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| Community Service Outreach Programmes |
AIMS has won acclaim for its highly sophisticated surgical and diagnostic capabilities. Now many departments are being appreciated for their role in providing free or low-cost community-based programmes and medical camps. Outreach medical services, health awareness campaigns, and projects for the poor in the remote parts of Kerala ensure that AIMS facilities reach the wider community of Kerala. Over 100 free medical camps were conducted 1n 2004. In the first quarter of 2005, the following free medical camps were conducted:
Ophthalmology - 11
Cleft Lip/Palette - 9
College of Dentistry - 7
General Medicine - 1
Endocrinology - 3
Orthopaedics - 5
General Surgery - 1
Gynecology - 2
Blood Donation - 1
The Department of Community Medicine organized a Tribal Health Initiative by giving training to tribal volunteers from 1 November, 2004 through 10 December, 2004. |
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| Community Service Programmes: |
Curable Blindness Camps
Amrita Mobile Medical Assistance Camps
Amrita Diabetes Welfare Association (ADWA)
Free Cleft Lip Surgery Screening Camps
ICMR Rheumatic Fever Research Project
Palliative Home Care Service
Disaster Response Team
Rural Medical Clinics
Telemedicine support to remote medical facilities
Emergency Medicine Services
Significantly reduced cost or free treatment for poor patients
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| Curable Blindness Camps |
Bimonthly free cataract surgery camps are conducted offering a ray of hope to the poor and needy, striving to overcome the huge back-log of Cataract blindness in various parts of Kerala. In the camps consultations, medicines and treatment are provided for free. After completing 40 camps, we have screened more than 10,000 people and given free operations to over 1000 patients. Our target plan is to expand to 1000 free cases per month. |
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| ICMR Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease Research Project |
The Jai Vigyan Mission Mode Project on Control of RF/RHD under the Department of Science and Technology (Govt. of India) has been established to support the application of science and technology to directly benefit the economically weaker sections of society. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified AIMS as one of the three national, nodal centres for the Registry, the other centres being PGI, Chandigarh, and CMC, Vellore. |
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| Amrita Mobile Medical Assistance |
The first Amrita Mobile Medical Assistance camps were conducted in the tribal villages of Idukki and Wynad. The indigenous people are very poor. At each camp about 300 patients attend, some walk great distances, and arrive full of hope for immediate hospital treatment. The patients are screened for any major disease and referred to AIMS for further management. For the rest of the people, free medicines and health care education are provided. We have also extended our service to other areas in Kerala like Alapuzha and Trichur districts. |
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| Palliative Home Care Service |
The Pain and Palliative Home Care Programme provides compassionate and fully charitable care for patients with advanced cancers and other incurable diseases. Aiming to relieve distressing physical symptoms and to provide psychological support and counselling to such patients and their families. Most of the terminally ill patients are too sick to come to the hospital regularly. The home-care unit is therefore a vital component of the palliative care service.
Most private hospitals are not interested in providing such a service since it is not financially remunerative.
All services are provided free of charge to all patients and free medicines are also offered specifically to poor patients. |
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| Amrita Diabetes Welfare Association |
The Amrita Diabetic Welfare Association (ADWA) is an independent organization established through the AIMS Endocrinology Department to help sufferers become aware of what they must do when they become diabetic. Among the charitable activities of ADWA are:
Diabeat - a regular quarterly journal on Diabetes
Free Insulin for Poorppatients- whose need for insulin is mandatory, but are unable to afford it
Diabetes Education in School Programme - This program aims to bring about life-style changes at an early age and target the coming generations in a preventative programme
Counselling Centres run voluntarily by diabetic patients who are ADWA members, providing counselling to diabetics in the locality with regard to diet, life-style modification, and education about all aspects of diabetes
Medical Camps conducted periodically to provide consultation, treatment advice and education
The department also held Amrita Diafest, 2004 from 11th to 13th November 2004 at Town Hall, Ernakulam in commemoration with "World Diabetes Day" promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The event featured medical exhibitions, cultural programmes, competitions, debates, film shows and expert medical check ups and various other programmes to give an opportunity to learn more about this very silent killer.
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| Disaster Response |
Tsunami Relief - When the hospital learned of the tsunami disaster, six ambulances were dispatched along with medical teams to coastal areas hardest hit by the killer wave. One fully equipped ambulance with doctors and nurses went out each day to Vypin Island where many trauma cases needed medical attention. A 24-hour medical centre was set up on the island with doctors, resources and medicine.
Additional ambulances and medical staff went to Karunagappally in Kerala and to Nagapattanam in Tamil Nadu.
Earthquake Assistance - As soon as the devastation by the earthquake in Gujarat was known, a team of medical specialists from AIMS was dispatched to assist in any way possible. The Disaster Response team tended to over 900 victims earthquake, performing numerous surgeries and treating severe orthopedic injuries. |
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