Eral, September 14

Aravind’s 100^th eye care facility was opened at Eral by Thiru A R K A Karuthapandiya Nadar, Trustee – Sri Arunachala Swamy Temple  in the presence of Dr R.Ramakrishnan, Advisor, and Dr R.Meenakshi, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital, Tirunelveli. Prominent persons in the community – Mr. Dasaratha Pandian, Head – Merchants Association; Mr Dharmaraj, Assistant Head, Mr Bakkar Ali, Head – Muslim Commerce Association, Mr Alaru Pillai, Businessman, Dr Mortin Thomas, leading medical practitioner, friends and well-wishers were present at the inauguration. On the inaugural day, the centre examined 54 patients.

August 25 – September 8

Eye banks across the Aravind centres observed National Eye Donation Fortnight with a wide variety of programmes intended to create awareness amongst the public. Most of the programmes were organised virtually given the COVID-19 restrictions. In special cases when the programme had to be conducted in-person, enough care was taken to ensure that social distancing and other safety measures were followed without fail. Eye donation awareness posters were developed and displayed in the prominent areas inside the hospitals. They were also shared through various social media platforms. Endorsements by senior ophthalmologists from government medical college hospitals on eye donation were shared through social media. Several competitions were conducted for the staff on the theme of eye donation and winners were awarded. Eye donation awareness sessions were organised for various target groups including college students. Senior doctors shared their messages on eye donation via radio channels.  Notices and pamphlets on eye donation were distributed to the patients and the public. The occasion was also utilised to thank the unconditional support rendered by various NGOs towards promoting eye donation in the community.

Aravind – Tirunelveli, August 29

As  part of  Residents Social Responsibility programme, Residents and Senior Medical Officers of Aravind – Tirunelveli distributed  kits containing essential grocery items for the families of the hospital’s sanitary staff, security personnel and lift operators. The beneficiaries were extremely happy and thanked the doctors for their thoughtful gesture.

Aravind – Tirunelveli, August 31

Aravind – Tirunelveli procured Heidelberg Spectralis OCT. Dr R Ramakrishnan, Advisor and Dr. Meenakshi, Chief Medical Officer inaugurated the machine.

Aravind-Coimbatore organsied two webinars: The first one was conduted on August 6 and focused on the Role of Management and Managers in Ensuring Safety During COVID-19. The second one was on August 12 and dealt with Hospital Infection control practices in COVID 19 times.

Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus, Aravind-Madurai organised a webinar titled, Orthoptics Decoded on August 28-29.