Activity Report 2007_08

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Always the Ideal beckoned from afar.Awakened by the touch of the Unseen,Deserting the boundary of things achieved,Aspired the strong discoverer, tireless Thought,Revealing at each step a luminous world.It left known summits for the unknown peaks:Impassioned, it sought the lone unrealised Truth,It longed for the Light that knows not death and birth.Each stage of the soul’s remote ascent was builtInto a constant heaven felt always here.Book Two: The Book of the Traveller of the Worlds ,Canto Twelve: The Heavens of the IdealSavitri, Sri Aurobindo

Our effort is to make Aravind an instrument of the Divine Will. We strive to forget our limitations and work with the direction of the Divine Will, not in a vain superficial way but with a deep commitment and faith that guidance comes from a higher level of consciousness. Then one is able to work with the great confidence that comes only with that faith and realisation that we are all part of a spiritual capacity or spiritual power. It is then that all of nature works with you. You don't feel that you are a superior being but you are an instrument in the hands of a higher force and it is in that spirit that we meet our day to day struggles and successes. -Dr. G. Venkataswamy2

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CONTENTSDefining Moments 7Performance 13Community Outreach 15Education and Training Programmes 19Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology 31Information Technology and Systems 43Human Resources 45Aravind Communications 47Aravind Managed Eye Care Services 49Aravind Eye Banks 51Aravind Medical Research Foundation 53Aurolab 57Accolades 61Partners in Service 63Trustees and Staff 64 Front Cover: Photo Credits: Aurolab’s new facility at Veerapanchan with Isakki Raja, Aravind-Tirunelveli Lighting the lamp in the foreground Jeyakrishnan, Aravind-Madurai Background: Mother and daughter at Magnus Rew, UK Aravind-Madurai Free section Mike Myers, USA Sukumar, Aravind-Puducherry Backcover: Rajkumar, Aravind-Madurai Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Dr. Natchiar at Thirunavukkarasu, Madurai the inauguration of the Aravind Ophthalmic Virtual Academy Inauguration of Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital in its new facility, Kolkata Aravind’s senior staff on a tour in Singapore4

ARAVIND EYE CARE SYSTEMMISSION:To eliminate needless blindness . . .. . . by providing compassionate and high quality eye care for all ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS. . . through teaching, training, capacity building, research, publications and advocacy LIONS ARAVIND INSTITUTE OF COMMUNITY OPHTHALMOLOGY (LAICO). . . by providing evidence through research and evolving methods to translate existing evidence and knowledge into effective action DR. G. VENKATASWAMY EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, ARAVIND MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION . . . by making high quality ophthalmic products affordable and accessible worldwide AUROLAB . . . by reducing corneal blindness through eye banking activities, training, research and public awareness programmes ARAVIND EYE BANKS . . . by working with socially committed partners in underserved areas of India and other developing countries ARAVIND MANAGED EYE CARE SERVICES (AMECS) 5

The venue of the Champalimaud award, Lisbon Portugal Inset: Mr. G. Srinivasan with the award6

DEFINING MOMENTS 2007-2008 E very organisation has its share of defining INCREASING SCOPE AND SCALE moments that determine the course of its future. At Aravind, the year 2007-2008 With the relocation to its new, world-class yielded a wealth of such moments. manufacturing facility, inaugurated by Dr. Allen Foster, Christian Blind Mission, Aurolab now hasNEW EMPHASIS significantly enhanced its capacity to make high quality ophthalmic supplies available at affordableConstruction work of the Dr. G. Venkataswamy Eye costs to developing nations.Research Institute, for which the foundation stonewas laid by India’s former President, His Excellency In addition to meeting its ongoing commitments,Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, is now in full swing. The Aurolab is increasing its investment in productbuilding is scheduled for inauguration on development. During the year, prototypes of a low-October 1, 2008, being the 90th birthday of cost green laser for treating Diabetic RetinopathyDr. G. Venkataswamy. The establishment of this were developed. ‘Aurogel’ which is Sodiuminstitute reflects Aravind Eye Care System’s new and Hyaluronate was brought to market. This is the firstgrowing emphasis on the field of research. product of its kind that does not require refrigeration,At the inauguration of Aurolab’s new facility at Veerapanchan 7

thus making it relevant to the developing world.Aurolab is one of the pioneering companies in Indianow making hydrophobic foldable intraocular lenses(Aurovue) which make advanced surgeries likephacoemulsification more affordable.NEW FRONTIERS Dr. Kim, Dr. Mehra, Dr. Namperumalsamy, Mr. Lee, and Dr. M. Srinivasan at the inauguration of the AravindSudarshan Netralaya, a new facility in Amreli, Topcon CentreGujarat was opened on July 20, 2007, making it thethird in the series of managed eye hospitals. The An advanced centre for retinal diseases has beenfirst of its kind, the Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye established at Aravind-Madurai in association withHospital moved into a large new facility this year. Topcon South Asia Pvt Ltd., Singapore, with state-These facilities now come under the umbrella of the of-the art imaging equipment for training andnewly formed Aravind Managed Eye Care Services research in retinal diseases. Mr. Calvin Lee,(AMECS). In recognition of its tremendous Director, Topcon South Asia, inaugurated the,potential, AMECS received a substantial grant from ‘Aravind-Topcon Centre for Diseases of RetinaNarotam Sekhsaria Foundation to strengthen its and Vitreous,’ on January 29, 2008 at Aravind-work and develop a roadmap for enhancing eye care Madurai.in Rajasthan. DEEPENING COMMUNITY OUTREACHAravind Virtual Ophthalmic Academy wasinaugurated on January 19, 2008 by Dr. A.P.J Abdul During the year a spate of new facilities were openedKalam, former President of India. Dr. Sathyamurthy, to enhance patient access - 17 Vision Centres wereDirector, ANTRIX Corp., ISRO (Indian Space commissioned, a new Community Eye Clinic wasResearch Organisation) addressed the function opened at Cumbum in Theni district; the Communityattended by distinguished guests, ophthalmologists Eye Clinic in Tuticorin moved into Aravind’s ownand staff of Aravind. Initially Aravind Virtual building, and will soon develop into a surgicalAcademy will cover the five hospitals of Aravind centre.and in the next phase the education network will beextended to 30-40 of 231 hospitals that LAICO haspartnered with. With the VSAT connectivityprovided by ISRO, the classes conducted at Aravind-Madurai will be broad casted live to classes atvarious centres. The software used will provide closeto real classroom experience.Dr. A.P.J. Abdulkalam with ophthalmic assistants during the inauguration of the Aravind Virtual Ophthalmic Academy8

opportunities to work on national plans for Rwanda, Eritrea and Malawi.Mr. R.Meenakshisundaram and Mr. Venkatesh in Nkhoma, THE OCTOBER SUMMITMalawi The inauguration of Aurolab’s new facility markedA NEW PARTNERSHIP MODEL the beginning of a series of activities now referred to as the ‘October Summit’. This period saw the releaseShalina Eye Hospital at Lubumbashi, Congo and of a series of eight books, probably the first of itsGrameen GC Eye Hospital at Bogra, Bangladesh kind, geared to standardise the learning andwere opened during the year. These were carried out eventually raise the caliber of Mid-level Ophthalmicas turnkey projects with Aravind-LAICO involved in Personnel, ranging from those working in operatingthe building design, selection of staff, in-house rooms to those involved in housekeeping duties. Thetraining, IT and systems installation, and dispatching October Summit also brought together eye carea start-up team for the hospital. experts from around the globe to address two critical issues – “Reaching the Unreached” and “AchievingLOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE Service Excellence through Benchmarking”.In partnership with international NGOs working in HONOURSeye care such as Right to Sight (Ireland), FredHollows Foundation (Australia) and related Portuguese entrepreneur, António de Sommergovernments, LAICO has rich opportunity to directly Champalimaud bequeathed a large portion of hisshape nationwide plans related to eye health care. estate to form a foundation to promote health careA beginning in this direction was made when LAICO and service to humanity. Among other activities, thewas requested by the Ministry of Health and VISION ‘Champalimaud Foundation’ has instituted an annual2020 – The Right to Sight India to draft the Eleventh award of one million Euros, that will alternate eachFive Year plan for India. This was followed by year between excellence in service delivery and excellence in research, both in the field of eye care. Aravind Eye Care System had the honour of being the very first recipient of this global award in recognition of its services which transcend the boundaries of Tamilnadu to encompass the rest of India and the developing world through its various initiatives. The award was presented to Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman, Aravind Eye Care System, by the President of Portugal at an elegant function held in Lisbon, Portugal inWorkshop on Training of Trainers for Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology 9

September 2007. Mr. G. Srinivasan, Dr. G. Natchiar Children at the tenth anniversary celebration of theand Mr. R.D. Tulasiraj were also present at the Janakiamma Child Care Centreceremony During the year several individuals ofAravind Eye Care System received recognition for working mothers, not just peace of mind and greatertheir work. Dr. M. Srinivasan received the Rotary work focus, but also, through various developmental‘For the Sake of Honour Award’; Dr. Ramakrishnan activities, nutritious meals, and a caring environment,was made a distinguished member as ‘International the chance to see their children truly flourish. In orderFellow of Spaeth Society’; Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj to enhance the overall health of Aravind employees,received national recognition from GE Healthcare “Aurowel”, a system-wide health programme wasand Info Media India as the ‘Administrator of the launched by the HR department that involved aYear’. complete physical examination for all the employees, with more detailed examination for those over forty.EMPLOYEE CENTRED The programme was extremely well-received and allowed many to initiate timely health interventions.Aravind’s rapid and multi-faceted growth would not For those interested in outdoor activities, the hospitalsbe possible without the organisation’s community now also have fitness centres, and incentric and more importantly, employee centric an effort to fosterapproach. Four of the Aravind hospitals now have creativity among thechild care centers, a crucial service given for the staff, ‘Melodywomen employees who constitute the majority of Friday’, a musicalAravind’s staff. These centers afford the hospital’s event is organised on a monthlyMr. Manohar Devadoss with Dr. Usha at the launch of basis.“Multifacets of My Madurai”10

A UNIQUE FRIENDSHIP Refraction and Opticals Team at the Pegasus InstituteAravind, as a socially conscious institute takes by a two day visioning retreat which looked atresponsibility for nurturing the environment around opportunities, set long-term direction, definedit. And over the years the organisation has built many immediate goals and identified the resourcesconnections both with institutions and individuals. required to realise them. Pegasus Institute offeredOne such special connection was developed between this training at no-cost in a generous and graciousAravind and a remarkable couple, Manohar and gesture of goodwill.Mahema Devadoss. Manohar Devadoss is now blindfrom advanced retinitis pigmentosa, and his wife All of these happenings during the year have openedspent over three decades in a wheelchair after an up new avenues, partnerships and perspectives.accident left her quadriplegic. The basis for this Collectively these events will help chart the courseunique friendship was the Devadosses’ abiding love of Aravind Eye Care System in the years to comefor Madurai, and the courage and grace of their daily and accelerate its inspiring journey towardslives. Manohar Devadoss is the author of several eliminating needless blindness. Recognising that thisbooks, his most recent being a collection of exquisite will demand significant leadership capabilities,ink sketches titled ‘Multiple Facets of My Madurai’. ‘Yogam’, a proactive process was initiated to fosterAravind organised the launch of this book at leadership in the organisation. This program whichMadurai as a city event on 25th August 2007. The will become a regular feature was designed as apassing of Mahema Devadoss in 2008 was a loss conscious exploration of ‘altruism with pragmatism’deeply felt by the organisation and leaves a void very with special attention paid to everyday application todifficult to fill. work life at Aravind.LOOKING WITHINMeeting ambitious growth targets and workingeffectively towards a shared mission requirealignment within the organisation and tapping thelatent abilities of individuals. To accomplish this,functional teams cutting across all the hospitalsranging from secretaries to doctors, engaged in aguided process of self-exploration and visioning.The four day retreat for each of these teamsconsisted of two days of outbound learning at the‘Pegasus Institute for Excellence’ on the shores ofBay of Bengal near Puducherry. This was followedSenior doctors and organising team at the Yogam-Phase I held at Puducherry 11

ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS Mission: To eliminate needless blindness by providing compassionate and high quality eye care for all Aravind Managed Eye Care Services (AMECS). . working with socially committed partners in underserved areas of India and other developing countries12

PERFORMANCE: APRIL 2007 - MARCH 2008ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS(includes Aravind Managed Eye Care Services -AMECS)* Madurai Theni Tirunelveli Coimbatore Puducherry AMECS* TotalHospital Out Patient Visits 408,461 64,008 185,110 268,312 175,263 138,824 1,239,978 139,947 20,647 Paying (New & Review) 63,556 97,395 51,395 - 372,940 Free (Direct walk-in)Outreach 120,585 26,223 50,610 104,946 79,237 63,930 445,531 20,959 4,574 10,628 26,626 23,958 - 86,745 Comprehensive Free Eye Camps 7,632 4,802 8,261 2,155 1,787 37,480 Diabetic Retinopathy Camps 26,489 13,230 17,975 4,283 1,332 12,843 69,044 Refraction Camps 18,308 23,426 10,558 4,729 6,022 5,735 63,043 School Screening 33,002 1,512 22,861 23,964 81,339 Vision Centres 775,383 158,422 369,559 532,410 - - 2,396,100 Community Eye Clinics 338,994 - Total OP Examinations 221,332Surgeries 51,540 3,884 17,897 28,168 14,185 8,436 122,900 55,657 6,188 21,388 41,305 22,454 14,643 162,845 Paying 107,197 10,072 39,285 69,473 36,639 23,079 285,745 Free(Direct & Camp) Total Surgeries 200,123 6,018Surgery Details 71,642 8,165 26,924 46,977 25,912 20,503 7,854 2,217 127 1010 1,457 669 538 1,530 Cataract surgeries 2,725 10 917 3,190 897 115 1,061 Trab & combined procedures 0 130 74 2 3,282 Retina & vitreous surgery 872 0 94 452 107 48 1,148 Squint correction 562 95 151 250 350 173 4,947 Keratoplasty 1,832 11 77 681 255 0 6,602 Pterygium 366 130 782 439 723 108 4,901 Ocular injuries 2,339 184 687 865 750 214 45,030 Lacrimal surgeries 3,480 70 336 1,287 290 3,249 Other orbit and oculoplasty surgeries 1663 7,656 1,101 1,441 Other surgeries 17,836 1,280 521 12,050 5,120 1,088 285,745 Laser procedures 1,663 0 724 0 LASIK refractive surgery 107,197 39,285 69,473 341 Total Surgeries 10,072 36,639 23,079* AMECS: Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital, Kolkata,West Bengal; Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and Research Centre, Munshiganj, Uttar Pradesh; Sudarshan Netralaya, Amreli, Gujarat AMECS Aravind Eye Hospitals Out-Patient Visits:April 2007 - March 2008221,332 2,174,76823,079 262,666 Surgeries:April 2007 - March 2008 Free Paying 13

Dr. P. Namperumalsamy with Haji. APJ. M. Maraickayer at the inauguration of the Primary Eye Examination Centre at Rameswaram14

COMMUNITY OUTREACH 2007-2008 L aunched with the aim of reaching the information technology innovatively into the ‘Vision unreached, Aravind’s community outreach Centres’, facilitating online consultation based on low programmes have always been an cost telemedicine approach for each patient with the indispensable element of Aravind in its ophthalmologist at the Secondary or Tertiary hospital.relentless war against needless blindness. Apart from This approach helps patients acquire right treatmentproviding various curative, preventive and advice directly from ophthalmologists which saves arehabilitative measures, they also conduct awareness lot of time and money to the patients. Each Visioncreation campaigns for the general public which Centre covers a population of about 50,000.have, to a considerable extent, succeeded in themission. The community outreach teams of all five In the year ending March 2008, seventeen visionhospitals, consisting of thirty-five camp managers centres, now rechristened as Primary Eyeand organisers in all, draw an annual outreach plan at Examination Centres were opened across far andthe end of the year to plan for the year ahead. Each near areas around all Aravind Eye Hospitals withhospital outreach unit organises an annual meet with support from Lavelle Fund, US at Alanganallur,the camp sponsors to solicit their ideas on how to Thiruppuvanam, Srivaikuntam, Thirukannur,extend services further and to recognise their Rameshwaram, Marakanam, Periyanayakkanpalayam,invaluable contribution to Aravind’s mission of Gandhigram, Kinathukadavu, Madukarai, Natham,eliminating needless blindness. Kuruinjippadi, Surandai, Puliyampatty, Vilathikulam, and Solavandan.PRIMARY EYE EXAMINATION CENTRES On February 18, 2008 a Community Eye Clinic wasAND COMMUNITY EYE CLINICS inaugurated in Cumbum, Theni district. Community Eye Clinics provide holistic eye care services to theTo cater to the strong need for developing permanent rural mass with the presence of ophthalmologist andprimary eye care services especially in the rural a dedicated medical team.areas to ensure easy access, Aravind has blended 15

OUTREACH PERFORMANCE Madurai Theni Tirunelveli Coimbatore Puducherry AMECS* TotalComprehensive Eye Camps 377 107 243 382 336 339 1,784 120,585 26,223 50,610 104,946 79,237 63,930 445,531 Camps 19,533 6,294 8,665 18,672 14,644 67,808 Patients examined 15,900 5,091 7,037 14,752 11,453 - 54,233 Glasses advised 12,850 2,839 5,410 10,686 8,413 - 40,198 Glasses ordered - On the spot deliveries 81% 56% 77% 72% 73% - 74% Percentage 18 386Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Screening Camps 4,574 73,683 18,038Camps 25 637 60 214 69 - 2,910 118 10,628 26,626 23,958 -Patients screened 7,897 3,261 6,113 5,180 - 51 -- 1,091 - 13,062Diabetics identified 2,847 -- 572 648 2,449 --DR Patients identified 481 -- 532Mobile Van DR Screening Camps 51 18 -- -- -- - 265 13,062 4,802 -- -- -- - 37,480 Camps 2,449 -- -- -- - 6,509 Patients screened 968 -- -- -- - 11,500 Diabetics identified 532 815 5,390 DR Patients Identified 519 64% 69%Refractive Error Camps 34 37 15 6 155 7,632 31 8,261 2,155 1,787 12,843 215 Camps 2,356 - 2,079 533 6,006 Patients examined 1,960 13,230 1,808 494 573 - 63,527 Glasses prescribed 1,554 837 1,249 349 445 5,978 4,956 Glasses ordered 79% 69% 71% 159 1,560 On the spot deliveries 5 36% - 22 Percentage 23,426 63,043Eye Screening of School Children 107 16 16 31 2 28 15 120 95 52 4 5,735 Schools 26,489 1 17,975 4,283 1,332 218 5 Teachers trained 1,340 1,512 1,167 1,537 41 34 81,339 Children screened Children with eye defects 42 59Primary Eye Examination Centres 6 4 3 4 - 18,308 10,558 4,729 6,022 - Centres New + review 18 18 13 10 Outpatients / dayCommunity Eye Clinics 2 1 1 -- 33,002 22,861 23,964 -- No.of Centres -- New + review 55 76 80 Outpatients / day16

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY INITIATIVESWith the growing number of diabetics in India there diabetes and related general complications. Mostis a simultaneous escalation in the number afflicted physicians do not refer diabetic patients for routinewith Diabetic Retinopathy. Since timely intervention examination of the retina. Even if they did, very fewcan prevent up to 60-70% of vision loss, Aravind show up. The Aravind Diabetic Retinopathywith the support of Lions Clubs International, Evaluation Software (ADRES) was developed bySightsavers International and World Diabetes Aravind Eye Hospital’s TIFAC-CORE with theFoundation has engaged in various activities to support of TOPCON South Asia Private Ltd.,control Diabetic Retinopathy since January 2000. Singapore. This can be used at other eye hospitalsA working model was developed to screen diabetes where retina specialists are not available.patients for diabetic retinopathy and the afflicted are Diabetologists using a fundus camera, can send thegiven treatment. As a Centre of Excellence in retinal images of the diabetes patients to the ReadingDiabetic Retinopathy under TIFAC-CORE, Aravind Centre at Aravind Eye Hospital for grading andis becoming a world leader in patient care, research further management.and training related to Diabetic Retinopathy. TRAINING AND OBSERVATIONA total of 85 awareness seminars were conductedacross all Aravind Eye Hospitals in the year ending Long term and short term courses are offered forMarch 2008. 7,552 participants including Medical ophthalmologists and ophthalmic technicians toOfficers from various NGOs and Primary Health manage Diabetic Retinopathy.Centres participated in these seminars. Twelveexhibitions were also conducted for the general Representatives from several eye care centres suchpublic. as Metro District Eye Care Services, Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa, H.V. Desai Eye Hospital,REMOTE EVALUATION OF DIABETIC Pune, Maharashtra and Vivekananda MissionFUNDUS THROUGH TELE- Ashram Netra Niramay Niketan, Haldia, WestOPHTHALMOLOGY APPROACH Bengal visited Aravind in the year ending March 2008. They were here to know more about theAt present, most of the diabetics come to the system and procedures used by Retina clinic,ophthalmologists only after experiencing Aravind - Madurai.considerable vision loss. Their first point of contactis a Diabetologist/Physician who manages their ROADMAP FOR PROMOTING DIABETIC RETINOPATHY SERVICESDr. Shukla reading a fundus image at the Reading andGrading Centre, Aravind-Madurai The Aravind DR team released on 23rd January, 2008 the “Guidelines for developing Diabetic Retinopathy Programme in India” the guidelines is to assist the regional and area offices of Sightsavers International, India in developing a roadmap for promoting Diabetic Retinopathy Services in India, strategies to be adopted and the execution plan. 17

Graduation Ceremony of the Ophthalmic Assistants - May 200718

EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2007-2008 A ravind Eye Hospitals have attained Eye Hospitals. Subsequently it will enhance its worldwide reputation for their service coverage to 30-40 of the 230 hospitals that LAICO orientation which provides high quality and currently collaborates with. Equipped with the VSATcompassionate eye care to all. Along with providing connectivity provided by ISRO, the classesexcellent eye care, Aravind acknowledges the need conducted at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai will befor dissemination of knowledge and skills to satisfy broadcasted live to the classes at various centres,the needs of the institution and the country. Several thereby providing a virtual and real time classroomtraining programmes have been designed to develop atmosphere to the students.human resource in the field of eye care delivery.These training programmes, both long term and short INTERNAL CAPACITY BUILDINGterm, are intended not only for ophthalmologists butalso for ophthalmic technicians, opticians, clinical As part of Internal Capacity Building, staff fromassistants, outreach coordinators and hospital and clinical and administrative divisions participated inprogramme managers in eye care. Ophthalmology various international conferences and trainingResidents from various universities in the USA programmes.rotate through Aravind during the final year as partof their Residency in Ophthalmology. In the year Ms. G.K.Veni, Administrator, LAICO visited USAending March 2008, nineteen such students rotated from July 15 - August 5 to visit various universities tothrough Aravind Eye Hospitals. get an exposure to administration with special focus on planning, marketing, organising, and evaluating theIn the last year, the following new courses were training programmes and CME programmes offered atintroduced: Aravind. She visited the University of Michigan, Chelsea Community Hospital, the University of- Diploma in Ophthalmic Techniques - 2 years Berkeley, Stanford University, the Programme office- Short Term Course in OT Techniques - 2 months of AAO, the Google Campus and the Seva Office. She- Short Term Course in Refraction Techniques- 2 attended a week-long course on “Strategic Perspectives in Non profit Management” at Harvard months Business School.Aravind Virtual Ophthalmic Academy was officially Dr. Maneksha, Aravind-Tirunelveli went to the US toinaugurated on January 19, 2008 by His Excellency, observe the latest advancements in orbit andDr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. In oculoplasty from September 3-30, 2007. He visitedthe beginning, the academy will cover five Aravind 19

CANDIDATES TRAINED 2007 - 2008Courses offered Duration TrainedOPHTHALMOLOGISTSPOSTGRADUATE TRAINING IN 2 years 8OPHTHALMOLOGY 3 years 6Diploma in Ophthalmology (DO) 3 years 16MS in Ophthalmology (MS) 2 years 21Diplomate of the National Board (Dip.NB)Post DO DNB 13 8LONG TERM - OPHTHALMOLOGY 2 years 6 Ms. G.K.Veni with other course participants at HarvardFELLOWSHIP 18 months 11 Business SchoolRetina - Vitreous 18 months 10Cornea 2 years 1 Pacific Eye Associates (PEA), California PacificPaediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus 2 years 5 Medical Centre (CPMC), University of CaliforniaGlaucoma 18 months 2 San Francisco (UCSF), Mass Eye and Ear InfirmaryAnt.Segment/IOL Microsurgery 18 months 3 (MEEI) and Boston Eye Centre.Uvea 18 monthsOrbit and Oculoplasty 2 years 1 Dr. Veena was in the US for three weeks fromGeneral Ophthalmology 1 October 15, 2007 to observe the work at a fewComprehensive General Ophthalmology Paediatric Ophthalmology departments in reputed 79 institutions. She visited Cornell Medical School,SHORT TERM - OPHTHALMOLOGY 6 months 80 New York, Cornell Medical School, New YorkFELLOWSHIP 6 months 56 University, Ellsworth Ophthalmic Oncology Center, 52 New York, Wilmer Eye Hospital, Baltimore, Wills(for overseas students only) 45 Eye Institute, Philadelphia to update her clinical 1 knowledge, to learn new ways of methodical clinicalOrbit and Oculoplasty 6 examination, finer details in prescribing glasses forCornea children, to diagnose and treat cyclovertical squints 1 and hemihangback technique, and practical tips inSHORT TERM - CLINICAL COURSES 1 month treating muscle palsies etc.IOL Microsurgery 1 month 1Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery 1 month Dr. Veena, Dr. Viji Rengarajan, Ms. Sasipriya,Phacoemulsification 2 months Dr. Ravindran and Dr. Maneksha at the AAO at New OrleansLasers in Diabetic Retinopathy Management 8 weeksDiagnosis and Management of Glaucoma 3 monthsNeuro Ophthalmology 1 monthTraining in Low visionOrientation to Paediatric Ocular Anesthesia for 1 monthAnesthetistCertificate Course in Fundus Fluorescein 2 monthsAngiography and UltrasonographyMID LEVEL OPHTHALMIC PERSONNELLONG TERM COURSES 2 years 38PG Diploma in Ophthalmic Assistance 13SHORT TERM COURSES 3 months 7Optical Dispensing 2 months 4OT Techniques 2 months 3Refraction Techniques 6 months 8Orthoptist 3 months 3Paediatric Nurses 2 months 6Paediatric Counsellors 3 weeksOcularist Training20

Ms. Sasipriya, Faculty, LAICO visited Seva MAJOR CONTINUING MEDICALFoundation, Berkeley, USA to take part in Global EDUCATION PROGRAMMESstaff meetings from October 29 to November 1 and ORGANISED AT ARAVINDmade a presentation about Aravind-Seva activitiesand took part in the discussions. She participated in CME on Current Practices in Glaucomathe Seva Board Meeting and the Seva SIGHTProgramme Advisory Group Meeting. She also Aravind-Tirunelveli, July 21-22visited the Consulting Division of KaiserPermanente and Sutter Health, San Francisco to A total of 92 participants from all over Indiaunderstand the consulting process and approaches attended the CME Programme. The guest facultyadopted at these firms. were Dr. Arun Narayanasamy, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, Dr. Devendra Sood, Glaucoma ImagingDr. Viji Rangarajan went to the US to learn the latest Centre, New Delhi, Dr. G.R. Reddy, Venkateshwaratreatment in oculoplasty patient care and surgery. Nethralaya, Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Murali Ariga,She visited University of California and California Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai, Dr. VinayPacific Medical Centre in San Francisco, Memorial Nangia, Suraj Eye Institute, Nagpur, andSloan Kettering Cancer Centre and New York Eye Dr. Velayutham, Regional Institute ofand Ear Infirmary in New York and Wilmer Eye Ophthalmology, Chennai.Institute at Johns Hopkins. During this visit shelearnt both functional and cosmetic oculoplastic International Ocular Surface Society Regionalsurgeries and the medical and surgical management Meeting (IOSS)of Retinoblastoma. Aravind-Puducherry, October 6-7, 2007Dr. Ilango, Medical Consultant visited Wenzhouschool of optometry & Research Centre and Eye A total of 66 members from all over IndiaHospital in July 2007. In Wenzhou he studied the participated in the meeting. The meeting focussed onoptometry programmes, and visited the research labs, the two complex diseases - Dry Eye and Pterygium.and teaching facilities. Eminent International faculty Dr. Scheffer C G Tseng, Ocular Surface Center, Miami, Florida and Dr. V.K. Raju, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, West Virginia University, USA gave a lot of new insights into the management of the eye conditions. Eminent Cornea specialists from all over the country and Aravind Cornea consultants presented interesting ocular surface disease cases and had interactive case discussions.Dr. Ilango at the Wenzhou School of Optometry & At the ‘International Ocular Surface Society RegionalResearch Centre at Wenzhou Meeting’ at Puducherry 21

18th Update in Ophthalmology MAJOR CONFERENCES ATTENDEDAravind-Coimbatore, October 21- 26, 2007 ELSEWHEREA total of 41 students representing various colleges American Society of Cataract and Refractivefrom Tamilnadu, Bangalore, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, SurgeonsMaharashtra, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Rajasthanparticipated actively in this academic Programme. San Diego, April 28 - May 2, 2007 DR. HARIPRIYA ARAVINDTraining Course on Molecular Genetic Methods in I. Instruction CourseDiabetic Retinopathy - Application of Torsional Phaco in the Management ofLAICO, February 4-14 Challenging CataractsPostgraduate students, PhD scholars and faculty II. Scientific Papermembers of various colleges and Universities - Iris-Sutured Posterior Chamber IOLs: Indications,participated in the above TIFAC-CORE course.Dr. VR. Muthukkaruppan, Director, Research Technique, Complications, and Outcomeswelcomed the participants. Dr. P. Sundaresan, - Surgical Management of Ectopia LentisOrganising Secretary of the training course, III. Videoexplained in detail about the hands on training - Bridging the GapProgramme and the AMRF research scholars taughtthe molecular techniques to the participants. Telemedicine users MeetGuest faculty were Dr. Dorothea Nitsch, London Organised by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London; at Space Applications Centre, Ahmadabad, May 3-4, 2007Dr. Daniel Otzen, Aarhus University, Denmark; Dr. R. Kim participated.Dr.G.Kumaramanickavel, Sankara Nethralaya,Chennai; Dr. Radha Venkatesan, Madras Diabetes Essilor Optical Industry ConventionResearch Foundation, Chennai; Dr. KaruthaPandian, Alagappa University, Karaikudi; Bangkok, Thailand, May 13-17Dr. K.Dharmalingam, Madurai Kamaraj University, Er. G. Srinivasan, Dr. Kalpana Mrs. R. Saradha Devi,Madurai; Dr. S.Krishnasamy, Madurai Kamaraj Sr. Sivasankari and Sr. Prema from Lakshmi opticalsUniversity, Madurai. Aravind-Madurai attended the convention. They learnt about modern trend in optical business and also about new types of lens that will soon be introduced in the market. III Pacific Health Summit National Bureau of Asia Research, Washington, USA, June 12-14, 2007 Dr. P. Namperumalsamy attended the Summit at the invitation of the National Bureau of Asia Research.Dr. VR. Muthukkaruppan with the partcipants of the Er.G.Srinivasan, Ms. Saradha Devi, Sr. Prema,training course on molecular genetic methods Sr. Sivasankari and Dr. Kalpana at the Essilor Optical Industry Convention in Bangkok22

Diabetes Summit DR. DHANANJAY SHUKLA - Importance of serous retinal detachment in diabeticWorld Diabetes Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya,June 29-30, 2007 macular edemaDR. R. KIM DR. UMESH CHANDRA BEHERE- Learning from eye care in India - Duplication of fovea in human eye DR. ANAND RAJENDRANIntraocular Implant & Refractive Society of India - Sequential retinal pigment epithelium rips with2007 regression of a choroidal neovascular membranesChennai, July 14, 2007 treated with intravitreal anibizumab (Lucentis) - CaseDr. P. Namperumalsamy was felicitated by the PresentationSociety for the Award of Padmashree. He chaired the Paper Presentedsession on “Raising the bar in cataract and refractive - Isolated intravitreal bevacizumab therapy forsurgery”. choroidal neovascular membranes of multiple aetiologies – an analysis of 152 cases.World Glaucoma Congress Conference Asia Pacific Association of Cataract and RefractiveSingapore Convention Centre, July 17-21, 2007 SurgeonsDR. P. SATHYAN- Driving in glaucoma Hanoi, Vietnam, September 27-29, 2007 DR. HARIPRIYA ARAVINDGuest lecture at Alexandra Hospital, Singapore, - Hard Lens EradicationJuly 19, 2007 - Teaching Torsional Phaco- Current concepts and management of Glaucoma - Live SurgeryDr. P. Venkatash participated in this meeting. 16th Annual Congress of the College ofInternational Society of Clinical Electrophysiology OphthalmologistsVision, XLV Annual Symposium Sri Lanka, October 24-27, 2007Hyderabad, August 25-29, 2007 DR. P. SATHYANDr. Shashikant Shetty, Dr. Naresh Babu, Dr. Jay - Secondary Glaucoma and Current concepts inKallinath participated in the ISCEV XLV AnnualSymposium. GlaucomaXVI Annual Conference of Vitreoretinal Society of National Workshop - Infoquest-2007India Manipal University, Manipal, October 27, 2007Mussoorie, September 20-22, 2007 Ms. Lakshmi, HR Manager, Aravind-TirunelveliDR. KIM participated as the Guest Speaker for a session- Screening for diabetic retinopathy in a diabetic clinic - Human Resource issues in healthcareDr. Sathyan and Dr. P. Venkatash at Alexandra Hospital, Dr. Kim at the National Conference of Telemedicine SocietySingapore of India 23

III National Conference - Telemedicine Society of India Adjudged as ‘Best Photograph in Imaging Photography’ Category.Chennai, November 2-3, 2007 DR. MANEKSHA VELU, DR. USHA KIM, DR. HADI M KHAZAEI,Dr. Kim chaired the session on AND DR. VIPUL ARORA- Clinical Applications of Telemedicine - Ocular Adnexal Lymphoma: A Clinico- Tele-ophthalmology- Tele- diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy Histopathological Analysis in a Tertiary Eye Care Centre.NHG Annual Scientific Congress Awarded ‘Best Poster Award in Orbit’ Category.Singapore, November 10-11, 2007 Nirma International Conference on ManagementDR. S. ARAVIND was invited as the Guest Speaker- High Quality, Low Cost Health Care – Lessons from Nirma University, Ahmedabad, January 9-11, 2008 MS. LAKSHMI. R, HR MANAGER, ARAVIND-TIRUNELVELI the largest eye care system in the world - Employer Branding - a key for Marketing Hospitals- Cataract surgery – State of the art The paper has been published as a book also.- Phacoemulsification in hard cataract- Phacoemulsification in Subluxated cataract VIII International Advanced Vitreo-Retinal Surgery- New technology in phacoemulsification (ozil) CourseJoint Meeting of the Oculoplastics Association of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 11-13, 2008India & Asia Pacific Society of Ophthalmic Plastic DR. ANAND RAJENDRAN WAS INVITED AS A GUEST FACULTYand Reconstructive Surgery - The Role of Intravitreal anti-VEGF agents inHyderabad, December- 14-16, 2007 Proliferative Diabetic RetinopathyDR. USHA KIM - A typical Manifestation of Diabetic Retinopathy.- Management of Congenital Ptosis - Instruction CoursePoster Presentations XI Sumatera Ophthalmologists Meeting- A total of six posters were presented by Aravind Orbit Polonia Hotel, Medan, Indonesia, January 19-20, 2008 Ophthalmologists. Of these the following won awards. DR. VENKATESHDR. SHIVAYOGI KUSAGUR, DR. USHA KIM AND - Course Instructor for Manual Small Incision CataractDR. HADI M. KHAZAEI- Dacryocystorhinostomy: A comparison of External Surgery. Versus Transcanalicular Endolaser. All India Society for Human and Animal MycoticAwarded ‘Best Poster Award’ in Lacrimal Category. infectionDR. USHA KIM, DR. VIPUL ARORA- Presented Clinical photographs of Delleman Syndrome, Mumbai, February 6, 2008 DR. LALITHA PRAJNA Double Globe? (CT scan Photograph), Metastatic - “Antifungal susceptibility of Natamycin against Lesion of Orbit and Skull, Orbital Dermoid Cyst. Fusarium and aspergillus from corneal ulcers”.Dr. Vipul Arora receiving the Best Poster Award in Orbit Dr. Usha Kim at the Management of Congenital Ptosis -Category Instruction Course24

PUBLICATIONS NEURO – OPHTHALMOLOGY-FOURTH EDITION - Dr. Mahesh KumarIn the year ending March 2008, Aravind publishedseveral manuals and text books. With support from Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), Aravind published ‘A Model forWith support from Seva Foundation, five manuals on Managing Diabetic Retinopathy’ under LionsOphthalmic Assistant Training and three on Training Aravind Diabetic Retinopathy project.in Eye Care Support Services along with DVDs werepublished. ARAVIND'S ATLAS OF FUNGAL CORNEAL ULCERS CLINICAL FEATURES AND LABORATORY IDENTIFICATION METHODSOPHTHALMIC ASSISTANT TRAINING SERIES (OATS) CHENNAI: JAYPEE PUBLISHERS, 2008. 1451. Introduction to Basics of Ophthalmic Assisting - Lalitha Prajna; Vijayakumar; Venkatesh Prajna;2. Handbook for Clinical Ophthalmic Assistants Srinivasan, M (includes two DVDs)3. Handbook for Surgical Ophthalmic Assistants MASTERING PHACOEMULSIFICATION IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS WITH DVD, NEW DELHI: JAYPEE, 2008. 269 (Operation room services) - Dr. Haripriya Aravind contributed several articles to4. Role of Counselling in Eye Care Services – A practical the this book guide5. A Textbook on Optics and Refraction ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN PEER REVIEWED JOURNALSTRAINING IN EYE CARE SUPPORT SERVICES SERIES (TECSSS)1. Housekeeping in Eye Care Services - A practical guide JOURNAL OF CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY2. Medical Records Management in Eye Care Services - VOL: 33 (4) 2007 APR. P.741-742 JETHANI, JITENDRA A practical guide - Pigmented Free-Floating Retrolental Space Cyst3. Optical Sales and Dispensing –A practical guide VOL: 33 (6) 2007 JUN. P. 1104–1105With support from the ORBIS International, and in SATHYAN P; SINGH G; EONG KGA; RAMAN GV ANDconjunction with the Government of India, the PRASHANTH SAravind Paediatric Ophthalmology Service - Suprachoroidal haemorrhage following removal ofpublished the following books. releasable suture after combined phacoemulsification–PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY – A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE trabeculectomy- Dr. P. VijayalakshmiORTHOPTICS SIMPLIFIED JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMIC EPIDEMIOLOGY- Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, Ms. S. Rama, Dr. R. Muralidhar VOL: 14 (2) 2007 MAR.-APR. P.61-69 BHARATHI, JAYAHAR; RAMAKRISHNAN, R; MEENAKSHI, R;Apart from the above, Aravind also published the PADMAVATHY, S; SHIVAKUMAR, C AND SRINIVASAN, Mfourth Edition of the Neuro-Ophthalmology text book. - Microbial Keratitis in South India: influence of RiskDr. Mahesh Kumar with Dr. Pararajasegaram and Factors, Climate, and Geographical VariationDr. P. Namperumalsamy at the lauch of the text book onNeuro-Ophthalmology JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMIC PHOTOGRAPHY VOL: 29(1) 2007 Spring P.32 REVATHY RAJARAMAN; THOMSON, S - Multiple Foreign Body Injury BRITISH JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY VOL: 91 (3) 2007 MAR. P.279-281 VENKATESH, RENGARAJ; TAN, COLIN SH; THIRUMALAI KUMAR, THANGAVEL AND RAVINDRAN, RAVILLA - Safety and Efficacy of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery for Phacolytic Glaucoma 25

VOL: 91 (5) 2007 MAY P.570-575 VOL: 144 (4) 2007 OCT. P.552-556SRINIVASAN, MUTHAIAH; ZEGANS, MICHAEL E; ZELEFSKY, LALITHA, P; RATHINAM, S; BANUSHREE, K; MAHESHKUMAR, S;JOSEPH R; KUNDU, ARUNAVA; LIETMAN, THOMAS; WHITCHER, VIJAYAKUMAR, R AND SATHE, PJOHN P AND CUNNINGHAM JR., EMMETT T - Ocular Involvement Associated with an Epidemic- Clinical Characteristics of Mooren's Ulcer in South India Outbreak of Chikungunya Virus InfectionVOL: 91(11) 2007 NOV. P.1467-1470P VIJAYALAKSHMI; T AMALA RAJASUNDARI; NOELA MARIE MEDICAL MYCOLOGYPRASAD; S KARTHIK PRAKASH; KALPANA NARENDRAN;MEENAKSHI RAVINDRAN; V R MUTHUKKARUPPAN; PRAJNA 2007 SEP 18 P.1-6 [Epub ahead of print]LALITHA AND DAVID W G BROWN MANIKANDAN P; VISMER HF; KREDICS L; DOCZI I; MARASAS- Prevalence of eye signs in congenital rubella syndrome WF; BHASKAR M; ANITA R; REVATHI R AND NARENDRAN V - Corneal ulcer due to Neocosmospora vasinfecta in an in South India: A role for population screening (AEH) immunocompetent patientVOL: 92(1) 2008 JAN. P.179-181J R ZELEFSKY; C J TAYLOR; M SRINIVASAN; S PEACOCK; R S JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGYGOODMAN; T KEY; P G WATSON AND E T CUNNINGHAM- HLA-DR17 and Mooren’s ulcer in South India VOL: 45(10) 2007 OCT. P.3464-3467 KREDICS L; VARGA J; KOCSUBE S; DOCZI I; SAMSON RA;VOL: 91(8) 2007 AUG. P.1037 RAJARAMAN R; NARENDRAN V; BHASKAR M; VAGVOLGYI CSINGH, D; NARENDRAN, R; SARAVANAN, V R AND AND MANIKANDAN PNARENDRAN, V - Case of keratitis caused by Aspergillus tamarii- Pigmented free-Floating Iris Cysts INDIAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGYINTERNATIONAL OPHTHALMOLOGY CLINICS VOL: 55(1) 2007 JAN. P.75-76VOL: 47(3) 2007 Summer P.17-25 SHAH, PARAG K; NARENDRAN, V; TAWANSY, KHALED A;MADAN P. UPADHYAY; MUTHAIAH SRINIVASAN; JOHN P. RAGHURAM, A AND NARENDRAN, KALPANAWHITCHER - Intravitreal Bevacizumab (Avastin) for Post Laser- Microbial Keratitis in the Developing World: Does Anterior Segment Ischemia in Aggressive Posterior Prevention Work? Retinopathy of PrematurityVOL: 47(3) 2007 Summer P.27-43 VOL: 55(1) 2007 JAN. P.5-6DHANANJAY SHUKLA; SIVAKUMAR R. RATHINAM AND SRINIVASAN, MEMMETT T. CUNNINGHAM JR. - Infective Keratitis: a challenge to Indian ophthalmologists- Contribution of HIV/AIDS to Global Blindness. VOL: 55(1) 2007 JAN. P.27-31VOL: 47(3) 2007 Summer P.45-62 VASANTHI, MANI; PRAJNA, NAMPERUMALSAMY VENKATESH;CAROLYN T. BRAMANTE; ELIZABETH A. TALBOT; SIVAKUMAR LALITHA, PRAJNA; MAHADEVAN, KANNAN ANDR. RATHINAM; ROSALIND STEVENS AND MICHAEL E. ZEGANS MUTHUKKARUPPAN, VEERAPPAN- Diagnosis of Ocular Tuberculosis: A Role for New - A Pilot Study on the Infiltrating Cells and Cytokine Testing Modalities? Levels in the Tear of Fungal Keratitis PatientsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY VOL: 55(1) 2007 JAN. P.37-42 BHARATHI, JAYAHAR M; SRINIVASAN, M; RAMAKRISHNAN, R;VOL: 144(3) 2007 SEP. P.419-423 MEENAKSHI, R; PADMAVATHY, S AND LALITHA, PRAJNA NDHANANJAY SHUKLA; ANAND RAJENDRAN; DANIEL GIBBS; - A Study of the Spectrum of Acanthamoeba Keratitis: aBALASUBBU SUGANTHALAKSHMI; KANG ZHANG AND PERIASAMYSUNDARESAN three-year study at a tertiary eye care referral center- Unusual Manifestations of X-Linked Retinoschisis: in South India Clinical Profile and Diagnostic Evaluation VOL: 55(1) 2007 JAN. P.64-67 BHARATHI, M JAYAHAR; SRINIVASAN, M; RAMAKRISHNAN, R;VOL: 144(3) 2007 SEP. P.453-454 MEENAKSHI, R; PADMAVATHY, S AND LALITHA, PRAJNA NDHANANJAY SHUKLA; NAGASUBRAMANIAN VIDHYA; NOELA M. - Ulcerative Keratitis Associated with Contact Lens WearPRASAD; RAJENDRAN MAHALAKSHMI; CHANDRAMOHANKOLLURU AND RAMASWAMI KRISHNADAS VOL: 55(2) 2007 MAR. P.113-116- Evaluation of Patient Age as a Risk factor for VASUMATHY, VEDANTHAM; JITHENDRA, JETHANI AND PERUMALSAMY, VIJAYALAKSHMI Intraocular Pressure Elevation after Intravitreal - Electroretinographic assessment and diagnostic Triamcinolone reappraisal of children with visual dysfunction: aVOL: 144 (1) 2007 JUL. P.144-146 prospective studyRAJARAMAN, REVATHY; LALITHA, PRAJNA; RAGHAVAN, ANITA;PALANISAMY, MANIKANDAN; NAMPERUMALSAMY, P ANDPRAJNA, VENKATESH- Traumatic Lenticular Abscess: Clinical Description and outcome26

VOL: 55(2) 2007 MAR. P.139-141 VOL: 55(6) 2007 NOV. - DEC. P.413-415JITENDRA, JETHANI; SUCHETA, PARIJA S; SHASHIKANT, SHETTY KIM, RAMASAMYAND VIJAYALAKSHMI, P - Introduction, Mechanism of Action and Rationale for- Atypical association of Duane retraction syndrome Anti-vascular Endothelial Growth Factor drugs in and Bardet Biedl syndrome Age-related Macular DegenerationVOL: 55 (2) 2007 MAR. P.142-143 VOL: 55(6) 2007 NOV. P.427-430JITENDRA, JETHANI; ANURAG, MISHRA; SHASHIKANT, SHETTY S SHUKLA, DHANANJAY ; NAMPERUMALSAMY, PERUMALSAMY;AND VIJAYALAKSHMI, P GOLDBAUM, MAURO AND CUNNINGHAM JR., EMMETT T- Weill-Marchesani syndrome associated with retinitis - Pegaptanib Sodium for Ocular Vascular Disease pigmentosa VOL: 55(6) 2007 NOV. P.460-462 RAGHURAM, A; SARAVANAN, V R AND NARENDRAN, VVOL: 55(2) 2007 MAR. P.148-149 - Intracameral Injection of Bevacizumab (Avastin) ToVASUMATHY, VEDANTHAM; KIM, RAMASAMY- Pigmented epiretinal membranes caused by RPE Treat Anterior Chamber Neovascular Membrane in a Painful Blind Eye migration: OCT-based observational case reports JOURNAL OF ARCH OPHTHALMOLVOL: 55(2) 2007 MAR. P.150-151VASUMATHY, VEDANTHAM V; JITENDRA, JETHANI; ANIL, VOL: 125(10) 2007 OCT. P.1381-1386AGARWAL AND PERUMALSAMY, VIJAYALAKSHMI APOORVA MITTAL; SAURABH MITTAL; M. JAYAHAR BHARATI;- Retinitis pigmentosa associated with blepharophimosis, RENGAPPA RAMAKRISHNAN; SANKARLINGAM SARAVANAN AND PADMAKAR S. SATHE blue dot cataract and primary inferior oblique - Optic Neuritis Associated With Chikungunya Virus overaction: A new syndrome complex? Infection in South IndiaVOL: 55(3) 2007 MAY-JUN. P.173-184RATHINAM, S R; NAMPERUMALSAMY, P VOL: 125(10) 2007 OCT. P.1428-1430- Global Variations and Pattern Changes to UMESH C. BEHERA; DHANANJAY SHUKLA AND RAMASAMY KIM - Pseudoduplication of Fovea in a Human Eye Epidemiology of Uveitis VOL: 125(6) 2007 JUN. P.789-793VOL: 55(3) 2007 MAY-JUN. P.221-222 LALITHA, PRAJNA; SHAPIRO, BRETT L; SRINIVASAN, MUTHAIAH;VEDANTHAM, VASUMATHY; RAJAGOPAL, JYOTHSNA PRAJNA, NAMPERUMALSAMY VENKATESH; ACHARYA, NISHA R;- Double Combined Pigment Epithelial and Retinal FOTHER GILL, ANNETTE W; RUIZ, JAZMIN; CHIDAMBARAM, JAYA D; MAXEY, KATHRYN J; HONG, KEVIN C; MCLEOD, Hamartomas In A Single Eye: An Optical Coherence STEPHEN D AND LIETMAN, THOMAS M Tomographic Study - Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Fusarium, Aspergillus,VOL: 55(3) 2007 MAY-JUN. P.228-229 and other Filamentous Fungi Isolated from KeratitisPEREIRA, NOLETTE; DEV, ANAND AND ARAVIND, HARIPRIYA- Herniation of the Anterior Lens Capsule VOL: 125(9) 2007 SEP. P.1240 PARTHASARATHI, S; MYINK, K; SINGH, G; MON, S; RAMAN, GVVOL: 55(4) 2007 JUL.-AUG. P.298-299 AND DHILLON, BSHUKLA, DHANANJAY; RAMASAMY, KIM - A Ring on the Retina- Vitrectomy for Circumscribed Choroidal Hemangioma JOURNAL OF GENETICS with Exudative Retinal Detachment Refractory to Transpupillary Thermotherapy VOL: 86(2) 2007 AUG. P.165-168 NALLATHAMBI, JEYABALAN; NEETHIRAJAN, GURUSWAMY; USHA,VOL: 55(4) 2007 JUL.-AUG. P.319-320 KIM; JITENRA, JETHANI; BAERE, ELFRIDE DE AND SUNDARESAN,SHAH, PARAG K; NARENDRAN, V PERIYASAMY- Intravitreal Bevacizumab in Aggressive Posterior - FOXL2 mutations in Indian Families with Retinopathy of Prematurity Bleparophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus In versus SyndromeVOL: 55(5) 2007 SEP. P.329-330 JOURNAL OF AAPOSVEDANTHAM, VASUMATHY- Retinopathy of prematurity screening in the Indian VOL: 11(5) 2007 OCT. P.495-496 JITENDRA JETHANI; P. VIJAYALAKSHMI AND MAHESH KUMAR population: It's time to set our own guidelines - Atypical ophthalmological presentation ofVOL: 55(5) 2007 SEP. P.395 neurocysticercosis in two childrenVENKATESH, RENGARAJ; VEENA, KANNUSAMY; GUPTA,SANTHOSH AND RAVINDRAN, RAVILLA VOL: 12(2) 2008 APR. P.163-5 (Epub 2007 DEC. 26)- Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome Associated with SUNDARESH K; JETHANI J; VIJAYALAKSHMI P - Optical iridectomy in children with corneal opacities TerazosinVOL: 55(5) 2007 SEP. P.399-400TOPRANI, KETKI; SHETTY, SHASHIKANT AND VIJAYALAKSHMI, P- Congenital or Acquired Horner's? 27

JOURNAL OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE CORNEAVOL: 53(4) 2007 OCT. P.236-240 VOL: 26(2) 2007 FEB. P.119-122PRIYA, C; G HOOGENDIJK, K T; BERG, M V D; RATHINAM, S PRAJNA, VENKATESH N; NIRMALAN, PRAVEEN K; SARAVANAN,R; AHMED, A; MUTHUKKARUPPAN, V R AND HARTSKEERI, R A SOMU AND SRINIVASAN, MUTHAIAH- Field Rats form a major infection source of - Economic Analysis of Corneal Ulcers in South India Leptospirosis in and around Madurai, India VOL: 26(2) 2007 FEB. P.207-211 ROHINI, GOMATHINAYAGAM; MURUGESWARI, PONNALAGU;JOURNAL OF RETINAL CASES AND BRIEF PRAJNA, NAMPERUMALSAMY VENKATESH; LALITHA, PRAJNAREPORTS AND MUTHUKKARUPPAN, VEERAPPAN - Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP-8, MMP-9) and theVOL: 2 2008 P.55–60JEAN SHEIN; DHANANJAY SHUKLA; SANTAN REDDY AND Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases (TIMP-1,CUNNINGHAM JR., EMMETT T TIMP-2) in Patients with Fungal Keratitis- Macular Infarction as a Presenting Sign of Systemic VOL: 26(3) 2007 APR. P.255-259 Lupus Erythematosus LALITHA, PRAJNA; TIWARI, MAMTA; PRAJNA, NAMPERUMALSAMY VENKATESH; GILPIN, CHRISTOPHER;JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMIC SURGERY AND PRAKASH, KARTHIK ANDSRINIVASAN, MUTHAIAHLASERS IMAGING - Nocardia Keratitis: species, drug sensitivities, andVOL. 39(1) 2008 JAN.-FEB. P.81-85 clinical correlationDHANANJAY SHUKLA; ANAND RAJENDRAN; RAJKUMARMAHESHWARI AND KANNAN B. NARESH CURR OPIN OPHTHALMOL- Early Closure of Macular Hole Secondary to VOL: 19(1) 2008 JAN. P.60-65 Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment With Internal ARAVIND, SRINIVASAN; HARIPRIYA, ARAVIND AND TARANUM, Limiting Membrane Peeling. SYED SUMARA - Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Lens ManufacturingJOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY RESEARCH ANDTECHNIQUE in IndiaE pub, 2008 DIABETES CAREPARTHASARATHY ARPITHA; NAMPERUMALSAMY V. PRAJNA;MUTHAIAH SRINIVASAN AND VEERAPPAN MUTHUKKARUPPAN VOL: 30(9) 2007 SEP. P.2302-2306- A Method to Isolate Human Limbal Basal Cells PERUMALSAMY, NAMPERUMALSAMY; PRASAD, NOELA M; SATHYA, SHANKAR AND RAMASAMY, KIM Enriched For a Subset of Epithelial Cells with a Large - Software for Reading and Grading Diabetic Nucleus / Cytoplasm Ratio Expressing High Levels of P63 Retinopathy: ADRES 3.0ACTA OPHTHALMOL SCAND EYEVOL: 85(3) 2007 MAY P.337-338 2007 MAR. 30 (E pub)SATHYAN, P; MYINT, K; SINGH, G; MON, S; SARAVANAN, V R SHUKLA, D; KANUNGO, S; PRASAD, N M AND KIM, RAND DHILLON, S - Surgical Outcome for Vitrectomy in Eale’s Disease- Acute painful Visual Loss from Accelerated VOL: 21(4) 2007 APR. P.569-571 Hypertension Choroidopathy SHUKLA, D; KOLLURU, C M; RAJENDRAN, A; DESHPANDE, N AND KIM, RVOL: 85(3) 2007 MAR. P.216-217 - Evolution and Management of Diabetic TractionalVENKATESH, R; MANOJ, S; BADELLA, S; DAS, S AND TAN, C S- Rapid Resolution of pre macular haemorrhage after Papillopathy: an optical coherence tomographic study Nd: yag laser Posterior Hyaloidotomy VOL: 21(5) 2007 MAY P.667-668 RATHINAM, S R; LALITHA, PCOMMUNITY EYE HEALTH - Paradoxical Worsening of Ocular Tuberculosis in HIVVOL: 20(64) 2007 MAR. P.16 Patients after Antiretroviral TherapyTHULASIRAJ, R; SRINIVASAN, V- Care of Instruments and Equipment: a success story VOL: 29 2007 JUN. 29 (E pub) BHARATHI, M; RAMAKRISHNAN R; MANEKSHA V; SHIVAKUMARVOL: 20(64) 2007 DEC. P.66-67 C; NITHYA V AND MITTAL STHULASIRAJ, R D - Comparative Bacteriology of Acute and Chronic- Advocacy to Improve the Delivery of Eye Care Dacryocystitis28

VOL: 21(6) 2007 JUN. P.742-745 VOL: 13 2007 APR. P.19SHUKLA, D; MAHESHWARI, R AND KIM, R SUGANTHALAKSHMI B; SHUKLA D; RAJENDRAN A; KIM R;- Barrage Laser Photocoagulation for Macula-Sparing NALLATHAMBI J AND SUNDARESAN P - Genetic variations in the hot spot region of RS1 gene Asymptomatic Clinical Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachments in Indian patients with juvenile X-linked retinoschisis2007 AUG (E pub) VOL: 13(13) 2007 JUL. P.1161-1168SHAH, P K; NARENDRAN, V; KALPANA, N AND TAWANSY, K A KANAGAVALLI, J; PANDARANAYAKA, P J; KRISHNADAS, S R AND- Anatomical and Visual Outcome of Stages 4 and 5 SUNDARESAN, P - In Vitro and in Vivo Study on the Secretion of the retinopathy of Prematurity Gly367srg Mutant proteinVOL: 21(8) 2007 AUG. P.1102-1108MANIKANDAN, P; BHASKAR, M; REVATHY, R; ANITA, R; JOURNAL OF TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTHABARNA LAKSHMI L R AND NARENDRAN, V- Isolation and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of VOL: 13(3) 2007 JUN. P.313-321 BAI, THULASIRAJ; MURALI, V; KIM, R AND SRIVATSA, S K Nocardia among People with Culture-Proven Ocular - Teleophthalmology-Based Rural Eye Care in India Infections attending a tertiary care Eye Hospital in Tamilnadu, South India POINTS DE VUE2007 DEC. 21 (E pub) VOL: 57 Autumn 2007SHUKLA D; CHAKRABORTY S KIM, R; ILANGO, K; SANGHAMITRA KANUNGO- Pre-Macular Nematode in Diffuse Unilateral Subacute - Retinal Problems Leading to Low Vision Aids Neuroretinitis. HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICSJOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS VOL: 16(20) 2007 OCT. 15 P. 3411-22 FU L; GARLAND D; YANG Z; SHUKLA D; RAJENDRAN A;VOL: 121(3-4) 2007 MAY P.475-482 PEARSON E; STONE EM; ZHANG K AND PIERCE EARAMACHANDRAN, RAMYA DEVI; PERUMALSAMY, - The R345W Mutation in EFEMP1 is Pathogenic andVIJAYALAKSHMI AND HEJTMANCIK, J FIELDING- Autosomal Recessive Juvenile Onset Cataract causes AMD-Like Deposits in Mice Associated with Mutation in BFSP1 JOURNAL OF NUTRITIONVOL: 121 (1) 2007 NOV. P.107-112 VOL: 137 2007 P.2470–2474NALLATHAMBI, J; MOUMNE, L; DEBAERE E; BEYSEN, E; JAMES M. TIELSCH; LAKSHMI RAHMATHULLAH; R. D.USHA, K; SUNDARESAN, P AND VEITIA, R A THULASIRAJ; JOANNE KATZ; CHRISTIAN COLES; S. SHEELADEVI;- A Novel polyalanine Expansion in FOXL2: the Forst RAJEESH JOHN AND KARTHIK PRAKASH - Newborn Vitamin A Dosing Reduces the Case Fatality Evidence for a recessive form of the Blepharophimosis Syndrome (BPES) associated with Ovarian but not Incidence of Common Childhood Morbidities Dysfunction in South IndiaOPHTHALMIC PLASTIC & RECONSTRUCTIVE JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGYSURGERY VOL: 80(3) 2008 MAR. P.536-546VOL: 23(3) 2007 MAY-JUN. P.202-205 RAJASUNDARI TA; SUNDARESAN P; VIJAYALAKSHMI P; BROWNSHAH, N B; CHABG, W Y; WHITE, V A; HERAN, M K AND DW; JIN LROOTMAN, J - Laboratory confirmation of congenital rubella- Orbital Lipoma: 2 cases and review of Literature syndrome in infants: an eye hospital basedCLINICAL VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY investigation2008 APR. 9 (E pub)VERMA A; RATHINAM SR; PRIYA CG; MUTHUKKARUPPAN VR;STEVENSON B AND TIMONEY JF- LruA and LruB antibodies in sera of human cases of leptospiral uveitis.JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR VISIONVOL: 14 2008 MAR.12 P.500-507ANANTHI S; CHITRA T; BINI R; PRAJNA NV; LALITHA P ANDDHARMALINGAM K- Comparative analysis of the tear protein profile in mycotic keratitis patients 29

At the Workshop to develop National Eye Care Programme for Rwanda30

LIONS ARAVIND INSTITUTE OF COMMUNITYOPHTHALMOLOGY 2007-2008 F ounded with the mission of contributing to Follow up Visits and Monitoring followed by a the prevention and control of global final situation analysis visit. Until March 2008, blindness through teaching, training, LAICO has provided this service to 231 eye consultancy, advocacy and research in eye hospitals spread across the country and in othercare delivery, LAICO has accomplished a great deal developing nations.towards fulfilling this mission in the last fifteenyears. NEEDS ASSESSMENT VISITS - Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot, MadhyaLAICO’s work makes it possible for Aravind totransfer the best of its expertise and experience to an Pradesh (Specifically to strengthen paediatric eyeever-increasing number of eye care institutions care services)across India and the rest of the developing world. Its - Lions Netralaya, Sholapur, Maharashtraglobal impact on the quality and efficiency of eye - Raj Eye Hospital and Research Centre,care delivery is steadily growing. Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh - Late Dr. Veena Chowdhary Lions Eye Hospital,CONSULTANCY AND CAPACITY Shahabad (M), Kurukshetra, HaryanaBUILDING SERVICES - Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata, West BengalA major part of LAICO’s activities centres around - Berhan National Referral Eye Hospital in Asmara,enhancing the capacity of existing and new eye Eritreahospitals worldwide for comprehensive - Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatricorganisational development through sharing the best Hospital, Yaounde, Cameroonpractices in eye care. It works in collaboration with - Central Hospital, Yaounde, Camerooninternational voluntary organisations such as the - Central University Hospital, Yaounde (CHU),Lions Clubs International Foundation, Sightsavers CameroonInternational, Christian Blind Mission, International - Presbyterian Health Services Eye Clinic,Eye Foundation, Right to Sight, Seva Foundation, Bafussam, CameroonORBIS International, Lavelle Fund for the Blind and - Mbingo Baptist Hospital, Bamenda, Cameroonthe World Health Organisation. - Eye Department at Provincial Hospital, Bamenda, CameroonConsultancy is carried out in phases - Needs - Grarbet Tehadiso Mahber, Butajira, EthiopiaAssessment Visits, Vision Building Workshops, - Fitsum Birhan Eye Centre, Mekelle, Ethiopia 31

Needs Assessment visit to Cameroon - Lions Netralaya, Sholapur, Maharashtra, - Raj Eye Hospital and Research Centre,- Quiha Zonal Hospital, Mekelle, Ethiopia,- University Teaching Hospital, Kigali (CHUK), Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh Rwanda November 10-12, 2007VISION BUILDING AND STRATEGIC - Shalina Eye Hospital, Lubumbashi, CongoPLANNING WORKSHOPS This workshop was held at Aravind-PuducherryApril 9-13, 2007- L. M. Patel Rotary Eye Hospital, Malad, Mumbai. January 21-26, 2008- Lions Club of Madras and Velacherry Eye - State Hospital, OGUN State, Nigeria Hospital, Chennai - Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital, Francistown,June 12-13, 2007 BotswanaSudarshan Netralaya, Amreli February 4-9, 2008This workshop was held at Aravind-Coimbatore - Nkhoma Eye Hospital, Nkhoma, MalawiSeptember 24-26, 2007 FOLLOW UP VISITS- Grameen GC Eye Hospital, Bogra, Bangladesh - Charmakki Narayan Shetty Memorial Lions EyeSeptember 24-29, 2007 Hospital, Kota, Mangalore, Karnataka - To Sight First Hospital, Hendala and Lions Gift- Late Dr. Veena Chowdhary Lions Eye Hospital, Shahabad (M), Kurukshetra, Haryana of Sight Hospital, Panadura - Sree Janaki Eye Hospital, Janakpur, Nepal- Khandwa Lions Eye Hospital, Madhya Pradesh- Lions Eye Hospital, Parasia, Madhya Pradesh OTHER CONSULTANCY VISITSNeeds Assessment Visit to Ethiopia at Grarbet Tehadiso Disha Eye Hospital and Research Centre Pvt, Ltd.,Mahber, Butajira, Ethiopia Kolkata, November 26 - December 2 An Aravind team consisting of Dr. R.D. Ravindran, Ms. Preethi Pradhan, Mr. Suresh Kumar, and Ms. Deepa Krishnan visited Disha Eye Hospital to address their specific request to formalise and standardise the current administrative system to make Disha’s growth much easier and simpler. As a part of this assignment an in-depth study of the organisation was made regarding their strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. They also conducted a one day workshop where there was a debriefing of the analysis and a few recommen- dations to improve in administrative areas. Vision Building Workshop for Grameen GC Eye Hospital, Bogra32

Dr. Sathyan and Mr. Keerthi Pradhan during the Peking University Eye Centre (PUEC) – Eli LillyConsultancy visit to Vietnam Diabetic Eye Disease Center (ELDEDC), Beijing, China, June 20-26,2007Melaghar Vision Centre and Indira Gandhi MemorialGovt. Hospital, Agartala, Tripura, April 1-8, 2007 With support from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation Inc. and International Council ofMr. Selvakumar, faculty, Aravind School of Ophthalmology (ICO), an Aravind team consistingOptometry was invited to provide technical of Dr. K. Naresh Babu, Mr. V. Vijayakumar, andassistance to set up primary eye care units including Mr. S.P. Venkatesh visited Peking University Eyerefraction chamber and to train the ophthalmic Center to provide guidance and support toassistants at rural government vision centre, ELDEDC, in developing a detailed strategic planMelaghar. He and Mr. Prem Anand, Senior Manager, for setting up of an effective diabetic retinopathyIL&FS set up the digital ‘Ophthalmic telecon- service and also to assist in designing the trainingsultancy unit’ using Aravind’s ‘Eyestalk’ at Agartala. programmes for the development of various cadres of human resources.Community Eye Care Programme, Vietnam,April 9-15, 2007 Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, Tanzania and Al Noor Foundation, Egypt,Mr. Keerti Pradhan, Senior Faculty, LAICO and August 1-13, 2007Dr. P. Sathyan Aravind-Coimbatore visited threeprovinces in Vietnam for a mid term evaluation of a Mr. D. Nagarajan, Consultant, Dr. Sandra Dratler -community eye care programme funded by Atlantic SEVA Foundation and Mr. Suresh Kumar - LAICOPhilanthropies and managed by Fred Hollows Faculty visited the Kilimanjaro Centre forFoundation-Vietnam. Community Ophthalmology (Moshi, Tanzania) and Al Noor Foundation (Cairo, Egypt) as part of a visioning process to the concerned Centre of Community Ophthalmology (CCO). Their purpose was to start a process with each organisation to establish a vision for their CCO development with focus on 2010. Kandze People’s Hospital, (Kham Eye Centre), Dartsedo, Eastern Tibet, China, August 14-19 Aravind team consisting of Dr. R. D. Ravindran, Ms. Preethi Pradhan and Ms. Sasipriya KM along with Mr. Keerti Pradhan, visited Kandze People’s Hospital to carry out Needs Assessment and toDr. Naresh Babu with staff at Peking University Eye Consultancy visit to Kandze People’s Hospital, Dartsedo,Centre Eastern Tibet 33

conduct a workshop to guide the team in planning - LEPRA Society, Andhra Pradeshthe growth of the Kham Eye Centre that would - Ministry of Health and Sight Savers Internationalfacilitate the scaling up of the existing eyedepartment to a full fledged eye hospital. supported Project, Zambia, Zambia - Christian Medical College and Schell EyeTEACHING AND TRAININGDIVISION Hospital, Vellore, TamilnaduThe following management and skills development - Lions SightFirst Eye Hospital, Kenyacourses on eye care services are offered at LAICO: - Mahatma Eye Bank and Eye Hospital, Nagpur,- Management Priorities in Eye Care Delivery- Management Training for Eye Care Programme Maharashtra - Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Madhya Pradesh Managers - Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre, Gambia- Management Training and Systems Development - Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital, West for Hospital Administrators Bengal, India- Community Outreach - St John Eye Hospital, Israel- Fellowship in Eye Hospital Management - Jimma University Hospital, Ethiopia- Training in Eye Hospitals Operation Project - Noor Eye Hospital, Iran - Usha Kiran Eye Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, Management Training for Eye Care- Instrument Maintenance and Training IndiaMANAGEMENT PRIORITIES IN EYE CARE - Lotus Eye Care Hospital (P) Ltd, Salem,DELIVERYJanuary 6-12, 2008 Tamilnadu, India.This programme strengthens the managementperspective of the heads of eye hospitals. It provides MANAGEMENT TRAINING FOR EYE CAREan overview and appreciation of different principles PROGRAMME MANAGERSand practices of management that contribute to moreeffective and efficient delivery of eye care services. February 11 – 22The heads of following hospitals participated.- Biratnagar Eye Hospital, Nepal The objective of this training was to enable the- Beent Hospital, Chengalpattu, Tamilnadu participants to acquire knowledge, skills and attitude- East London Eye Hospital, South Africa to become effective eye care programme managers.- Mercy Eye Centre, Nigeria Following were the participant organisations:Participants of the Management Priorities in Eye Care - Voluntary Health Association of Tripura, TripuraDelivery Course with the LAICO team - Right to Sight International, Chennai - ORBIS International, Delhi,34 - ORBIS China, Bangladesh, Vietnam - The Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital, Malaysia - Nari Uddug Kendra, Bangladesh - CCSHH, Honduras, South America - Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust, Delhi - He Eye Hospital, China - FUNCRISA, Ecuador, South America - Sightsavers International, Rajasthan, West Bengal - Seva Foundation - Vision 2020, Delhi MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT FOR HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS This course is designed to give exposure and training in the best practices in day-to-day operations management in an eye hospital. Each student is guided to develop and take back a detailed action

plan to implement the new ideas and concepts TRAINING IN EYE HOSPITAL OPERATIONSlearned in the course. October 15 to January 15, 2008In the fourteenth course conducted from April 16 to This three month training aims to train departmentMay 26, 2007 eight participants from various coordinators and internally utilise them in variouscountries like India, Bangladesh and Nigeria areas of Aravind Eye Care System. The training isparticipated. offered in three phases- Orientation Process, Foundation Course and Structured Training in theIn the fifteenth course, held from October 1 to various areas such as Patient Care, Medical Records,November 10, 2007, a total of 16 members from Community Outreach, Housekeeping,India and abroad participated. Communications, Stores Management, IT and Telemedicine, and Optical/Medicals.COURSE ON COMMUNITY OUTREACHAND SOCIAL MARKETING OF EYE CARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAINING FORSERVICES EYE CAREThe main objective of this course is to improve the August 6-31, 2007community outreach activities of the organisation. The course aims to enable the participants acquireThe course held from June 15 - July 14 was attended knowledge, skills and develop attitude to manage eyeby a total of 11 participants from Tanzania, care projects effectively. A total of 14 participantsBangladesh, India, Nepal and Indonesia. from various Indian states participated.The next course conducted from November 15 - INSTRUMENTS MAINTENANCE ANDDecember 14 was attended by a total of 7 TRAININGparticipants from India and Zambia. First Instruments Maintenance course in FrenchFELLOWSHIP IN EYE HOSPITALMANAGEMENT The fifty second Instruments Maintenance courseThe third batch of Fellows joined the Fellowship taught in French Medium for the technicians oftraining on July 16, 2007. On completion of the Francophone countries was held at Aravind-training, they will be employed as Managers in Puducherry, from May 1 to June 30, 2007. It wasvarious areas according to their aptitude, skills and attended by Mr. Zigant Marc Dominique fromrequirement in the system. Burkina-Faso and Mr. Ramerison Mamisoa from Madagascar. Three more courses were held in the last year at Aravind-Madurai in which a total of 18Participants of Management Training for Eye Care Participants of Community Outreach and SocialProgramme Managers course with the LAICO team Marketing Course with the LAICO team 35

trainees from Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Workshop on Benchmarking for Excellence in EyeMozambique, Bangladesh and different parts of Care Service DeliveryIndia participated. LAICO, October 5, 2007CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL A total of 45 participants from various eye hospitalsEDUCATION PROGRAMMES and INGOs from 15 countries participated. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce thePRISM – Reflecting Perspectives in Hospital concept of benchmarking to the participants and toManagement demonstrate the prototype of a web based platformFebruary 9, 2008 called EyeQ that would facilitate benchmarking of eye hospitals across the world supported by SevaPRISM is a one day National Conference to provide Foundation.new insights and approaches of addressing variousmanagerial issues for improving the delivery of Global Consultation on Reaching the Unreachedhospital services. A total of 128 delegates LAICO, October 6-8, 2007participated. The guest faculty were Dr. DineshKumar Tyagi, IAS, Dr. Vivek Desai, A total of 44 members participated in the workshop.Mr. K Chandrasekar, Mr. T Murali, The participants were from different places in theMr. S. Annamalai, Mr. Denny John and Mr. Keerti world such as Egypt, Paraguay, Bangladesh, India,Bushan Pradhan. Vietnam, China, USA, Tanzania, Nepal, Pakistan, Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia, UK, Canada, Guatemala,OCTOBER SUMMIT Switzerland. The main objective of the workshop was to learn from each other different ways ofGlobal Workshop on Training of Trainers for Allied reaching everyone with eye problems in theHealth Personnel in Ophthalmology community, to evolve different strategies to makeAravind-Madurai, October 2-4, 2007 eye care reach the people who are currently not accessing, and to ensure coverage of all eye diseases.On October 1, Aravind released the world’s first This course was sponsored by WHO, Sevacomprehensive series of training books: The Foundation.Ophthalmic Assistant Training Series and Training inEye Care Support Services Series. These eight Workshop on Consultancy Skills for the SEVA CCOvolumes, developed from Aravind’s thirty years of Partnerstraining of allied eye health personnel, formed the LAICO, October 9-11, 2007basis of the Global Workshop on Training ofTrainers for Ophthalmic Assistants and Technicians SEVA Foundation in partnership with eye carethat proceeded during October 2-4. Forty-six institutions named as Centres for Communityparticipants from eleven countries who received Ophthalmology (CCO), is working towards makingtraining skills were introduced to the new trainingseries, and invited to use and comment on the books Participants to ‘Benchmarking for Excellence in Eye Carein the year. This workshop was co-sponsored by the Service Delivery’ with the LAICO teamSeva Foundation.Dr. William F. Astle, President of the JointCommission on Allied Health Personnel inOphthalmology (JCAHPO), Dr. William H. Ehlers,President-Elect, JCAHPO, Ms. Lynn, Dr. Anderson,Executive Director of JCAHPO, andDr. Pararajasegaram, WHO, officiated at the releaseof the books. Series co-developers Dr. SuzanneS. Gilbert, Director, Centre for Innovation in EyeCare, Seva Foundation, Dr. Kathryn Hecht, SevaVolunteer and Ms. Susan Spinola, Seva Volunteer alltook part in the dynamic workshop.36

eye care services available to all. As a beginning, to Participants of the Workshop on Consulting Skills for thethe year long process of building capacity of the SEVA CCO PartnersCCO partners, a three day workshop for improvingconsultancy skills was held at LAICO. A total of 22 Research and Development Trust, Ireland, Proyectoparticipants including representatives from all CCOs Vision, Spain, ICEE, South Africa, Right to Sightand SEVA attended the workshop. Mr. Colin from Kenya, UK, India, University of Cape Town,Williams and Mr. John Bickel from the UK based South Africa, Central Hospital Kigali, Rwanda.consultancy group W² were the facilitators.Dr. Pararajasegaram, Consultant from WHO also OFF-SITE TRAINING PROGRAMMEScontributed to the workshop. Each organisation wasasked to come prepared with the real time problem Eye Care Programme Managers Coursestatement to practice the application of the Fred Hollows Foundation, Sydney, November 12-15, 2007consultancy skills. By the end of the workshop eachinstitution developed specific action plan to address Fred Hollows Foundation invited LAICO to deliverits respective problems. a customised version of the two week programme managers’ course for their programme staff. A fourWORKSHOP ON MODEL EYE CARE day training programme was organised for theirSERVICES Sydney central office and country programme staff. The LAICO team comprised Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj,LAICO, November 1-3, and November 5-7, 2007 Dr. Prajna and Ms. Preethi Pradhan. The sessions covered included needs assessment and planning, theThe workshop was supported by Ireland based INGO eye diseases module covering cataract, refractiveRight to Sight. A total of 15 participants from errors, diabetic retinopathy, low vision andUniversity of Kwazulu, Natal, South Africa, Vision paediatric eye care; core concepts in eye care2020 Focal point for Somalia, Somalia Republic,NGO, Grarbet Tehadiso Mahber, ORBIS-International, Ethiopia, Quiha Hospital, Mekele,Tigrary, King Faisal Hospital, Kigali, and Ministryof Public Health attended the workshop. The mainobjective of the workshop was to provide anoverview on the need of eye care programmes andthe current challenges in Africa and set a road map tocombat blindness and orient about a feasible eye careservice delivery model.The second workshop was held from November 5-7.The participants were from Cappagh HospitalAt the launch of the manuals for Ophthalmic Assistants and Ophthalmic Support Service Personnel 37

management as well as monitoring evaluation and during 2006 in the diabetic retinopathy andpartner enablement. A total of 21 participants standardisation workshop.attended the workshop. Lumbini Eye Institute, Nepal, December 27, 2007-Curriculum Development Workshop January 4, 2008LAICO, June 29-30 Dr. Venkatesh, Aravind-Puducherry, Mr. Suresh Kumar, and Ms. Sashipriya, Faculty, from LAICO,The purpose of the workshop was to design a Mr. Nagarajan and Dr. Sandra Dratler, Seva made acurriculum for leadership programme for visit to Lumbini Eye Institute, to participate in theophthalmologists. Five external faculty were invited Strategic Planning Workshop. On January 4, theyto participate along with Aravind’s own to participated in the VISION2020 Western Region ofunderstand the range of responsibilities and the Nepal planning meeting.challenges faced by several heads of departments. Itwas followed by a the brainstorm session on the PROJECTS DIVISIONvarious competencies required for the head of a LAICO Projects Division contributes to theclinical department. The group discussed the elimination of needless blindness throughstructure of the programme and created a framework.The final session was on “Creating an Enabling - Effective provision of end to end projectEnvironment” by Prof. L Prasad from Indian Institute management systems and processesof Management, Bangalore, which was attended bythe senior leadership team. - Development of project management capability through sharing of best practices, systems andOFF-SITE CONSULTANCY WORKSHOPS trainingGomabai Nethralaya and Research Centre, Neemuch, The main areas of work under this division areMadhya Pradesh, December 21-25 promoting the right approaches to project development, its implementation and evaluation. TheDr. Narendran, Aravind-Coimbatore and developments in the year ending March 2008 in theMs. Sashipriya, Faculty, Mr. Suresh Kumar, LAICO major projects are discussed here.Faculty made a visit to Gomabai Nethralaya andResearch Centre to conduct the Strategic Planning Primary Eye Care through Vision CentresWorkshop. The main objective of the workshop wasto understand the current situation issues challenges Lavelle Fund, USA is supporting establishment of 20was also looked into and plan for growth strategies Vision Centres, now onwards known as ‘Primarythat will lead to sustained growth. During the visit, Eye Examination Centres’ in rural parts offor made on the strategy and action plan preparedAravind Faculty with the programme managers at the Participants of the Curriculum Development WorkshopFred Hollows Foundation, Sydney38

Tamilnadu and Puducherry. In phase one, eight information technology to extend the clinicalVision Centres were established. In phase two, nine expertise to centres that need them. Experience andmore have been established. Based on the experience insights gained through this programme are beinggained on an earlier initiative, Aravind is shared with other eye care programmes throughincorporating Community Based Rehabilitation publications, seminars and participation in expertcoupled with systematic community based activities, committees.thus providing comprehensive coverage and services– preventive, curative and rehabilitative. On the TIFAC-CORE in Diabetic Retinopathy Project –rehabilitation front, twenty eight incurably blind Phase IIpeople and twenty nine persons with low vision havebeen identified and provided rehabilitation services. Aravind Eye Hospital has established TIFAC-COREEach of these centres are staffed by a team consisting in Diabetic Retinopathy in February 2003 with theof a Technician, a Counsellor and Eye Health support from Mission REACH, TIFAC and IndustrialCommunity Workers. All these cadre staff undergo partners. The Phase I of this project was completedspecific training programmes set up for this purpose. in March 2006. The Phase II of this project commenced in July 2007 with the objectives ofAravind WDF Diabetic Retinopathy Management commencement of academic programmes, researchProjects - Phase III and development. The main focus is given to Research on “Functional Genomics and ProteomicsAravind has developed a sustainable service delivery of Diabetic Retinopathy”.model for Diabetic Retinopathy with the supportfrom Lions Clubs International, World Diabetes Paediatric Ophthalmology Learning and TeachingFoundation and the Government of India – through Centreits TIFAC CORE. With the successfulimplementation of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Considering the criticality of not having the requiredProgramme at Aravind-Madurai, Tirunelveli and human resources to deliver paediatric ophthalmologyPuducherry, WDF is now extending support to services as envisaged in the VISION2020 Nationalfurther expand this programme to Aravind- Plan, ORBIS International, India has been supportingCoimbatore covering three districts-Coimbatore, Aravind since August 2003 to provide the necessarySalem and Erode. Through this DR screening training programmes. The second phase of theprogrammes, Aravind is reaching out to about 40% programme began in Jan 2007, during which twoof the Tamilnadu’s population. Key strategies of the manuals were published - “Orthoptics simplified” - aDR programme are continuous awareness creation manual for orthoptists and post graduates;campaigns, aggressive outreach, providing required “Paediatric Ophthalmology Practitioners’ guide”, adiagnostic and treatment services and employing manual for general paediatricians. Under this project Aravind is involved in developing the capacity ofAt the inauguration of the Primary Eye Examination At the VISION2020 Western Region of Nepal PlanningCentre at Gandhigram Meeting 39

Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata and impairment seek eye care on their own. This projectSadguru Netra Chikitsalaya. covers a population of 130,000 near Dindigul, Tamilnadu. This involves recruiting and training theConsultancy for Setting up Diabetic Retinopathy field workers (5) to carry out house to houseServices in Peking University Eye Centre, Beijing, enumeration of those with eye problems throughChina basic eye screening and motivating them to seek care in an eye hospital. The study will monitor the levelThe International Council of Ophthalmology of self-uptake and also seek to provide servicesFoundation has identified Beijing University Eye through eye camps to those who do not go to an eyeCentre, Beijing as a site for the Eli Lilly Diabetic hospital.Eye Disease Centre (ELDEDC) to provideadvanced care for diabetic eye diseases by RESEARCH DIVISIONdeveloping sustainable programme for detectionand treatment. For this two year programme, Investigating Gender in Equity in the uptake ofLAICO supports ELDEDC to set up and manage Cataract Surgeries in Aravind Eye Hospitals, Madurai-Diabetic Retinopathy services through systematic SEVA Canadaapproach and help put in place the appropriateservice delivery and human resources development The main objectives of the research are to assess themechanism. A team from LAICO made a Needs existence of gender equity in the uptake of surgeriesAssessment Visit to PUEC-ELDEDC on June in each of the 3 arms (camp, direct free and paying)20-21. Based on the observations during the needs of Aravind-Madurai and, to quantify and qualify theassessment visit, the team made specific gap in utilization, to use the results to bring aboutrecommendations to the PUEC-ELDEDC team. desirable changes in the uptake pattern.After the initial assessment, the team organised theinternal strategic planning meeting with the The sample size of this prospective study is 6600ELDEDC team of Retina specialists and patients recruited from all the three sectionsparamedical staff on June 25-26. Based on these together (2200 per arm) so as to be able to detect ainputs, the PUEC-ELDEDC team prepared the difference as small as 6% between the proportion ofstrategies and action plan to achieve their project men and women undergoing cataract surgery in eachobjectives. of the three sections allowing 5% alpha error with 80% power. The data collection is underway and isCreating Access for Rural Eye Care expected to be completed by May 2008.Rotary Clubs International is supporting Aravind to Human Resource Practices which influence Employeeexperiment on developing a service delivery Satisfaction and Patient Satisfactionapproach that will motivate patients with visual This study aims to understand the human resourceMs. Tilde Froyr, Programme Co-ordinator, WDF at a DR practices which influence patient as well asscreening camp near Aravind-Coimbatore employee satisfaction. This will provide direction to human resource practices which can ensure high levels of internal and external customer satisfaction. A comparative exploration of these factors within the cataract departments of stand-alone eye hospitals; a public sector eye hospital, two NGO hospitals - one mainly catering to the free patients, and the other predominantly to paying clientele in Tamilnadu. The objectives of the study - To develop an instrument for measuring patient satisfaction - To validate an instrument for measuring employee satisfaction in the hospital context40

- To use the instruments developed to measure OTHER MEETINGS patient and employee satisfaction in the Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj attended the Vision 2020 organisation planned Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Meeting held at West Lions Super speciality Eye Hospital,- To map the overlap of domains and thereby, to Bangalore, July 19-20, 2007. enumerate HR policies that could maximise customer delight IT Advancement in Health Care Delivery and II Annual Health IT Executive SummitThe questionnaires are currently under testing,following the finalisation of which, the data Goa, September 1-2, 2007collection will be completed.External Guides: Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj Executive Director, LAICO- Dr. VR. Muraleedharan, Professor and Head of participated in the IT Health Care Delivery and II Annual Health IT Executive Summit meeting Department, Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, conducted by Frost and Sullivan. Chennai Dr. TJ. Kamalanabhan, Professor, Department of Annual Meeting of International Agency for Management Studies, IIT, Chennai Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)Internal Guide: Mr. R D ThulasirajResearch Scholar: Ms. Preethi Pradhan Vancouver, Canada, September 17-22, 2007Assessment of the Prevalence and Socio-Economic Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj, participated in the session onBurden of Near Vision Impairment Caused by sustainability and in the sessions related to GenderUncorrected Presbyopia-WHO issues and development of mid level eye care personal in South East Asia region.The overall objective of this research is to assess theprevalence and socioeconomic burden of near visual Bio-Medical Engineering Workshopimpairment caused by uncorrected presbyopia.Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics will September 24 - October 5, ORBIS International, Menelik,be taken into account in identifying broadlyrepresentative study populations. The objective of Ethiopiathe initial study is the estimation of the prevalence ofnear vision impairment in adults of 35 years of age Prof. V. Srinivasan and Mr. S. Poornachandran fromand more. Instruments Maintenance Department went as visiting faculty for the Bio-Medical EngineeringThe study is under way and is expected to be Workshop organised by ORBIS International atcompleted by September 2008. Menelik II Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Workshop on Community Ophthalmology Logrono, Spain, October 24-29, 2007 Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, LAICO and Dr. S. Aravind, Administrator were in Spain fromMr. R.D. Thulasiraj at the VISION2020 India of Governing At the Workshop of Bio-Medical Engineering, Menelik,Body meeting held at Bangalore Ethiopia 41

Dr. S. Aravind and Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj with Dr. Julio Eye Care Management WorkshopYanguela Rodilla, President, Vision Mundi Foundation,Logrono, Spain Al Noor Foundation, Cairo, Egypt, November 23-24, 2007october 24-29, 2007 to attend the ‘Vision Mundi’, MR. SANIL JOSEPHthe Spanish international meeting for the preventionof blindness in developing countries held in - Service Marketing in Eye CareLogrono, Spain. - Vision Centre Management.Fifth Annual Tifac-Cores Meet 2007 Meeting on Prevalence and Socioeconomic Impact of Near Vision ImpairmentManipal Life Science Centre, Manipal University, October WHO, Geneva, December 3-6, 200726-28, 2007 Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj, took part in the Consultation onDr. R. Kim, Project Coordinator, TIFAC-CORE and Assessing the Prevalence and Socioeconomic ImpactMr. V. Vijayakumar, Project Manager, participated. of Near Vision Impairment Caused by UncorrectedR. Kim made a presentation on the achievements of Presbyopia.TIFAC-CORE in Diabetic Retinopathy – Phase I andthe proposed activities for Phase II. Workshop on Vision Science Resource Centre CollaborationVISION2020 MeetingMr. R.D. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, LAICO Lumbini Eye Institute, Nepal, February 10-12, 2008participated in the Vision 2020 workshop meeting atICEH London on October 30-31, 2007. Mr. Kirubanithi, Sr. Librarian from LAICO attended Workshop as a Primary Facilitator. The main objective of the Meeting was to “Frame up the Association of Vision Science Librarians for the South Asia Wing”. IAPB Business Plan Meeting Chittagong, March 21-22, 2008 Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj attended IAPB Business Plan meeting at Chittagong from March 21 -22.At the Eye Care Management Workshop, Cairo, Egypt Mr. Kirubanithi at Vision Science Resource Centre Collaboration workshop held at Nepal42

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMSThis year marks the silver jubilee of Aravind’s soft skills like interpersonal relationships, talkingdeployment of computers and information responsibilities etc.technology to streamline administration and enhancepatient care. A beginning was made with two Apple Aurosiksha – Course Management InformationComputers. Since then tremendous progress has been Systemmade with Aravind being placed as one amongst the20 most wired organisations in the country. This It is developed to manage all the trainee and trainingmomentum has kept up and during the year several details and prepare candidate statistics and necessarynew applications have been developed and many financial reports.more hospitals are using the software and systemsdeveloped by Aravind. Personnel Information System – Mini VersionNEW APPLICATIONS DEVELOPED This system is developed for smaller hospitals to track employees’ appointments, attendance, leave,Vision Centre (Primary Eye Examination Centre) payroll details and generate necessary reports.Management System: Integrated Hospital Management SystemPatient registration, billing, Electronic MedicalRecords, accessing data from base hospital, generate The list of users of this application including the fiveprescriptions, data retrieval for monitoring are the Aravind Eye Hospitals grew to 42 locations with thekey aspects of this application which was addition of the following hospitals during the year:implemented in eighteen centers across Tamilnadu - KMMEH, Bharatpur, Nepalduring this year, taking the total number of users to - Venu Eye Hospital, Delhitwenty three. - Ayodhya Eye Hospital, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh - Sudarshan Netralaya, Amreli, GujaratImage Management System - Geta Eye Hospital, Dhangadi, Nepal - Kedia Eye Hospital, Birganj, NepalThis system is developed to manage all clinical and - Dr. Joseph Eye Hospital, Trichyother photos at a central location for easy access. - Shalina Eye Clinic, Congo - Grameen GC Eye Hospital, Bogra, BangladeshEye Bank Management System - Khulna BNSB Eye Hospital, Khulna, Bangladesh - Sajida Foundation Eye Hospital, BangladeshThis software was reviewed and upgraded with manynew and improved featues and implemented at UPGRADATIONSAravind-Coimbatore. All the servers in Madurai were upgraded to BladeProject Management System: (ProMys) servers and a centralised bank of servers are now located at LAICO for providing better security,This facilitates monitoring project activities, maintenance and support. A detailed plan is workedperformance against target and expenses against out to upgrade the servers in all the satellite hospitalsbudget. It can help prepare performance or financial in 2008.reports and has provision for archiving all projectrelated documents for easy access. While the All the Aravind Eye Hospitals are interconnected toimplementing agency updates the system, the improve data exchange and to facilitate thefunding agency can also have access, thereby implementation of Virtual Academy.enhancing the level of information sharing withoutany additional efforts. ARAVIND TELE-OPHTHALMOLOGY NETWORKARMIS – Aravind Resident Management InformationSystem Following the successful deployment of wireless connectivity (802.11b) in Vision Centres at Theni,It is designed to capture all relevant information Aravind explored alternative connectivity using therequired to evaluate each Resident’s performancetaking to clinical skills, Academics and also on their 43

readily available broadband services from several up two centres to provide this service to theirtelecom service providers. This was successfully diabetes patients.implemented during this year for linking the AravindVision Centres to the base hospitals. This now opens Tele-educationup the possibility of other eye care providers settingup such IT enabled Vision Centres in their service Aravind’s Online Virtual Ophthalmic Academy wasareas. A total of 18 Vision Centres with broadband inaugurated on January 19, 2008 by Dr. A.P.J Abduldata connectivity to enable telemedicine was set up Kalam, former President of India.during the year with support from Lavelle Fund. Aravind is working with ISRO which providesCollaborating with NPCB, Ministry of Health, support for the development of the completeGovernment of India software and systems that would facilitate the functioning of the Virtual Academy. A data centreNPCB is working with various partners to develop has been set up at Aravind-Madurai with highappropriate Telemedicine based service delivery capacity servers (comprising of minimum 5 servers)models through a pilot initiative. Aravind is one of that have the following as components:the partners taking part in this one year pilot project,under which an IT enabled Vision Centre was - Virtual Tele-education delivery systemestablished at Rameswaram demonstrating a model - Content management systemproviding comprehensive primary eye care services - Digital library: virtual library serverto the community. Here Aravind successfully - E-learning systemexperimented using broadband DSL connectivity for - E-governance suitethe first time to link up with Aravind Eye Hospital,Madurai. A detailed report, documenting the A full fledged multimedia studio with video cameras,performance, learning experiences, impact and video and audio mixers etc., have been deployed forrecommendations have been submitted to the live transmission of interactive lectures over theMinistry of Health. virtual academy network. The synchronised delivery output of audio and video will be fed into theDiabetic Retinopathy Images Reading and Grading streaming server which is further interfaced with the tele-education delivery system components. This setAravind TIFAC-CORE in Diabetic Retinopathy, with - up provides a means for the VSAT based educationthe support of TOPCON South Asia Pvt Ltd, programmes to be broadcasted from the studio. TheSingapore has developed a Diabetic Retinopathy classes conducted at Aravind Eye Hospital, MaduraiReading and Grading Software, ADRES (Aravind is telecast live to other connected centres. TheDiabetic Retinopathy Evaluation Software). It allows transmission is recorded simultaneously in softwarefor exchange of images of retina and clinical which could be utilised later at the convenience ofinformation of diabetic patients between the client the students.and the grading centre at Aravind Eye Hospital,Madurai. The software allows multiple connectivity Aravind Tele-ophthalmology Network Retreatchannels such as VSAT (satellite), Leased line orDSL Broadband. Hence the client centre could be ATN Retreat was held at LAICO on July 28, 2007, toanywhere including a mobile unit with VSAT. Eye manage the present challenges and realise the newercare programmes that do not have retina specialists opportunities. Realising the potential of providingor doctors from other disciplines like diabetologists quality tertiary eye care and contributing tocould use this software to get the services of a retina continuous education irrespective of challenges likespecialist, ultimately to benefit the patients. This accessibility and availability, Aravind set up ATN intele-consultation model has been extended (in June 2002. Now stepping in its fifth year thisaddition to the MV Diabetes Centre) to two more network has thus far taken different initiativesdiabetes centres at Coimbatore and Tirunelveli inMarch 2008. In addition to this, Neotia Elbit - Benefiting patients be it at the level of primary orHospital Venture Limited, Kolkata is planning to set tertiary eye care44 - Providing impetus to our training programmes - Enabling to foster closer ties across Aravind Eye Care System

HUMAN RESOURCESThe Human Resources department during the year achieve them. Pegasus Institute has been offering2007- 2008 focussed on standardising the HR this training at free of cost as a token ofactivities across all Aravind facilities. Many new appreciation of Aravind’s service to humanity. Ininitiatives were undertaken this year to enhance the last year, staff members from Aravindemployee participation in the organisation. Several Communications, Administration, Communityretreats were organised where they were encouraged Outreach, Refraction and Opticals (in twoto think beyond their realm of work, to participate batches) underwent this training.and contribute to Aravind’s dream of eliminating - A workshop and retreat was conducted for theneedless blindness. MLOPs at Dhan Foundation, from July 6-7 to provide a casual, stimulating and refreshingTRAINING experience. The retreat was attended by MLOPs- It has been over 30 years since Aravind began its from all departments of all Aravind Eye Hospitals. mission of eliminating needless blindness. At this - A four days workshop was held at LAICO from juncture, while there is a tremendous opportunity July 2-5 for the MLOPs selected as MLOP- HR to grow and unfold in new directions, the representatives from all the five Aravind Eye foremost challenge is in keeping the leadership Hospitals to provide them an overview of the role energy and passion alive and the culture of the to be played as HR representatives. organisation intact. To meet this challenge, the - A week long Orientation Programme was held HR Department jointly with LAICO has started a from March 31 to April 4 to equip the newly new initiative called YOGAM that is aimed at selected supervisors and Tutors with required nurturing and developing leadership skills in knowledge, skill and attitude for performing their senior ophthalmologists. YOGAM will become an new role effectively and efficiently. annual program designed to give senior - A workshop on “Effective Communication and ophthalmologists support and guidance to grow as Stress Management” for administration leaders in their departments and contribute to the coordinators was held at LAICO on February 16 overall growth of the organisation. The training for 25 coordinators from various departments. was conducted in three phases and each was Prof. Sathya Shankar, Vice President, Eagle conducted in different locations. A total of 15 Software India Private Ltd. was the guest faculty. ophthalmologists participated. The first phase of - Human Resources Department, AECS, organised Yogam 07 was held at Puducherry from an annual HR Retreat from February 15-16 at September 8-12, 2007. The next phase of Yogam Theni on the theme ‘Share, Standardise and 07 was held in Madurai from Jan 3-5, 2008. The Capture’. Director – HRD, HR staff, HR third phase was held in Courtallam from March representatives from the MLOP and Personnel 14-16, 2008. Department staff of Aravind Eye Care System,- To bring out the latent potentials in the totalling 24 attended the retreat. individuals and to reinforce the spirit of teamwork among them, the HRD organised a four EMPLOYEE WELFARE ACTIVITIES day retreat for each category of employees ranging from the top managerial staff to the last Aurowel– Employee Wellness Program grade worker across all Aravind Hospitals. Two days of outbound learning at Pegasus Institute for Aurowel is the major initiative from HR Department Excellence, Marakkanam was a part of this to promote a healthy lifestyle among its employees. retreat. It was followed by a two day envisioning A basic medical check-up was done for all the retreat at puducherry which focused on setting employees of Aravind Eye Care System and the long term goals and framing action plans to results were shared with each employee and 45

necessary support and suggestions were given for Auroutsav December 1-7, 2007those who needed further investigations. Auroutsav is a week-long series of competitionsJanakyamma Child Care Centre conducted for all employees of Aravind Eye Care System. The past year’s theme was “a tribute toNow, four Aravind Eye Hospitals have child care imagination and creativity”. Auroutsav helps bringcentres meant for the kids of Aravind staff, majority out the creativity and latent talent in everybody rightof whom are women. The activities in the centres from the ophthalmologists, the Ophthalmicreally help in the primary development of the kids Assistants, administrative staff and sanitary workers.and provide a greater sense of satisfaction to the Several competitions were conducted simultaneouslyworking mothers. This year, the tenth anniversary of at all Aravind Eye Hospitals.the centre was celebrated at Aravind-Madurai. OTHER RECREATION ACTIVITIESEMPLOYEE RECREATION ACTIVITIES Several short trips to nearby picnic spots, templesWith the organisation growing in scale and in the and waterfalls are arranged from each of the Aravindnumber of new initiatives, there is always the danger Eye Hospitals for the ophthalmic assistants. Theseof the employees feeling alienated or working in trips provide the employees a change from theirsilos-from the organisation and among themselves mundane activities and have a refreshing impact ontoo. To address this, the HRD organises retreats and their minds.recreational activities for employees from differentfacilities of Aravind to mingle with each other in an Apart from these activities, HR departments observeinformal setting, thus bringing in a sense of special days and festivals such as Children’s Day,belonging. This helps teams to work cohesively International Women’s day and Navarathiri Festivaltowards the organisation’s common goal of with competitions, debates etc.eliminating needless blindness. Departmental ExhibitionsSpecial gesture for senior staff members of AravindEye Care System To create an awareness of the roles of each cadre ofAugust 17, 2007 Aravind staff and to recognise their contribution, various cadres of Aravind staff are encouraged toThe Aravind team that has thus far crossed oceans to showcase their work and the genesis of theirteach and learn, for the first time has taken a department since inception. In the past year, thevacation! The Aravind management arranged for Outpatient nursing staff, the Operation Theatre stafftwenty one of Aravind staff who have dedicated their and the Intensive Care Unit staff, each held a twolives to Aravind’s mission for more than 20 years, to day exhibition displaying through various charts andgo on a holiday trip to Hong Kong, Singapore, and aids.Kuala Lampur.Auroutsav celebrations at Aravind-Tirunelveli Auroutsav celebrations at Aravind-Coimbatore46

ARAVIND COMMUNICATIONSConsisting of the publications and audio visual - Kolam – Aravind Discussion Forum for Alumnidepartment, Aravind Communications is well was introduced. With this, a long felt need of theequipped with the state-of-the-art desktop publishing Alumni for a platform for continued interaction isfacilities, digital photography, videography, video- in place.editing and projection facilities. - THE AGE, the Glaucoma journal was launchedPUBLICATIONS 2007-08 this year.2007-08 was a highly productive year for the - The www.aravind.org site was revamped withdivision. Apart from the various patient information several user friendly features.and education materials, the following manuals andtext books were published. STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING- Five manuals on Ophthalmic Assistant Training For the first time, a strategic planning meeting was and three on Training in Eye Care Support organized for the Aravind Communications team, Services along with DVDs were brought out with consisting of the publications staff, the audiovisual Seva Foundation’s support. staff, the telemedicine staff, and Aravind news correspondents across all hospitals, Eye Bank, and- With ORBIS support, two books on paediatric Aurolab. The Pegasus outbound education was an ophthalmology: Paediatric Ophthalmology – A awakening experience and set the participants’ frame Practitioner’s Guide and Orthoptics Simplified of mind apt for their first strategic planning meeting. were published. The exercises were simple and took one on an insight journey unto oneself and one’s relationships- Aravind also published the fourth Edition of the with others. Neuro-Ophthalmology text book. Following, the Pegasus experience, the Aravind- ‘A Model for Managing Diabetic Retinopathy’ Communications team had a two day retreat at was published under Lions Aravind Diabetic Aravind-Puducherry where under the guidance of the Retinopathy project Aravind HRD staff, the team discussed ways in which Aravind Communications can contribute toWEBSITES DEVELOPED AND LAUNCHED the mission of AECS. The team in smaller groupsIN 2007-08 discussed and drew the group’s action plan. Later, a- A website for Friends of Aravind, representative from each group presented the group’s aspirations. www.friendsofaravind.org was developed and launched with an online payment gateway to receive donations.The Aravind Communications team with Col. Rajkumar and Col. A.B. Rajan at the Pegasus Institute for Excellence 47

at the formal inauguration of Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital in its new premises48

ARAVIND MANAGED EYE CARE SERVICES (AMECS) 2007-2008 I ndia like many other developing countries creates the enabling environment, Aravind faces many problem due to inadequate eye implements the project on a ‘turn-key’ basis and care facilities which are further continues to run the hospital, in the exact same compounded by its unequal distribution. manner as Aravind Eye Hospitals by placing a coreCommitted to the mission of eliminating needless team from Aravind managing the key functions.blindness, Aravind developed “Managed Eye Care” Aravind is currently working with three such sociallyas a strategic approach to dramatically scale up the conscious organisations in the States of West Bengalreach and uptake of services in underserved parts of (MP Birla group), Uttar Pradesh (Rajiv GandhiIndia and other developing countries. This approach Charitable Trust), and Gujarat (Nagardas Dhanjibegan in 2005 and the goal is to perform 500,000 Shanghvi Trust). These three hospitals together havesurgeries annually by the year 2015 through a handled a total of 221,332 out-patients andnetwork of Managed Eye Hospitals. The process performed 23,079 surgeries during the year. Duringinvolves working with a socially conscious local the year, a new partnership was forged with Narotampartner - an individual or organisation, wanting to Sekhsaria Foundation (NSF), which is interested ininvest in eye care as a way of doing social good. enhancing eye care in Rajasthan. As a first initiative,While the partner invests the required capital and a detailed feasibility study was conducted toAt the inauguration of Sudarshan Netralaya in Amreli, Gujarat 49