In pursuit of Dr. G. Venkataswamy’s visionary goal to extend eye care services to every corner of society, Vision Centres have been established across diverse locations. The very first vision centre was launched in Ambasamudram on 14th April 2004, which in now functioning in Kandamanur. The recent addition of the Thalaivasal Vision Centre in Salem marks a significant milestone, bringing the total number of Aravind’s Vision Centres to an impressive 113. Over the past two decades, Aravind Vision centres have handled 7.8 million patient visits, covering a population of more than 10 million. This growth highlights Aravind’s unwavering commitment and consistent efforts towards its noble mission.

Observing special occasions provides Aravind with a platform to engage with patients, caretakers and the public, spreading informative awareness messages through posters and models to promote eye care initiatives. In line with this approach, Aravind observed World Optometry Week, acknowledging the indispensable role optometrists play in extending and strengthening the scope of comprehensive eye care services.

News about this and much more are featured in this series.

Note: The events that occurred between 15th March and 15th April are included here.

Patna, 13^th April

Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, Advisor, Aravind-Tirunelveli was conferred with “Dr Ranjan Akhoury Oration Award” at the Annual meeting of Patna Ophthalmic Society (POSCON), held at Patna, on 13th April 2024.

Boston, 5-8 April

Aravind doctors won prizes at the 50th Anniversary American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS 2024) held in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Massachusetts, USA.

Dr. R. Venkatesh, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind-Pondicherry
1st prize
Category: Glaucoma surgery
Video title: Ab interno Schlemm’s canal surgery: A comprehensive guide to navigating the canal with precision – touch, tear, and thread the canal

Dr. K. Veena, Chief, Paediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus Services, Aravind-Pondicherry
Runner-up
Category: Special interest
Video title: Fostering innovation in ophthalmology: A spotlight on Hackathon

Dr. Haripriya Aravind, Chief, Cataract & IOL Services, Aravind-Chennai
Runner-up
Category: Glaucoma surgery
Video title: From soil to sight: An inconceivable invasion

Madurai, 7^th April

On the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, Thiagarajar College, Madurai honoured Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, Aravind Eye Care System, with the illustrious Alumni Award for his outstanding contribution to perpetuating the reach of quality eye care to the poor and needy through active community involvement, screening camps and establishing IT enabled vision centres in rural areas.

Aravind-Madurai, 11-13 April

Aravind-Madurai organised two workshops as part of Training the Trainers. The first one-day workshop held on 11th April aimed to teach the trainers Life Skill Programmes for MLOPs. Ariara Velan, Founder, Thalir Thiran Thittam (TTT), and Bhaskaran, Tamil Nadu State Head, TTT, conducted sessions on how to handle the Life skill programmes.
The second workshop was a two-day event, organised on 12 and 13th April 2024, for the MLOP Academic team of Aravind Eye Hospitals, comprising MLOP Doctor In-charge-2, MLOP Superintendent-2, Academic Coordinators, Academic Managers, and Tutors from each department. The objective of the workshop was to bring Role Clarification among the different academic teams and train them in effective administration skills.
The programme included various sessions on Sharing best practices at each centre, Role clarity & key performance indicators, Mentoring, How to conduct rounds, Importance of logbooks and documentation, Training slow learners, How to conduct general orientation effectively, Overview of academic calendar and monthly planning, and Auroshiksha Reports. The team also engaged in reviewing the yearly calendar of their department and finalising the skill set for the first year of the training programme. The Programme concluded with action points and suggestions by Dr. R.D. Ravindran, Chairman, AECS, and Dr. Usha Kim, Regional HR Director, AECS. About 64 participants from all hospitals participated in the workshops.

Aravind-Madurai, 7^th April

The Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association (TNOA) organised TNOA Gurukulam @ 2.1: A Postgraduate Refresher Meet in collaboration with the Madurai Ophthalmologists Association (MOA) at Aravind-Madurai. The event commenced with a warm welcome address by Dr. Usha Kim, Regional Director of HR, followed by the Presidential Address delivered by Dr. T. Nirmal Fredrick, President of TNOA.
The programme featured scientific discussions held in two separate halls to accommodate all registered postgraduates. Eminent faculty from Government and Private Colleges presented exam-oriented lectures, providing valuable insights for postgraduates pursuing degrees in ophthalmology. Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, President of MOA, extended gratitude to the office bearers of TNOA, MOA, and all participants.
The symposium garnered significant attendance, with a total of 201 participants, including faculty and postgraduates.

Aravind-Salem, 5^th April

The eighth vision centre of Aravind-Salem, marking the 113th centre for the Aravind Eye Care System, was opened in Thalaivasal, Salem. The centre was inaugurated by Subburaman, Founder, Ayyappan Bhajana Mandali, Dr. Selvam, Chief Doctor, Karthik Nursing Home, Dr. A.K. Ramasamy, Secretary, Bharathiyar College of Education, Jagathesan, President, Attur Aadhavan Lions Club, Chandran and Shankar, representatives from Lions Club, who lit the ceremonial lamp. The leadership team of Aravind-Salem, including Dr. B. Manohar Babu, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind-Salem, Dr. R. Sankarananthan, Medical Consultant, and Dr. Supraja, Medical Consultant, as well as the hospital staff, participated in the inaugural event. On the first day, approximately 97 patients underwent screening and received treatment at the centre.

Aravind-Tirunelveli, 5^th April

The Remidio fundus camera at the free outpatient section was inaugurated by Dr. R. Ramakrishnan Advisor, Aravind-Tirunelveli in the presence of Dr. S. Padmavathy, Regional HR Director.

Aravind-Madurai, 31^st March

In observance of World Glaucoma Week, Aravind-Madurai, in collaboration with the Ophthalmologists Association, organised a symposium on the Basics of Clinical Perimetry. Dr. K. Naresh Babu, Chief, Retina Vitreous Services, Aravind-Madurai, welcomed the gathering, and Dr. R. Kim, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind-Madurai, delivered the inaugural address. The invited guest faculty, Dr. Gudimetla Ramachandra Reddy, Ophthalmologist, Dr. G.R. Reddy Eye Care Centre, Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh, delivered a keynote address on Structure function correlations, and engaged in interactive discussions on complex concepts in Perimetry, being an authored of a textbook on Perimetry. Additionally, Dr. A. Vijayalakshmi, Medical Consultant, Glaucoma Services, Aravind-Madurai, discussed the Perimetric interpretation of glaucomatous visual fields. The symposium was attended by a total of 119 participants, including faculty and postgraduates.

Aravind-Tirunelveli, 17-23 March

During World Optometry Week from 17th to 23rd March, Aravind-Tirunelveli organised a series of programmes and activities. On 19th March, a session on “Newly introduced lenses and troubleshooting” was conducted for both Refractionists and optical staff by Essilor Company.
The following day featured a session titled “Updates in refraction”, arranged for optical staff by Ayirathammal, Senior supervisor, Refraction, Selvi, Senior refractionist, and Uma Parvathi, Senior refractionist.
Additionally, on 21st March, a session on “Updates in lenses, frames, and grinding” was organised for refraction staff by Parvathi, Senior optical refractionist, and Ram Karthika, Senior optical staff.
On 22nd March, an awareness exhibition showcasing informative charts and display models was inaugurated by Dr. R. Meenakshi, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind-Tirunelveli, in the presence of Dr. S. Padmavathy, Regional HR Director.
Furthermore, a quiz programme was conducted with enthusiastic participation from Refraction and Optical staff. Additionally, skill and theory exams were held for all Refractionists. Dr. R. Meenakshi and Dr. S. Padmavathy presented the winners with prizes.

Odisha, 15-19 March

As part of LEAP- NABH Collaborative series R. Suresh Kumar, Senior Faculty, LAICO, and T. Balaji, Manager, Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirupur conducted a follow-up visit to Shree Jagannath Netralaya (SJN), Bhawanipatna. The main objective of this visit was to initiate and complete the online application process for Healthcare Organization Platform for Entry Level Certification (HOPE), a revision of NABH’s current certification process for entry level accreditation. During this visit, the LAICO team conducted a few training sessions for the staff, participated in facility inspection rounds along with the SJN hospital team members, and provided suggestions for implementing certain aspects before the NABH assessment. The hospital plans to submit the NABH application on or before 30th April 2024.

Purulia, 14-17 March

B.S. Ganesh Babu, Senior Faculty, LAICO, and M. Vikky Kumar, Manager, Quality & Inpatient Services, Aravind-Tirunelveli visited the Netaji Eye Hospital, Purulia, West Bengal, as part of the LEAP Collaborative series for fulfilling NABH standards. The purpose of the visit was to assess and provide support for compliance as well as to initiate the application process for NABH accreditation. Following the visit, the team continued to coordinate with the hospital for completing the application process. The hospital submitted the application on 29th March 2024.

Pondicherry, 31^st March

Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, Senior Medical Consultant, Glaucoma Services, Aravind-Madurai, was invited as a keynote speaker at the Seminar on “Structure-function alterations in glaucoma” held at JIPMER, Pondicherry. He delivered a presentation on the topic, Structure & function testing in glaucoma: Then & now.

New York, 4^th April

Dr. Haripriya Aravind delivered a guest lecture at the Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, New York, on Combining Scale and Quality: The Aravind Way. During the event, she met with Dr. R. Christine Melton, MD, Ophthalmologist, New York, Dr. George Cioffi, Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, and Dr. Lisa Park, Professor of Ophthalmology, Columbia University.

Boston, 5-8 April

During the 2024 ASCRS annual meeting, held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Dr. Haripriya Aravind presented a paper on Comparative analysis of intraoperative sub-conjunctival depot steroid to routine topical steroids and nsaids in phacoemulsification, in the Best paper session, and a video on the title, The Aravind pseudoexfoliation study: Ten year post- operative results. Additionally, she delivered a few instruction course talks on the following topics:
– Aravind’s RCT trial on sub conj steroid for cataract surgery
– Intracameral Moxi prophylaxis
– MSCIS in challenging cases
– Management of subluxated hard cataracts