to society and has a responsibility to pay back ”

“When a student is ready, he will find his teacher”

“Surgical complications are mostly because of a lack of knowledge and surgical skills and not due to the fate of the patient”

Apart from my training under him, the two-month stay also gave me an opportunity to witness the transformation Swami’s Mission has brought about in the world. Though Finland is not a very large country, the Sai Organisation is very vibrant with each of the members being devoted to carrying out Swami’s work. They conduct bhajans every Thursday, participate in various service activities, like visiting hospitals, taking care of patients, and also in translating Swami’s literature into Finnish and Russian. Gaiyer Altay and his family are actively involved in these activities. Gaiyer Altay shared many of his experiences with Swami and how his life was transformed by Swami.

My two-month stay was an enriching experience both professionally and spiritually. Prof Juha, through his dedication to his profession and selfless service to society, reminded me of the path of Karma Yoga. Gaiyer Altay and his family, through their devotion and selfless love to Swami, reminded me of the path of Bhakthi Yoga.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was involved very intimately in the construction of the second super specialty hospital at Whitefield. Right from selecting the site, to guiding the architects on the design, to inspiring the site engineers and the work force through His interactions with them, Swami has given a lot of himself to this Institution.

7 June, 2013 marks the 5th anniversary of the last visit Swami made to the hospital in the physical form, when He inaugurated the Sai Veda Venkatrama Health & Fitness Centre, and also hosted a lunch for all the hospital staff in the central dome area. No one expected that, that would be the last interaction we would have with him at the hospital.

We take a journey down memory lane and present a collage of pictures from the project stage and later, His interactions with the staff and patients.

There was a prayer session held that morning in the central dome area to invoke and feel His love and presence. His room in the central dome area was kept open for the staff and patient attendants to visit and take His blessings.

In the evening, Swami made His presence felt when there appeared little footstep marks on the stairs leading to the Ganesha idol in the dome area. It was a chance discovery by a Sevadal volunteer, who was cleaning the dome area, and noticed these tiny foot prints, which looked as if were of a three year old, whose feet were smeared in butter. Though difficult to capture on camera, they are clearly visible when seen against the light.

Through this episode, Swami has demonstrated that He’s always here and watching over all of us...

The voice on the phone seemed deeply concerned. “Sister, how is Naveen?” It was a patient’s brother calling from far-away Kolkata. The patient had received physiotherapy after undergoing neurosurgery and B.S. Naveen Kumar’s counsel and support during the time had been deeply cherished. During the 12 years spent at SSSIHMS, he had offered physiotherapy to innumerable patients. In a freak incident, he was now a patient himself, and all who had heard about his condition were praying for him.

It all happened on a November night. Driving back to Bangalore in the wee hours, rushing to get back to work at the hospital, the unexpected brought his life to standstill. “I remember waking up to find that we were in a crushed car,” recalls his wife Vishalakshi. “Naveen was groaning beside me, his face disfigured and smeared with blood”. Naveen had suffered injuries to his forehead, face and jaw after the impact with the steering wheel as their car crashed into the back of a stationary lorry. The onlookers rushed the family to

The doctors told Vishalakshi that there might be some deficits post surgery, and he may not be able to see in one eye...

a nearby government hospital, where doctors briefly evaluated their state”. As Naveen oscillated in and out of consciousness, Vishalakshi being a Neuro OT nurse,knew that he required super specialty care. In spite of other hospitals being on the way, she decided to go with her faith and chose to bring him to the Whitefield hospital. The journey took a few hours and all along the way the she had to constantly encourage Naveen to stay awake and stay strong. The moment she saw our hospital, tears welled up in her eyes. “At the hospital we were first taken to, the doctors refused to even touch the patient before filling forms. On the other hand, at our hospital, a team of doctors were waiting to rush into action, the moment Naveen was wheeled in,” says Vishalakshi with gratitude filled in her voice even today.

Faith in Swami was the only driving force and support during the next 45 days. Naveen’s injuries were serious, requiring Neurosurgical and Maxillofacial surgeries to correct the displaced bones of his face. The doctors told Vishalakshi that there might be some deficits post surgery, and he may not be able to see in one eye. But Vishalakshi knew that Swami who had brought them along this far, would not abandon them that easily.

A popular saying speaks of blessings that descend in reply to the prayers that ascend. Every evening Vishalakshi would sit before Swami’s altar at the hospital’s central dome with a single prayer. “Both my husband and I decided to serve all these years. Please allow us to continue to serve You. This is a time we need You”. The entire hospital had turned into an extended family and everyone had a prayer in their heart. Even during his recovery his optimism was infectious. When anyone would mention to him that they want him back at work, he would reply with grit and determination, “Tell them (patients) that I am coming. I am waiting to get back to work.”

Naveen is back at work today, offering instruction and counsel to patients that come to him each day for rehabilitation therapy. He can see fairly well now, but for a minor deficit in one eye. His optimism and cheerfulness continue to infect all those who work with him. “I’ve been a patient. I know how it feels,” he says each time he greets these folk with a smile. Many marvel at his recovery, saying that he is a testimony to the fact that miracles happen. He only smiles, and shares a priceless moment from the nightmare he has just emerged from. “When I was being carried away from the car after the accident, I vividly recall seeing Swami in a white robe before me,” he says. “I was in tremendous pain, and, in that state, asked Swami to save my life only if I was destined to return to work, strong and independent.” One thing is certain. When you’ve served the Lord with all your heart, He won’t let you go that easily.

the divine leelas of Lord Krishna and enacted chapters from the tale of Markandeya. The glimpses of the great epic Ramayana put forth by the third-year students exhibited promising dramatic skills, enhanced with vibrant colours and costumes.

The event ended with a thought-provoking address by Dr. Jayashankaran on the need for professionals with human values in the present day world.

The entrance exam for the B.Sc programs in Nursing, Anesthesia, Cardiac Care, Imaging, Medical Lab and Perfusion were held on

26-27 May. 119 students from 11 states attended the entrance exam out of whom, 52 candidates were selected for admission September.

The selection process involved the candidates taking an exam in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English and Aptitude. In the afternoon, the respective departments provided an overview of each course to the candidates and their parents. Based on the performance in the written exam, 75 candidates were short-listed for interviews. The interview panel comprising representatives from each discipline, selected 52 candidates and waitlisted another 17.

The 4-year program for the selected candidates will commence on 2-Sep-2013.

As a part of their course on Education in Human Values (EHV), the students of the college of Nursing and Allied health sciences presented a cultural program on 3rd May. Dr. Jayashankaran, former vice chancellor of Kanchi University was the chief guest for the occasion. After the welcome address by the Principal, A.E. Manjuri, Dr. Swarna Baradwaj, Director, lit the ceremonial lamp to initiate the evening’s proceedings. Shri Uma Maheswar Rao, Director of the program, gave a brief introduction, followed by a presentation “Unity of Religions” by the first-year students. The second-year students brought to life

Under the guidance of the Director, the Alumni of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences have formed an Alumni Association and selected the Office Bearers for the year 2013-14 :

President : Aruna M. B.Sc Nursing, currently Staff Nurse, SSSIHMS-WF Vice President : Pankaj Kumar Gupta B.Sc Imaging Technology, currently Technical Assistant, SSSIHMS-WF Addl. Vice President : Prajna Paramita Mohanta B.Sc Nursing, currently Staff Nurse, SSSIHMS-PG Secretary : Amrutha K.V.

B.Sc Nursing, currently Tutor, College of Nursing Treasurer : Jnanendra Sagar B.Sc Imaging Technology, currently Technical Assistant, SSSIHMS-PG During the first meeting of the office bearers, the following roadmap was chalked out:

• Creating a nursing and paramedical student alumni database
• Sharing guidelines for the association amongst the alumni and obtaining feedback.
• Creating a common e-mail ID for future correspondence and interaction.
• Proposing a name for the Alumni group.
• Suggesting avenues through which Alumni can contribute to their alma mater.

“Life is a precious gift granted by the creator and saving a life is a precious opportunity for us to serve.”

I am Gayathri, working as a staff nurse at Every year, hundreds of millions of patients around the world are affected by health care-associated infections. These lead to significant physical and psychological suffering and sometimes the death of patients, and financial losses prizes for the quiz competition on hand-hygiene were distributed to all categories of staff on 5th June. The program boosted the compliance with hand hygiene in turn and reducing the infection rates, impacting morbidity, mortality and cost to the hospital.

SSSIHMS. I would like to share with you an incident, which recently happened in my life.

On 27th April 2013, my family and I were waiting to board a train at the KR Puram railway station. While we were waiting for our train, we watched a train pull in to the platform. There was some frantic activity in one of the crowded coaches and we watched a few passengers carry a person from the train on to the platform. He appeared to be unconscious. I instinctively went up to check his pulse rate and breathing. His breathing appeared to have stopped, and I could not feel his pulse. The carotid pulse was very feeble. My training at the hospital kicked in and I started to give him CPR. In the meanwhile, I was joined by another passenger, who was also trained in giving CPR. With continuous CPR for around 15-20 minutes, the patient responded by opening his eyes and he for health systems. More than half of these infections can be prevented by caregivers cleaning their hands properly at key moments in patient care.

Health care-associated infections usually occur when germs are transferred by health-care providers’ hands touching the patient. The most common infections are urinary tract and surgical site infections, pneumonia and infections of the bloodstream.

World Health Organization (WHO) encourages patients and their family members to join health workers in their efforts to practice good hand hygiene. In line with this, the Hand-Hygiene Day was celebrated in May 2013 at the Institute. Under the guidance of the Director and Chairperson of the Infection Control Committee, Dr. Swarna Bharadwaj, the staff and students were encouraged to make a pledge of compliance with hand hygiene by signing Training in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is integral to working in a hospital. Both these programs are now being conducted at our hospital by 5 in-house instructors for BLS and 2 for ACLS certified by the American Heart Association (AHA). A total of 132 nurses have already been trained and the programs are set to extend to others at the hospital.

With qualified ACLS trainers Dr. Kolli Chalam and Dr. Pankaj Punetha, the Anesthesia department has also initiated an on-going program for the benefit of clinicians, paramedics and nurses.

slowly started to breathe. A ambulance and a stretcher had been arranged during this time and he was taken to the hospital. Our train arrived and we boarded it.

I am not sure what happened to the patient. However, this incident made me very grateful to SSSIHMS, where I have been trained in basic life support, which has given me theoretical knowledge, practical skills, courage, strength and confidence to act in such a situation.

There was a lot of appreciation from the onlookers at the station. When asked where I work, I was thrilled to answer that I work at SSSIHMS, Whitefield. I shall continue to be grateful to Swami throughout my life for giving me an opportunity to serve at this Institute.

on a poster, and participating in a quiz conducted by Department of Infection Control regarding hand hygiene.

Posters on hand hygiene and the effects of non-compliance were displayed and The Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Karnataka conducted a two-day program in “Disaster Management” at Brindavanam, Swami’s ashram in Whitefield, during 25-26 May. Eight nurses and three support staff were trained; bringing the total number of hospital personnel trained since the program began last year to 31.

Who said that you need to be a devotee to volunteer at the Sathya Sai hospital? All that is necessary are hearts and hands that are willing to serve. Between 15-19 April, a group of 113 young adults from IHS, a leading provider of diverse global market and economic information, located just across the Institute, offered their services to the hospital as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. Each individual spent one day at the Institute participating in activities that spanned work in the nutrition garden to assisting with the laundry. This initiative was taken up by the state volunteer organization, to encourage youngsters to experience service at the Institute.

Their experiences are best summarized by what they had to say as they left the institution.

“Thank you for providing us an opportunity to render voluntary service at your organization”.

“It was indeed a great success. Our colleagues were more than happy and are now asking for a second phase of service”!!

“Thanks to all the IHS Corporate Sustainability team, management and everyone from the VTO team. We are extremely happy to be a part of the IHS VTO team to serve at Sri Sathya Sai Hospital and it was a wonderful opportunity to learn how to serve without expecting anything in return”

“This was an experience which was revisited after 10 years”

“We got an excellent opportunity to see the nutrition garden, meet with hospital people and understand various programmes related to health improvement going on in the hospital campus. It’s a nice event”.

“Got benefitted personally due to physical activity in the Nutrition park”.

“Glad to take some time out from our daily busy schedules to serve patients, sharing their happiness/experience and helping the hospital staff for a charitable cause”

“It was a great experience and pleasure in serving people, overall we were treated well and with due respect”

“All in all, it was a nice experience. The staff was cooperative and friendly and the food was good”

“The whole experience was fun-filled and lots of team effort was put in for cleaning the ground”

The children on campus had a flying start to their summer holidays with the Residents’ Welfare Association organizing an aero show on 6th April during which professional aero-modellers showcased their skills at flying scaled-down models of gliders and fighter air-crafts. It was a special evening for the children, as they watched with their eyes wide open, the radio-controlled planes made of foam and plastic, soar in the sky above the lawns performing fantastic maneuvers that even the birds would envy.

A special thanks to young Sharath Malve from Botrio Design Labs Pvt. Ltd., who organized the event. It was a big hit amongst the children and adults alike. It is hoped to start an aero-modelling club on campus, where children will be taught to make chuck gliders and in time, learn to use radio-controlled planes.

We are happy to announce that Dr. Voleti Choudary, Director, SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram has offered his new book Life is an Opportunity... Seize It! My Swami and I to Bhagawan on Guru Poornima day, 21st August, 2013.

In this book Dr. Voleti shares his many personal interactions with Swami, ranging from the humorous to the deeply solemn. Each interaction conveys a profound spiritual lesson that can be translated across cultural and religious boundaries.

Dr. Voleti also has a passion for photography and has had the privilege of taking several thousand photographs of Swami, some very intimate and revealing. These captivating photographs form a visually striking backdrop to the book, which combined with the soul-stirring narration enable the reader to become an integral part of the spiritual journey.

I just finished reading the book. I had tears in my eyes as I read page after page in the book that He so divinely inspired and made a reality with you as His chosen instrument...

...I read it word by word, for fear of missing something important...I could not take it off my mind even when I was cooking, doing the dishes, washing the laundry...

Y. Arvind

Alumnus, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Children living in SSSIHMS have something more to look forward to over the weekends. A seasoned Bharatanatyam teacher and a creative art teacher have commenced classes for young and old. Around ten children and five elders are participating in the dance classes and an equal number in the arts classes.

Keyboard classes and Vedam classes for both the nursing students and the residents on campus have also commenced.

Cool breeze, lush green surroundings and a pleasant evening. These formed the perfect backdrop against which the stage was set. The evening of 9th June will be remembered by all for a long time to come. The music band Rhythmic Energy, made up from the alumni of the brass band of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher The Bhajan hall in Sai Nagarjuna, where the weekly bhajans are held, under the aegis of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, had a face-lift with a fresh coat of paint, modifications to the lighting and the altar also adorned with two very beautiful photos of Bhagawan on either sides of the centre photo.

Learning, and Honey Bunnies, consisting of all the kids on campus, came together to put up a wonderful performance of song and dance. Be it the invocation by Shoushilya or the vocal rendering of Snehithane by Medha, the flair of Coldplay by Shakshi or the clarinet tunes of Ajeeb Daastaan by Jagdish Chawla, the cute dancing for “You’re my honey bunny” or the energy during the Gangnam style dance, the class in Krishna Kripasaagaram or the melody of manasa bhajare, the evening was just wonderful, to say the least.

21st April had the campus abuzz with excitement. It was a fun-filled Sunday for the residents. As part of the summer holiday activities, a treasure hunt was organized which saw participation from the young and the old. Doctors took time off from their busy schedules and participated in the hunt with enthusiasm and vigour. It was heartening to see new friendships form in the process of finding the treasure. Clues were hidden in all corners of the campus and eight teams had to crack anagrams, puzzles and tricky one-liners to reach to the treasure.

The evening panned out to be even more exciting with a chaat party being arranged for the residents. Be it the tangy pani puri or the delicious bhel or the ever soothing taste of nimbu paani, everyone had their taste buds satiated to the hilt. And to top off this wonderful day, the hit movie – the Life of Pi – was screened in the Lord’s Children’s Park.

Pictures used on the covers and contents page

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