On
January 19, 2009, the Sri Sathya
Sai Institute of Higher Medical
Sciences, Whitefield, celebrates
its 8th anniversary; another
fulfilling year in the calendar
of the Sai Health Care Mission.
Times change, people alter, but
the will of God remains eternal.
Many are called but few are
chosen, is an oft repeated
aphorism.
When opportunity meets energy,
the result is a revolution.
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has
set in motion a revolution
founded on the most fundamental
need of every being – Love.
Swami’s Hospitals are the
physical representation of “Love
in Action”. No wonder they are
referred to as ‘Temples of
Healing’.
With its four specialties of
Cardiology, Cardiothoracic
surgery, Neurology and Neuro
surgery, the SSSIHMS,
Whitefield, has steadily been
healing hearts and minds -
physically, emotionally and
spiritually - and returning them
to society as productive men and
women. The guidelines that Swami
has given form the bastions that
hold up this edifice of healing:
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Medical care should be
made available to all
patients free of charge.
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Medical care should be
administered with love
and care.
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Every patient should be
given the best available
treatment.
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The patient, and not
merely the disease,
should be treated.
With time, the SSSIHMS,
Whitefield, has evolved to meet
demands from various fronts:
Clinical, Academic and
Technological. In addition to
this, fresh initiatives have
also been taken to provide more
amenities at the staff
residential campus.
I. The
Clinical Dimension:
Exploring New Frontiers of
Cardiac Sciences and Setting
Challenging Targets in Neuro
Sciences
On
the clinical front, a special
mention must be made of the
Department of Cardiology which
has surpassed itself in
performing a variety of cases
and has added to its repertoire
the cutting edge procedure of
Device Closure. This is a new
technique where holes in the
heart are closed using
artificial devices in the
Catheterisation Lab, instead of
doing an open heart surgery.
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Cross section of a
healthy heart
(left); with a
septal defect
(right)
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A
little explanation will make
this clearer. The heart has four
chambers, two atria on top and
two ventricles at the bottom.
The right side of the heart
pumps impure blood to the lungs,
which return pure blood to the
left side of the heart, which in
turn pumps the pure blood to the
rest of the body.
There are four valves that
control the unidirectional flow
of the blood; from the left –
the mitral, the aortic, the
pulmonary and the tricuspid.
Anything out of the ordinary
with the walls between the
chambers or these valves, leads
to a cardiac problem. “A hole in
the heart” causes pure and
impure blood to mix leading to
various other complications.
Earlier, these holes could be
closed only through open heart
surgery, where the sternum
(breast bone) was cut in half,
the chest opened up and the
surgery done on Cardiopulmonary
bypass using a heart lung
machine. This, of course, meant
that the patient was scarred for
life and post operative
complications always hung like
the sword of Damocles. Young
women and girls in their teens
were the worst affected since
the scar on their body was
always a cause of concern for
them.
In
Device Closure technique, a
small collapsed synthetic
wire-meshed device is threaded
onto a catheter and through
standard catheterisation
procedure is manoeuvred into the
hole and released. The device
pops open and expands into a
disc that effectively blocks the
opening, and restores normal
blood flow. It has the same
result as a full fledged
operation, but without the pain,
scarring or intensive care unit
observation – all this at the
same price. The benefit is
enormous, particularly because
the patient can return to normal
life and activity within two
days of the procedure with no
after effects.
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The vascular
device in
threaded
into the hole...
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...guided by
catheterisation...
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...the device
expands to block the
hole and the
catheter is removed
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The workshop on Device Closure
conducted by SSSIHMS, Whitefield
on November 13, 2008 had Dr.
Hieu from Vietnam National Heart
Center demonstrating the
procedure. Dr. Dash, Head of the
Department, Cardiology, SSSIHMS,
Whitefield was guided by Dr.
Hieu, and together over 8 cases
were addressed in one day.
Other participants from SSSIHMS,
Whitefield included Dr. Barooah,
Dr. Amit Garg and DNB (Diploma
of National Board) residents.
Dr. Ravi Narayan from Manipal
Heart Institute, Dr. Deepak from
Vydehi Institute of Medical
Sciences and Research Center,
and Dr. Keshav Murthy from BGS
Apollo also participated in this
workshop.
The Department of Neurosciences,
not to be out done, has
performed more than 49 aneurysm
clippings (surgical procedure to
treat a balloon-like bulge or
weakening of an artery wall) in
the brain along with a host of
other surgeries including spinal
surgery and brain tumour
excision. This department has
upped its ante of increasing the
number of surgeries, and as a
unit, has achieved the set
targets. There are new frontiers
now being envisaged.
II. The
Academic Dimension:
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Allied Health Sciences, Aids
Scores of Students
With the inauguration of the Sri
Sathya Sai Institute of Allied
Health Sciences, the SSSIHMS
added another feather to its
cap. Already recognised by the
Diploma of National Board, the
Hospital has a full fledged DNB
program in Cardiology, CTVS,
Neurosurgery, Anaesthesia and
Radiology. Now, the Hospital has
further increased its academic
ambit by offering undergraduate
paramedical training programmes.
The SSSIAHS offers seven courses
– B. Sc. (nursing), BSc.
(Radiology), BSc.(Anaesthesia
Technology), B. Sc. (Cardiac
Care Technology), B. Sc.
(Imaging Technology), B. Sc.
(Medical Lab Technology), B. Sc.
(Perfusion Technology).
All the courses are offered
totally free of charge.
The students are provided
accommodation on campus and are
selected through an entrance
examination. The program is
affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi
University of Health Sciences.
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The first batch
of fortunate
students who are
being trained for
free
at the Sri Sathya
Sai Institute of
Allied Health
Sciences
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The first batch has 57 students
with a compulsory science
background hailing from various
parts of the country. They are
taught the Sai system of
education and educare, and are
made aware of the value of the
opportunity provided to them.
For instance, an
undergraduate nursing training
programme in a commercial
institution costs Rs. 4,00,000
(US $ 8300). The students of
SSSIAHS get it absolutely at no
cost to them.
The academic curriculum is
designed to give the students
the best of both worlds, and
there is no paring of resources
when it comes to delivering
quality education. A fully
equipped library, laboratory
facilities, computer lab, and
avenues for various
extra-curricular activities
provide the students all they
need to mould themselves into
fully productive members of
society. Their classrooms are
equipped with technological aids
including LCD projectors,
networked computers, and the new
kid on the block – Moodle (more
about it later). In SSSIAHS, it
is called LMS (Learning
Management System).
III. The
Technological Dimension:
eHis and Telemedicine –
Demonstrating the Direction to
the Future
On
the Technological front, the
institute conducts academic
research focusing on preventive
healthcare, low-cost substitutes
for medical implants, and
clinical markers for early
disease detection to name a few.
Inspired by the noble mission of
the Hospital, many professionals
of eminence from various domains
and geographical locations visit
the institute and contribute
their expertise.
The Hospital has moved over to a
superior electronic database
management system called the
eHIS, short for, Enterprise
Hospital Information System, set
up by IBA Health, a leading
provider of medical software
solutions. The DMS (database
management system) is a
multidimensional tool that is
being customised to suit the
needs of the Hospital with able
support from the managers of the
Hospital’s Information System
department working in tandem
with the representatives of IBA
Health. Efforts are now on to
have a complete software
solution including the Human
Resource Management, Asset
Management as well as Payroll
modules.
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The
Information
System
Department
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The hub of
Telemedicine
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The Department of Telemedicine
that started just 18 months ago
has already helped over a
thousand patients, both cardiac
and neurological at the
Barrackpore nodal center in West
Bengal. Tele-consultation for
cardiac sciences started less
than four months ago, and over
90 patients have benefited from
this new service. Efforts are
now underway to open a second
nodal point in Orissa that has
the second largest concentration
of patients visiting the
Hospital.
IV. The
Academics-cum-Technology
Dimension:
“eGuru” Takes off to Train the
Eager and Inspired
Technology offers tremendous
opportunities to impart
interactive, enriching and
collaborative learning
experience for the students, and
a Learning Management System
(LMS) is the best tool to
harness its potential. The
institute deployed an LMS in
October 2008 using the popular
open source Moodles under the
banner "eGuru" to impart,
administer and manage the
various academic programmes and
courses it offers.
eGURU offers self-paced,
interactive and object-oriented
training to its students. The
trainers of education are very
adaptive to such technologies
and advancements which give LMS
an edge in acceptance and usage.
The institute plans to extend
the scope of LMS to enhance
staff skills, job-oriented
training, and shape it into a
knowledge portal.
One can use the LMS to: access
course materials (such as
lecture slides and assignment
sheets), view announcements
(that will be posted throughout
the semester and will contain
important information about the
subject, such as reminders about
an upcoming assignment due date)
and perform online tasks (such
as submitting an assignment).
The course outline, lecture
notes, assignments, and other
learning resources will all be
made available through the LMS.
In addition, one will also have
access to online tools such as
feedback quizzes, interactive
courseware, and audio recordings
of lectures.
The advantages of e-learning are
many, such as: Flexibility –
anytime and anywhere; Self-paced
– students can learn at their
own pace; Knowledge Management
and Electronic Performance
Support; increasing the
self-responsibility of the
students; and so on.
V. The
Spiritual Dimension:
Direct Guidance from the Divine
- Swami’s Visit to the Hospital
While all these developments
have been taking shape in the
Hospital in recent months, the
One who actually shaped and
gifted this marvel of healing to
this world, and continues to
inspire the employees in so many
different ways, Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba, blessed the
Hospital again with His personal
visit on June 7, 2008. On this
occasion, He inaugurated the
“Sai Veda Venkatarama Health and
Fitness Center” in the
residential campus of the
SSSIHMS.
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The Sai Veda
Venkatrama Health
and Fitness Center
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The fitness centre was the
concretization of the words
spoken by Swami on His visit to
the Hospital on January 26,
2002.
On that day Swami had
blessed the staff of the
Hospital with His divine message
in which He said, “In due
course, this Hospital will have
a General Hospital, and a school
for children. In the evenings,
the tired teachers and doctors
will have a play ground to relax
and play tennis. I will arrange
for all these amenities.”
The SSSIHMS Whitefield now has
the Sri Sathya Sai General
Hospital, Whitefield associated
with it, the Health and Fitness
centre has a tennis court, a
basket ball court, an indoor
shuttle court, a fully loaded
gymnasium and an indoor games
area; a crèche for the children
of the staff is also part of the
fitness centre complex.
After inaugurating the campus,
Swami blessed the Hospital and
surprised all the staff with His
munificence by dining with them
in the huge atrium of the main
building. He then blessed all
those present with His Divine
message in which He highlighted
man’s weakness for wealth and
the loss of health in pursuit of
the same. Here is an extract of
that timeless discourse:
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“The
world today…is dependent
on money. Whichever
party or department you
may see… it is all
money, money, and money…
For the sake of money,
everything else is
discarded. One destroys
one's health for money.
Health is very
important. It is the
greatest wealth. With
good health one can
achieve many things.
Therefore, Hospitals are
very much necessary to
be healthy. Amongst you,
some consider themselves
doctors and others as
students. No! In my
opinion, all are
students. Even doctors,
need to study, learn and
know many new things.
So, they too have to
study throughout their
lives. Doctors and
everyone else too…
should learn new
techniques… And find
treatment for new
diseases. Giving
medicine alone is not
enough. More
investigation has to be
done to ascertain if the
dosage is sufficient and
know more about the
nature of the disease.
The personality of the
patient as well as the
cause of the malady has
to be thoroughly
understood; at times,
the diseases are
genetic, at other times,
from friends and
associations, or through
unforeseen
circumstances.
Diseases come and go…The
cure is not as important
as preventing the
infection. This is very
important in youth. All
powers are imbued in
youth energy. God, the
almighty, the
All-knowing One, is in
man. And in man, there
are thoughts, mind,
intellect, awareness…and
ego. Diseases arise
because of all these.
Even the food we eat…
gives rise to many
diseases. Therefore,
investigate the food you
eat… is it Satwic,
Rajasic or
Tamasic? First and
foremost, examine the
food. Satwic
(sublime) thoughts arise
from Satwic
food, and Satwic
actions arise from
Satwic thoughts.
So, based on food…
diseases progress.
First, partake
Satwic food.
Alcohol and
non-vegetarian diets
bring with them many
diseases. There is no
medicine for these
diseases. If we eat
proper Satwic
food…good health is
assured. So, eat Satwic
food… but in moderation.
Excess eating leads to
indigestion. Just
because it is tasty, do
not overeat.
But children today do
not think on these
lines. They consume
immediately whatever is
offered. One has to
investigate to know if
the food is Satwic,
Rajasic or
Tamasic. Therefore, the
mind is the cause for
bondage or liberation.
In fact, it is the cause
of everything. Mind is
the primary source of
both health and
happiness. If the mind
is steady… one has good
thoughts. Good thoughts
lead to good action. And
good action in turn
gives rise to happiness
and health. So, we have
to be careful of what we
eat. Without health, the
body is of no use. It
cannot do any work. So
take care of your
health.
For children too, in
whatever they may learn
and play, everything
should be in moderation
(mitamu) and
hitamu, that
is, for goodness and
good will. The world
needs both of these.
Today in politics, there
is no moderation. We
find excesses in all
forms. More importantly,
there is no goodness or
good will. With
moderation and goodwill,
one earns respect from
society. To provide
strength and support,
and reform society… we
must enter society, and
give them appropriate
advice. Not mere advice,
but demonstrate to them
through our actions.
When we do so, society
will reform. Therefore,
if society has to
improve, it is possible
only through our
efforts. If society and
country have to
progress, first you
should evolve. When you
transform for the
better…you can then help
society. Understand this
concept.
You consider the body
very important… not the
body, the sheaths
covering the body are
important. Mind,
intellect, awareness and
ego… are the four coats
covering the body. First
and foremost, the coat
of buddhi
(intellect) must be
removed from the
Atma. Why do you
wear a coat? It is to
protect from external
environment.
First, remove the coat
of Tamas
(dullness and
inactivity). Abandon the
vest of Rajas
(unwarranted aggression
and passion) and discard
the shirt of ego. What
remains is the body.
This mind, intellect and
awareness are meant to
facilitate the function
of the body. Without
these, the body is an
empty balloon. Once the
body is empty, neither
sin nor merit will touch
it. Neither praise nor
blame; or rewards nor
ignominy will have any
effect on it. The body
is then liberated.
Therefore, eat in
moderation. Do not eat
in excess and make your
stomach look like a
“question mark”. When
you feed the the
patients in the
Hospital, speak to them
peacefully. Have a
cheerful “smiling face”.
When we explain to them
calmly, they will
develop good feelings
and follow the right
path. Therefore,
students too should be
careful. In particular,
if students are well,
the Hospital will be
fine. They must follow
doctor’s advice, respect
their words and learn
from them.” |
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After this, Swami blessed the
staff with group photographs and
then left for Brindavan. The
very next day He returned to
Prasanthi Nilayam.
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Bhagavan with
some of the medical
staff during His
visit to SSSIHMS,
Whitefield, on June
7, 2008
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VI. The
Inspiring Dimension:
The Beacon of Blissful
Healthcare for the Twenty-first
Century and Beyond
“Hi Arvind,
this is Lakshmikanth from
Stockholm, remember me?” When
one receives a call that begins
like this at 10.30 in the night,
it is a natural reaction to say
‘wrong number’, but when the
caller has used your name you
begin to think twice. Well, in
this case, it turned out to be
genuine. The call was from the
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm,
Sweden.
Some of the
alumni of the Sri Sathya Sai
University are doing their
academic research there, and
Lakshmikanth was one of them. He
and his co-researcher, Mr. Pettr
Brodin, M.D., an immunologist,
were working together on the
same project and had been to
Australia to attend a
conference. They had to stop
over in India, and when one is
touched by God, one cannot but
run to him at the first chance.
Therefore both of them visited
Prasanthi Nilayam and had
Swami’s darshan. And
after this, Bangalore being just
a three hour drive away, they
decided to see His Hospital.
Apparently, life is indeed a
series of appointments. It is a
matter of semantics whether we
call these moments appointments
or circumstances or coincidences
or miracles. To paraphrase
Albert Einstein, one can live
life only in two ways, as though
nothing is a miracle, or
everything is a miracle. I must
confess, I don’t believe in
coincidences. As Swami says,
everything happens for a reason.
Pettr and Kanth, as they wanted
themselves to be called, drove
in from Prasanthi Nilayam in the
afternoon just in time for
lunch. Over lunch we swapped
tales of our experiences working
in Hospitals and I was surprised
to find Pettr, a European,
relishing proper Indian fare,
down to eating without a spoon
and fork. I asked him about
this, and he grinned and gave a
distinctive answer “Looks like
the amino acids on my finger
tips are adding a new taste to
my lunch”. One can’t argue with
such an answer. Anyway, after
their lunch we set out on a tour
of the Hospital.
He Came, He Saw and Was
Conquered
We
started with the main atrium
that soared up 488 feet with its
massive six layered crystal
chandelier, surrounded by four
acres of space . Though Pettr
kept a straight face, one could
see he was impressed. We went
over to the wards, and Pettr
whispered in the deafening
silence of the preoperative
cardiac ward, “Is this a ward?”
It was enough to tell me that he
was moved. Being a doctor, he
had seen many hospitals.
But he later confessed, “This is
different. I’ve never been to a
place like this before.” Then,
with the permission of the
Chairman of the Cardiac
Sciences, the three of us
entered the cardiac theatres.
Again Pettr’s silence told me
much more than words can assay.
Not many can put into words
their feelings when they see
Operation Theatres, and Cath-labs
half the size of shuttle courts,
wards the length of football
fields, with roofs soaring up to
25 feet, balconies larger than
an average sized parking lot,
and an atrium that fills them
with awe and reverence.
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A multi faceted
overview of some of
the visual
highlights of the
SSSIHMS Bangalore
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It
was when I took him over to the
patient counselling area that
his façade melted a bit. The
patient counselling department
at SSSIHMS was the brainchild of
Mr. and Mrs. Umesh Rao, who are
long time followers of Bhagawan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In their
recent visit overseas, they had
been to Karolinska University,
and had presented the concept of
emotional counselling with the
onus on psychosomatic
relationship to some of the
senior staff over there.
Their response had been
overwhelmingly in favour of the
idea, and they agreed that what
they were just beginning to
accept with scientific
validation was already being
practiced at the SSSIHMS for the
past 8 years, and the underlying
concept had been expounded by
Bhagawan Baba decades ago,
“Treat the disease and not
merely the patient”.
Pettr was from the same
Institution and was in the
audience when the couple had
made their presentation. He saw
what was propounded in reality –
if seeing is believing, he saw
and believed.
There are many more like Pettr
who come with questions and
return with none of them
unanswered. For actions speak
louder than words. Ask and you
shall be given, knock and the
door shall be opened is what the
Bible says. We are taught again
and yet again that we have to
take the first step. But we
rarely heed the words.
Probably that was the reason for
the great artist Michelangelo
painting the magnificent fresco
of God reaching down from the
heaven every sinew of his arm
stretched fingers
pointed…reaching out to man…but
man lies on the earth, his arm
raised in limp response, his
fingers lifeless and without
spirit. God does not have to
descend on earth to prove He
exists. He exists in the good
man who helps his fellowman.
But when God does descend on
earth and sets an example, He
lights up fiery beacons that do
not hide their glow, but speak
through silent action, putting
smiles on the faces of those
stricken by sorrow and defeated
by life. It is time to do what
we have to do. The words of
Robert Frost should always
reverberate in our minds…