We are happy to announce that our Senior Consultant Dr. Suganeswari Ganesan has been honored with the Women Ophthalmologists Society (WOS) Leadership Award 2024. This award recognizes her contributions and leadership in the field of ophthalmology.

"Dr. Suganeswari's dedication has significantly advanced eye care and highlighted the expertise of Sankara Nethralaya’s team."

Congratulations to Dr. Suganeswari for this remarkable achievement!

We are proud to share that Dr. Rashima Asokan of Sankara Nethralaya has been honored with the prestigious Golden Jubilee Award by the Indian Association of Occupational Health, Tamil Nadu Chapter!

This award, presented during the CME of IAOH, Tamil Nadu Chapter at Ramada Plaza, Guindy on September 29, 2024, recognizes Dr. Rashima’s outstanding presentation at the National Conference of Indian Association of Occupational Health - OCCUCON 2024, held in January.

A huge congratulations to Dr. Rashima for this incredible achievement and for her dedication to advancing healthcare.

Dr. Rakshita Kene, fellow in Uvea and Medical Retina secured the Runner-Up prize in Free paper competition at the recent INOS meeting. Topic of her paper was "Clinical Profile, Etiology and Treatment Response of Neuroretinitis: Analysis of 75 Eyes from a Tertiary Care Eye Centre in South India.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Kene on this feat!

We are honored to receive the Sri Sant Hirdharam Sewa award for innovative eye care practices at the 18th annual Vision 2020 conference, held at Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana.

A big thank you to Vision 2020 for this recognition.

Sankara Nethralaya is elated to announce our Distinguished Senior Consultant Dr. L Vijaya delivered the ‘Thom Zimmerman Memorial Lecture’ at the 12th International Congress on Glaucoma Surgery. The event, which took place in Abu Dhabi from April 18 to April 20, 2024, featured top-notch sessions, including didactic sessions, interactive forums, grand rounds, videos, wet labs, and executive round-ups.

This gathering of leading minds in glaucoma surgery provided clear insights into evolving techniques, challenges, and solutions in the field. Dr. LV’s participation added prestige to the conference, while also highlighting Sankara Nethralaya’s commitment to advancing eye care.

Senior Consultant of Uvea department Dr. Parthopratim Dutta Majumder has been conferred the prestigious title of All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) National Resource Teacher and awarded a Gold Medal at the AIOS GuruSangam event.

AIOS also recognized Dr. Majumder’s expertise by appointing him as a National Resource Teacher, highlighting his role as a guiding force in advancing knowledge and skills within the ophthalmic community.

The felicitation ceremony was held at the AIOS Headquarters in New Delhi on February 18th.

Sankara Nethralaya wins the 11th International Patient Safety Award in 2024 under the category of “Award for Futuristic & Sustainable Innovation for Patient Safety.”Among the 200 outstanding nominations received from 70 organizations worldwide, the jury chose Sankara Nethralaya for achieving patient safety through a futuristic, sustainable, cost-effective, easily adoptable, and innovative method of reporting near-misses in the organization. Dr. Jaichandran V V, Chairperson of the Hospital Safety Committee (HSC), received the award from Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, on February 23, 2024, in Bengaluru, India.

It should be noted that Sankara Nethralaya also won the International Patient Safety Award in 2023 for “excellence in the culture of safety design.”

Sankara Nethralaya congratulates Dr. Jaichandran VV, Deputy Director, Department of Anaesthesiology for being honored with a Patent Certificate for his pioneering work. Collaborating with the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT-Madras, he developed a ground-breaking “Real-Time View Simulator for Practicing Peribulbar Blocks.”

This innovative simulator promises to offer real-time visualization capabilities. This achievement signifies a leap forward in improving precision and safety in medical procedures. Dr. Jaichandran’s patent award reflects his exceptional contributions and marks a significant milestone in ophthalmic anaesthesia.

In a remarkable feat, Dr. Sheila John, Head Of The Department, Tele Ophthalmology, played a pivotal role at the Telemedicon 2023 conference held in Goa from November 3rd to 5th. Dr. Sheila presented ground-breaking insights with her paper and won the second prize. She also garnered acclaim by receiving two prestigious awards for her contribution to the field of telemedicine.

Adding another feather to her cap, Dr. Sheila John has also been appointed as an executive member to the national body of the Telemedicine Society of India. This esteemed position, bestowed upon her for a duration of two years from 2023 to 2025, recognizes her expertise and leadership in the realm of telemedicine.

The Telemedicon 2023 conference served as a platform for experts, professionals, and organizations to converge, discuss, and showcase the latest advancements in telemedicine. Dr. Sheila John’s active participation, coupled with her accolades and new appointment, exemplifies Sankara Nethralaya’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of healthcare.

Sankara Nethralaya extends our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Anuradha N, Principal of ESO (Elite School of Optometry), on her remarkable achievement!

Dr. Anuradha N has successfully defended her Diplomate in the Public Health and Environmental Vision section by the American Academy of Optometry on the 13th of October, 2023. Dr. Anuradha is also the first person to represent from South Asia in Public Health and Environmental Vision.

Sankara Nethralaya is incredibly proud of her accomplishment and eagerly anticipate the impact she will continue to make in the field of vision and eye care. Join us in congratulating Dr. Anuradha N for her outstanding achievement!

Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas attended the 70th Platinum Jubilee Annual Conference of Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association held in Trichy on 04.08.2023, 05.08.2023 and 06.08.2023. He was awarded the Dr Joseph Gnanadickam Gold Medal Oration Award 2023 during the inaugural ceremony.

The Dr Joseph Gnanadickam Gold Medal Oration Award was instituted in 1983 and is awarded every year at the Annual State Conference to the senior outstanding and eminent ophthalmologists for excellence in ophthalmologic education training and research. This award was also received earlier by Sankara Nethralaya Stalwarts like Dr. S. S. Badrinath, and Dr. T. S. Surendran.

Sankara Nethralaya congratulates the Hospital Safety Committee (HSC) on creating awareness and culture of safety (for patients and staff) in the organization.

Out of 200 nominations from 70 organizations across India and all around the world, Sankara Nethralaya, won the International Patient Safety Award (IPS) in ‘Excellence in Culture of Safety Design’ category, for successfully implementing the “Recognizing Incident Reporting System,” which promotes patient safety and safety culture in the institution’s nine centres across India.

On behalf of the whole SN family, Dr. V. V. Jaichandran received this award from Dr. Jonathan Perlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Joint Commission (JCI) and Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Group of Hospitals at the 9th International Patient Safety Conference, 2023 held on 13-14 February, Taj Palace, New Delhi.

The “Recognizing Incident Reporting System” (RIRS) recognizes the need to report errors that are caught before reaching the patients and/or staff, so that the patients’ safety can be significantly improved within the institution.

The Hospital Safety Committee (HSC) has successfully created the culture of heightened awareness among the employees about the RIRS system over the past two years. Those reporting near misses, were acknowledged during the monthly HSC meeting by awarding certificates and their photographs were displayed at Main Portal Webpage and in the in-house app (SN Health Bytes).

During SN’s Hospital Safety Week annual celebration, winners were announced for the following categories – Best Male & Female Safety Campaigner, 5 BEST Catches, Rolling Trophy for Best Department and Branch. The RIRS system also aims to inculcate a sense of accomplishment and ownership among the SN family as they are involved directly in the hospital safety programme.

Sankara Nethralaya congratulates our ophthalmologists!

Outlook magazine lists Dr. T. S. Surendran (Dept. of Pediatric Ophthalmology), Dr. Pramod Bhende (Dept. of Opthalmology, Vitreo Retinal), Dr. Veena Noronha (Diagnostic Radiology), and Dr. Krishna Kumar S (Dept. of Pathology) among the Best Doctors in South - 2022.

We salute their selfless dedication and humanitarian spirit.

We heartily congratulate the IT dept on their contributions towards making eyecare accessible for our patients in remote locations. Your teamwork and dedication is the heart of this recognition.

We especially thank and appreciate Dr R. R. Sudhir, Head of EMR Development and Implementation, and Ms. Geetha N., Manager, Dept of IT & Systems – IT Development, for their innovative and nurturing leadership, and everyone in the IT dept. for their diligence and dedication.

PRID Rtn Dr. Manoj Desai and DG Rtn. Fazal Mahmood presented Sankara Nethralaya with the Netra Samrakshak (Legendary Institution for community services) award. Dr. Veena Baskaran, Head of Community Services received the award on behalf of our institution and thanked everyone for their support towards this noble cause.

The award was presented at the first ever Rotary National community ophthalmology conference organised by Rotary International District 3190 And Rotary Avoidable Blindness Foundation (Chairman Mr. M. Ravikumar) was held in J.N. Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science, Benguluru on May 21 -22 2022.

Sankara Nethralaya family’s heartfelt thanks goes to all the opthalmologists, nurses, and staff who make our mission a reality each day.

On the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA), held at Chennai on 14-05-2022, ISA National President Dr. Venkatgiri K.M., Vice-President Dr. Anjali Rakesh Bhure, Secretary Dr. Naveen Malthora, and other office bearers honoured our anaesthesiologist Dr. Jaichandran V. V. for his contributions in the field of Ophthalmic Anaesthesia.

Sankara Nethralaya family congratulates Dr. Jaichandran V. V. on this momentous occasion and thanks him for his dedication and enthusiastic contributions.

Dr. T. S. Surendran received the Charaka Award conferred on him by the Rotary Club of Guindy acknowledging his long years of dedicated service in the field of pediatric ophthalmology. Our beloved Chief, Dr. S. S. Badrinath, conveyed his blessings to Dr. T. S. Surendran on this memorable occasion.

The awards ceremony was held at the Hyatt Regency, Teynampet, on 11th May 2022.

Since 1978, Sankara Nethralaya has taken on the challenge of delivering patient-centric eye care consistently throughout our community care facilities. Even through the worst of the pandemic and beyond, Sankara Nethralaya rose to task of treating patients with Covid related complications as well complications which arose because patients were not able access basic eye care in time. We are happy to be acknowledged as one of the World Best Specialized Hospitals 2022 by the Newsweek- Statistica Inc. survey for the third consecutive year.

We thank our consultants, staff and paramedical staff for their continual dedication to the vision of this institution and making this international recognition possible.

After being recognized as one among the ‘Best 4 Ophthalmological Institutions in the World for Year 2021’ by Newsweek, the international news magazine, Sankara Nethralaya wins the The Economic Times Healthcare Awards 2021 for Best Hospital – Ophthalmology on the national level.

We thank all our consultants, nursing, staff and our supporters for their hard work and dedication to provide total eye-care solutions of highest standards to all sections of community in a patient-friendly environment.

Dr. Vineet Ratra won the International Ophthalmic Heroes of India, May 2020 for his video on Iatrogenic Descemetorhexis during Cataract Surgery; The Intraoperative Telltale Signs and Postoperative Management in ASCRS.

The following doctors won the IJO Honor Award for Peer Review for their outstanding quality of reviewing:

The survey was conducted on a global basis between September – November 2019, by Statista a leading Research and Analysis organization and Geo Blue a trusted provider of health insurance, especially to international tourists. The evaluation included a survey of discharged patients, recommendations by thousands of experts including leading doctors, hospital managers and other health care professionals, some of the key parameters taken into consideration were patient experience, both in relation to a specific treatment undergone and overall feel and Medical KPI (Key performance Indicators) on critical areas like quality of treatment and hygiene levels.

The jury consisted of a team of highly distinguished health care professionals from the world’s leading research, academics and clinical care centers from a diverse background consisting of experts in IT usage in health care, outstanding clinicians, researchers, health reform champions, thought leaders, patient safety and engagement experts, pioneers in health care innovation and experts in operating non-profits. This gave the evaluation a holistic approach, taking all the above parameters into consideration.

The global acknowledgment making SN the only ophthalmic institution in India to be featured in the world’s best league, comes as a matter of great pride to every member of the SN family and a befitting tribute to Dr SS.Badrinath the visionary and pioneer who founded the institution 4 decades ago, on the 4 pillars of world class clinical care,focused research, quality teaching and training initiatives and community care and above all as a transparent, ethical institution run on the basis of love and service.

The Association of Lions Clubs conferred its highest recognition and award on Dr TS Surendran, Director-Pediatric Ophthalmology and Vice President Sankara Nethralaya, at its regional meet held recently. It was a matter of great pride and jubilation for every member of the Sankara Nethralaya family as their favourite, ever smiling, jovial and down to earth TSS Sir as he is fondly referred to was honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by Lion Vijayalakshmi Thavva, Lion K.Jeganath and Lion Ashok Mehta, in acknowledgment and high appreciation of his dedicated service to Pediatric Ophthalmology and for being the ‘Sushruta of Strabismus surgery’ for thousands of children and his sterling role in the crusade against preventable blindness

The award was not only in recognition of the veteran professional’s knowledge, skills and dedication to his profession but a strong acknowledgment and appreciation of his personal loyalty to his institution and for being a source of inspiration to all!

The Sankara Nethralaya family salutes its beloved Dr TSS Sir and wishes him many more accolades and honours in his professional journey

It is said that knowledge without humanity loses its purpose, it is only when knowledge helps in preventing/alleviating pain, enhances quality and productivity of life and makes the world a better place to live that it is said to have justified its existence and fulfilled its cause

The life and achievements of Dr PP Santanam who joined the Sankara Nethralaya family as a Guru and Guide, in his capacity as the first Principal of the Elite School of Optometry, a role for which he was personally chosen by Dr SS.Badrinath more than 4 decades back and continues to be a Guru to the SN family is a classic example of the above. A life spent in pursuit of making the working place safer, more worker friendly and productive, a life dedicated to understanding the niche health needs of various professions and sports persons and promotion of occupational health in India through his outstanding and exemplary contribution towards promoting healthy workplaces and his tireless efforts towards finding ‘Occupational Health’ its due place of importance and its growth both nationally and internationally, won its richly deserved acknowledgment and honour as the Indian Association of Occupational Health (IAOH) conferred the coveted ‘Dr C K Ramachander Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award’ on the veteran.

The award was presented by a distinguished team of luminaries in the field consisting of Dr Ashish Mishra, Organizing Secretary, Dr SM Shanbag, Chairperson, Dr Seong Kyu Kang, Guest of Honour and Professor and Chair, Dept of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Korea, Dr Ramnik Parekh, Chief Guest and previous awardee winner of the Lifetime award, Dr Sidram K Raut, National President and Dr Hitesh Singhala, Honorary General Secretary, at the at the glittering inaugural ceremony of the IAOH and 70th National Conference of Occupational Health held at Mumbai.

The Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its warm regards and respects and expresses its hearty congratulations to its friend, supporter and Guru.

An in-depth and highly educative video by Dr Ekta Rishi, Senior Consultant at the Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitro-Retinal services, showcasing a surgical solution to the twin VR challenge of permanent keratroprosthesis and endopthalmitis, through vitrectomy, followed by effective visual rehabilitation of the patient, was acknowledged as the ‘Best Video’ at the 28th Annual Conference of the Vitroretinal Society of India (VRSI-2019) held at Lucknow between the 5th – 8th December 2019.

The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses it hearty congratulations and applauds Dr Ekta Rishi on her video on a critical VR challenge, winning high recognition at a highly prestigious meet attended by senior VR professionals from all over the country.

The Anglia Ruskin University located at Cambridge, UK is among the oldest and well known seats of research and academics in the world and boasts of a large number of overseas students enrolled in its wide array of programs. This high seat of learning recognizes and honours professionals belonging to diverse fields for their sterling achievements in their area of specialization and contribution to society through the same, with an honorary doctorate, on its annual graduation day.

We take great pleasure and pride in sharing that the University conferred Dr Rajiv Raman, Senior Consultant, Vitroretina Department with a Doctorate in Health Services, at its Annual Graduation Ceremony held this year. Cambridge Network, the University’s in-house journal referred to the awardee as ‘An internationally renowned retinal specialist, scientist and pioneer in using Artificial Intelligence in the detection of diabetic retinopathy’.

It was a proud moment for every member of the Sankara Nethralaya family as Dr Rajiv Raman walked up to the dais to receive the Doctorate from Professor Roderick Watson, Vice Chancellor, Anglia Ruskin University, in a most colourful pageant held at the ‘Cambridge Corn Exchange’ located at the centre of Cambridge, on the 14th of October 2019, to the thunderous applause of the large gathering of 2,600 students from all over the world and faculty members of the university.

Sankara Nethralaya family salutes its veteran VR Consultant on this coveted acknowledgement and honour from a highly respected seat of learning and wishes him many more accolades and honours in his journey in clinical care, research and collaborative learning.

We take great pleasure in sharing that the video on the above titled ‘Salvaging an eye with endophthalmatis and permanent Keratoprosthesis’ prepared jointly by Dr Ekta Rishi and Dr Pukhraj Rishi was awarded the ‘Rhett Buckler Award’ considered as the Oscar of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS). The award assumes special significance because video presentations at the annual ASRS meet assume the scale of participation and competition on par with a film festival and high emphasis is given to clarity of image and presentation, flow and narration as much as to the depth of knowledge/skills shared.

It was a moment of triumph and joy to the SN family when Dr Ekta Rishi consultant at its Bhagwan Mahavir department held aloft the highly impressive 8 pound 24 carat gold plated, Oscar like statuette at the 37th Annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) held at the Hyatt Regency, Chicagoi, Illinois, on the 30th July 2019, to the thundering applause of the select audience from the across the world. The Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its hearty congratulations and good wishes to Dr Ekta Rishi and Dr Pukhraj Rishi for this high honour conferred on their impactful demonstration of overcoming a most challenging condition in VR surgery and wishes them many more achievements and accolades in their professional journey.

The Upgraded Department of Ophthalmology at the SMS Medical College, Jaipur conducted the ‘6th Retina Live 2019’, the 6th Retinal Congress and 6th VR Surgical meet, under the Aegis of the ‘Jaipur Ophthalmological Society’ (JOS) on the 16th and 17th of June 2019 at Hotel Marriot Jaipur. This most exciting, informative and interactive event witnessed talks on key topics, debates, panel discussions, differing approaches, technology etc by senior Vitroretina specialists from across the country.

It was a moment of great honour and pride to Sankara Nethralaya when Dr Pramod Bhende, Medical Director and Director– Bhagwan Mahaveer Vitroretina services was awarded the highly prestigious ‘Dr BC Sharma Memorial Oration in Vitroretinal Sciences on ‘Pediatric Retinal Detachments’

The citation of the award acknowledging his exemplary role and contributions to every sphere of activity that Sankara Nethralaya stands for comes as a great tribute to one of the senior most consultants of the institution and his endearing commitment to each one of them.

The Sankara Nethralaya family salutes its veteran Doctor and wishes him many more accolades in his professional journey.

Congratulations Sir!

The World Tamil Chamber of Commerce (WTCC) is a premium professional body in the forefront of exploring, promoting and developing the trade and commerce of the Tamil community all over the world. It also acknowledges and honours eminent professionals for their service to society. The WTCC held the 3rd edition of its ‘Healthcare Excellence Awards’ on the 11th of may 2019 at the ‘Le Royal Meridian’ Chennai in a grand scale, former Chief Justice and Governor of Kerala Honourable Shri P.Sathasivam graced the occasion as the chief guest and delivered a spirited address to the large gathering from the medical fraternity gathered on the occasion appealing them to serve in the rural parts of the country and to take care of their own health too, as they needed to be healthy to dispense good healthcare to the nation. The event witnessed the honouring of senior medical professionals for their contribution to their given field of specialization.

We take great pleasure and pride in sharing that Dr Pramod Bhende, Medical Director and Director-Bhagwan Mahaveer Vitroretinal services, Sankara Nethralaya was awarded the ‘Medical Excellence Award for Ophthalmology’ at this prestigious meet

Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its hearty greetings and best wishes to Dr Pramod Bhende on this great honour by a renowned body.

‘Ocular Imaging’ in its broad sense could possibly be cited as the most significant advancement in the clinical evaluation of ophthalmic diseases. The versatile and highly advanced nature of this technology enables the ophthalmologist to ascertain a host of critical parameters like dimension, thickness, qualitative and quantitative measures, values and micron level changes which makes its role critical in the accurate diagnosis and treatment of the entire gamut of retinal diseases. It was a significant forward step for Sankara Nethralaya, an institution in constant pursuit of acquiring the latest ophthalmic technology, know-how, skill sets and hands on training when Dr Aditya Verma, Senior Consultant, Shri Bhagwan Mahaveer Vitreo-retina services, located at its main campus in Chennai, was conferred with a Fellowship in this most niche area by one of the foremost ophthalmic institutions in the world. Dr Aditya Verma completed a most eventful and exciting year (2018) pursuing research in ‘Ocular Imaging’ both as a technology and process in all its manifestations at the Doheny Eye Centre, University of California, Los Angeles, at the end of which his knowledge and skills in the field were acknowledged by awarding of a ‘Fellowship’. He also gained rich experience in Medical Retina at the UCLA clinic where he was involved in patient management as well as treatment.

The exposure and learning of emerging diagnostic modalities involved gaining experience in newer technologies like ultra wide field (FFA&ICT/Color Fundus), OCT angiogram, (spectral domain OCT) which would prove to be a great value addition to the institution’s endeavours in diagnosis and treatment of patients. It is noteworthy to mention here that the Fellowship provided Dr Aditya Verma the hands on skills in working in some of the top global brands like Zeiss, Topcon, Optos etc and machines and processes which are still at an experimental stage in clinical practice, as some of them are awaiting FDA approval.

The Sankara Nethralaya family expresses its hearty congratulations to Dr Aditya Verma on being awarded a Fellowship in such a niche area by a non-profit, service oriented ophthalmic institution with a standing of more than 70 years, an institution not only considered to be among the foremost in the world in clinical research and medical education but also one which shares Sankara Nethralaya’s service orientation through its philosophy of conservation, improvement and restoration of human eyesight and wishes him many more significant milestones in his pursuit of knowledge.

We take great pride and pleasure in sharing the great news that Dr Nirmala Subramanian one of our senior most Consultants and Professor Emeritus, Oculoplastic Surgery and Senior Consultant at the Department of Orbit, Oculoplasty, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery has been honoured with the highly prestigious ‘APSI – Plastic Surgeon for the Year-2018 award’ instituted by the Dr KS. Shekar Endowment. It was a moment of crowning glory for the veteran and highly respected figure in the field with an international exposure and several ‘Firsts’ to her credit as she walked up to the dais to receive the award considered as the gold standard in the field of plastic surgery from Professor RP Sahi, Retired HOD-Department of Surgery and Professor ML Bhat Vice Chancellor King George Medical College and University Lucknow, to the thunderous applause of the Surgeons fraternity assembled in large number at the ‘APSICON-2018’ the ‘53rd Annual Conference of Association of Plastic Surgeons of India’ held at Lucknow in November 2018. The citation of the award describing the distinguished recipient as a ‘Dedicated Surgeon, Excellent Teacher and Avid Learner’ reflected the qualities of excellence in clinical care, knowledge acquisition and dissemination and research, the founding principles of the institution where she pioneered the ‘Orbit, Oculoplasty, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Services department almost 4 decades back and serves with utmost sincerity and compassion to this day.

The Sankara Nethralaya family puts its hands together for a thunderous standing ovation to its beloved Dr NS and wishes her many more years of service to society, accomplishments and recognitions.

Development of the LogMAR visual acuity charts in various Indian languages and installation of the same in public places to enable the general public do a self check of their visual acuity, a first of its kind initiative by the Elite School of Optometry made headlines when it was implemented a couple of years ago. A white paper detailing the creation and accuracy of this critical vision evaluation utility, authored jointly by the SN team of Dr Kalpa Negiloni, Deepmala Majumdar, Dr Krishna Kumar, Dr Ronnie George and Biman Sen with assistance from Dr Aditya Neog, Dr Medhi J and Choudhary Mitalee which was published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, was awarded the AIOS-IJO Platinum Award for the ‘Best Scientific Paper’ for year 2018 at the 77th Annual conference of the All India Ophthalmic Society (AIOS) held at Indore.

The SN family congratulates the authors for their intensive work being acknowledged with the highest award by a most prestigious body

It was a proud moment for every member of Sankara Nethralaya as its internationally acclaimed expert in Uvea, a great teacher as much as a great clinician and researcher, Member International Uveitis study group and executive council member, International Ocular Inflammation Society, Dr Jyotirmay Biswas was awarded the highly prestigious ‘AIOS-Adenwala award-2018’ for his invaluable contributions to ophthalmology and the AIOS, at the 77th annual conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society held at Indore between the 14th to 19th February 2019. The scientific committee of the AIOS acknowledged and commended the veteran’s ‘Journey in Uveitis through 28 years’ which witnessed clinical care of the highest order, mastery over the subject exhibited through an astonishing number of publications and white papers on the subject and its related areas in highly prestigious peer reviewed journals and outstanding teaching and training endeavours in the field.

The Sankara Nethralaya family salutes and congratulates Dr Jyotirmay Biswas its simple, unassuming Director of Uveitis and Ocular Pathology, known fondly as Dr JB, for this outstanding recognition in his field which makes him a member of a select group of ophthalmologists that includes Dr G.Venkatswamy, in the ‘200th year of Indian Ophthalmology’.

We are proud of you Sir!

Dr. Madhusudhan Jamwar, Founder, President and moving force of the Pune Seva Netra Pratisthan set the tone for the evening with a dash of nostalgia with his fond recollection of meeting the illustrious recipient of the award for the first time, at the All India Ophthalmic Congress (AIOC) at Amritsar in year 1979 when Sankara Nethralaya the institution started by him was a fledgling, one year old, 20 or so bedded hospital. Dr Jamwar’s compliment that no one was more deserving of the award than Dr SS.Badrinath, in view of his pioneering role in alleviating the suffering of the visually impaired both rich and poor, by leveraging a high level of knowledge and infrastructure of his institution was a clear indication that the humanitarian doctor had been a keen observer of his counterpart on the other side of the Vindhyas, who became his mentor and idol in the years that followed. Dr Madhusdhan gave a most absorbing account of how his dream institution the ‘Pune Purva Seva Pratisthan’ operated without a physical address, as an NGO of Doctors that relied on its team of service oriented consultants for the treatment dispensed and the local community for technical and infrastructural support. Dr Jamwar hailed Dr Prema Padmanabhan, among Sankara Nethralaya’s oldest and most versatile and accomplished surgeons being honoured on the occasion, as a most distinguished Cornea and Refractive services Consultant, a humble, soft spoken teacher and guide who has the pride of serving as the Honorary consultant to the President of India.

Responding to the honour a visibly moved Dr Prema Padmanabhan hailed Dr SS.Badrinath as the Patriarch and Matriarch of the institution, she paid rich compliments to the Pune Purva Seva Pratisthan for its 40 years of glorious service to society. Declaring with pride that she had spent 1/3 of her life at Sankara Nethralaya under the mentorship of Dr SS.Badrinath whom she described as a sagacious mentor, chastising father, tender mother and guiding teacher all in one day, she added that he was a man who not only taught his team on how to treat patients but fellow human beings as a whole. The learned Doctor hailed the award recipient as a man who redefined outreach programs beyond boundaries, she expressed amazement on how many of his future plans which had a larger than life canvas and seemed like castles in the air would evolve as real, impactful initiatives with the passage of time, she cited the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) and Tele-ophthalmology supported outdoor eye camps as case studies of the same.

Beginning his address in a lighter vein by referring to the man being honoured as a ‘son-in-law’ of Maharashtra, the Chief Guest of the function His Excellency Banwarilal Purohit, the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu gave a most detailed account of the services rendered by the honouring organization, the man being honoured and the institution started by him. He cited their service, financial model technology adaption etc. The first citizen of the State appealed to doctors to synergize allopathic treatment with various indigenous forms of treatment like Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha for a holistic approach to treating diseases.

Delivering the acceptance and thanks note on behalf of Dr SS Badrinath, Dr Vasanthi Badrinath, Director, Clinical Services, Sankara Nethralaya thanked Dr Madhusudhan Jamwar and his team for conferring the award and taking the trouble of travelling all the way from Pune to hold the function at Chennai. She expressed deep gratitude to the Governor for gracing the occasion in the midst of his busy schedules and for his kind words. Dr Vasanthi Badrinath used the opportunity to highlight Sankara Nethralaya’s pioneering role in introducing trail blazing concepts and practices in ophthalmology like group practice, treating all sub-specialties of ophthalmology under one roof, teaching and training initiatives, advanced community outreach facilities like the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit, developing ophthalmic technology, Electronic Medical Record, exhaustive ophthalmic research etc. Dr Vasanthi Badrinath expressed deep appreciation for the great work done by the ‘Pune Purva Seva Pratisthan’ towards eliminating blindness among the less fortunate sections of society in rural India and appealed to them to extend their services to places beyond the state of Maharashtra.

Dr Prema Padmanabhan’s description of the lofty ideals and qualities of the man being honoured as the ‘Quintessence of a Karmayogi’ summed up the spirit of the day in a single sentence.

‘Vision 2020: The Right to Sight’ the national forum of concerned stakeholders comprising of NGO’s, government bodies and corporate entities, in the forefront of advocacy, knowledge sharing and ensuring best practices, to bring about effective and enhanced eye care delivery honours distinguished individuals who have stood, strived and contributed to its cause and whose efforts have brought about discernible changes to reducing blindness and delivering better eye care. The Indian chapter of Vision 2020, the joint global initiative between the ‘World Health Organization’ (WHO) and the ‘International Association for the Prevention of Blindness’ (IAPB) conferred its highest and most prestigious award ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight- INDIA VISIONARY AWARD’ for year 2016 on Dr SS.Badrinath, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Sankar Nathralaya. The awards were presented at the annual conference of Vision 2020 held on the 3rd and 4th June 2017, at the MGM Eye Institute, Raipur, Chhattisgarh and was attended by a large number of eye care professionals and administrators from all over the world. The VISION 2020: The Right to Sight- INDIA VISIONARY AWARD’ award was presented by the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste and was received on behalf of Dr SS.Badrinath, by Dr R.R. Sudhir, Senior Consultant Cornea Services, Head Department of Preventive Ophthalmology & Consultant In charge – Electronic Medical Records, Sankara Nethralaya.

The citation accompanying the award highlights the recipient’s phenomenal role in reducing the burden of blindness in the country, initiating high level ophthalmic research, setting high ethical and operational standards in clinical care and administering an ophthalmic institution, adhering to values of transparency, high professional ethics and innovation in eye care delivery. It has an entire paragraph dedicated to the recipient’s role in conceptualizing, developing and operating the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) the institution’s revolutionary operation theater on wheels.

The Sankara Nethralaya family salutes its ‘Chief’ on being conferred this rare honour and reaffirms its dedication and commitment to live up to his dream of a blindness free India.

CIMS Medica India, is a global leading provider of drug information, educational content and marketing services to healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical marketers and consumers. CIMS Medica India publishes leading drug directories such as CIMS, IDR and various scientific journals, like the Journal of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology (JPOG), Cardiology Today, Orthopaedics Today & Medical Progress among others. It creates and distributes a wide range of healthcare information including medical and drug information systems, medical journals, customized communications and patient education in Print, Electronic, Web, Broadcast and Live Event formats. Its online brand www.cimsasia.com is among the most powerful drug search options for medical professionals. CIMS Medica joins hands with Hospital Management Show to select the nation’s best hospitals for different specialties on very stringent parameters, every year.

We take pleasure in sharing that Sankara Nethralaya was honoured as the ‘Best Hospital Unit in Ophthalmology’ for the 2nd year in succession by this leading disseminator of healthcare information. The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony held at the ITC Grand Maratha, Mumbai on the 23rd of July 2017, the award was received on behalf of the institution by its alumni Dr. Sahana Vaidya. It is a proud achievement for the hospital and the Sankara Nethralaya senior management takes this opportunity to congratulate and thank each one of you for your contribution towards maintaining high standards in every facet of our functioning.

The ‘Quality Certificate’ was received from SightLife on behalf of CU Shah Eye Bank, Sankara Nethralaya by Shri K.Hari Babu, at a glittering awarding ceremony at the SightLife Managers Annual meet, held at the Taj Vivanta, New Delhi on 4th January 2017, the award was presented by Ms Claire Bonilla, Chief Global Officer, SightLife in the August presence of Ms Shubhi Sood, Quality Assurance officer, SightLife India and Shri Atul Kapoor, Asia-Pacific Manager, SightLife. It is noteworthy to mention here that the CU Shah Eye Bank is the first Eye Bank in the State to be honoured with this high accreditation.

In a rare gesture of its appreciation of his initiative and efforts the leader and forerunner setting and implementing quality standards for eye banks, certified the Manager of the CU Shah Eye Bank and driving force behind winning the accreditation, Shi Hari Babu as a prompt and punctual ‘Time Keeper’ at the awarding ceremony.

The Sankara Nethralaya family conveys its deep appreciation to Shri Hari Babu for his sincere efforts in streamlining and enhancing the operations of the CU Shah Eye Bank with expert assistance from senior members of the institution and expresses its hearty Congratulations!! To him for the honour bestowed on him and the branch of the institution managed by him, by the global leader and partner committed to eliminating corneal blindness.

Three ‘National Board for accreditation of Healthcare Providers’ (NABH) accredited centers, an in-house laboratory quality certified by the ‘National Board for accreditation of Laboratories’ (NABL) the nation’s highest quality certifications and now an international ‘Quality Certificate’ for its eye bank; the wheel has gone a full circle indeed for an institution committed to quality and nothing but quality in all its endeavors.