Dear Members, Friends and Families, W e are excited to send you and share with you our chapter's first ever newsletter .We have included the profile of our long standing member and generous contributor to our chapter and ATMA-USA, Dr. Palamalai Mahizhnan. We are planning on a health fair event in collaboration with Greater Atlanta Tamil Sangam (GATS). COMMUNICATION and PARTICIPATION are essential for the success of any organization and we need that from all of you. As I have said before, we will act true to our core values of integrity, openness to ideas and diversity of opinion; We will focus on results, accountability and transparency. Sincerely, Balu S Mani MD, MBA Inaugural issue message from Governor Inside this issue: Inside this issue: Inside this issue: Inside this issue: Charity Projects 2 Did you know? / Recipe 3 Financial Report 4 Jokes 4 Editor’s Note / Member in Spotlight 5 Q & A 6 ATMA President’s note 6 American Tamil Medical Association (ATMA) MARCH 2010 MARCH 2010 MARCH 2010 MARCH 2010 ISSU ISSU ISSU ISSUE 1 E 1 E 1 E 1 PULSE OF ATMA-GA Did you drink from a plastic bottle and see a triangle symbol on the bottom with a number inside? Did you know what these numbers stood for? Did you guess that it's just for recycling? Then you are WRONG!!!!!! Turn to page 3 for answers For PULSE Of ATMA-GA Contributions, Comments & Suggestions, Email:- [email protected]First ATMA Chapter Initiated Newsletter DID YOU KNOW??
Transcript
Dear Members, Friends and Families,
W e are excited to send you and share with you our
chapter's first ever newsletter .We have included the
profile of our long standing member and generous contributor
to our chapter and ATMA-USA, Dr. Palamalai Mahizhnan.
We are planning on a health fair event in collaboration with
Greater Atlanta Tamil Sangam (GATS).
COMMUNICATION and PARTICIPATION are essential for the success of any
organization and we need that from all of you. As I have said before, we will act
true to our core values of integrity, openness to ideas and diversity of opinion; We
will focus on results, accountability and transparency.
Sincerely, Balu S Mani MD, MBA
Inaugural issue message from Governor
Inside this issue:Inside this issue:Inside this issue:Inside this issue:
Charity Projects 2
Did you know? / Recipe 3
Financial Report 4
Jokes 4
Editor’s Note / Member
in Spotlight
5
Q & A 6
ATMA President’s note 6
American Tamil Medical Association (ATMA)
MARCH 2010MARCH 2010MARCH 2010MARCH 2010 ISSUISSUISSUISSUE 1E 1E 1E 1
PULSE OF ATMA-GA
Did you drink from a plastic
bottle and see a triangle symbol on the bottom with a
number inside?
Did you know what
these numbers stood
for?
Did you guess that it's
just for recycling?
Then you are
WRONG!!!!!!
Turn to page 3 for
answers
For PULSE Of ATMA-GA Contributions, Comments & Suggestions, Email:- [email protected] F
irst
AT
MA
Ch
ap
ter
Init
iate
d N
ewsl
ette
r
DID YOU KNOW??
Page 2
Dear ATMA friends, PCMC started functioning in full speed since the inauguration on Octo-ber 2009. It is because of your gener-ous support that we were able to launch this ambitious project and serve the children in the Pallavaram area. Children are the future of any nation and the entire world, but the neglected majority. Mission & Vision:
•PCMC will serve every child in the
service area without regard to the ability to pay or the cast or religion of birth of the individual.
•PCMC will employ people from the
local market without regard to their cast or religion or whom they know ( Infact 90 % of the 29 employees walk to work from their homes )
•PCMC will concentrate its efforts on
our original statement (PEEPS) Prevention, Education, Emergency, Primary care and Secondary Care.
Figures on PCMC:-
⇒ Pallavaram Children's Medical
center (PCMC) was constructed at a total expense of Rs. 1.4 Crores (approximately $ 310,000). This does not include the value of the land which is estimated to be around 3 crores (approximately $ 600,000). The total value of the property is currently around Rs.5 crores.
⇒Nearly One Crore Rupees of the
building funds were donated by the
original trustees including Dr & Mrs. Athi Narayan, the Bharathi Nagar Health center Trust and several corpo-rate and individual donors in India through the help of Mr. M. Gopalakrishnan the former Chairman of Indian Bank who also tirelessly oversaw the construction with the help of Mr. Somasundaram, the secretary and founder of Bharathi Nagar Health Center Trust.
⇒ATMA was generous in donating
$ 93,500 through the following major sources.
⇒ $ 49,500 of ATMA’s donation went into the building of PCMC and the balance went into furnishings and equipments and early
operational expenses.
⇒ Current running of the hospital
operations are being funded by do-nations from the Trustees and other donations through TNF
Facts on PCMC:-
◊ PCMC is a Non- Profit entity al-though it will strive to break even and make a small profit for expan-sion and to subsidize more care for poor patients.
◊ None of the Trustees of PCMC or
their relatives has any controlling interest or will derive any income from its operations.
◊ None of the Trustees derive any income for their time and efforts in the operation of PCMC including any out of pocket expenses.
◊ All of PCMC's operations will be
audited by a qualified auditor and the tax returns will be filed as per the existing Indian law.
Report: PCMC has seen over 3200 patients since the short time it has been in operation. (Please see Charts ) Re-cently we have added an Ambulance to the facility donated by Mr. Muruga Dass of Atlanta, GA and two Nelcore Pulse Oxymeters donated by Emory Johns Creek Hospital . We have 24/7 in-house physicians at this time although we had considerable difficulty in the beginning. Believe it or not Pediatricians are very difficult to get in Chennai area and the salary
levels run well above Rs. 45,000 a month.
THANK YOU:THANK YOU:THANK YOU:THANK YOU:----
Once again thank you ATMA! Without the support of all of you, PCMC would not have come into being and with your continued support we can serve as many children as your heart de-sires!!! Athi Narayan MD President – ATMA 2008-2009 Member of the board of Trustees PCMC Trust and Bharathi Nagar Health Center Trust For Questions:- Dr. Athi Narayan : Home: 770- 475-1924 Cell : 248-212-3148 Work: 678-474-7500 E- Mail : [email protected]
ATMA greater Washington Chapter:
$5000 + 11000= $16,000
Dr. Rajan from Florid a
$15,000
Dr. Francis Xavier Roche (through Tristate Chapter)
$ 6,000
Georgia Chapter of ATMA ( ALAM meeting)
$ 8,500
Georgia Chapter of ATMA Annual Convention
$ 45,000
Texas Chapter $ 3,000
Total $ 93,500 ( Approxi-mately Rs 40 Lakhs )
AN UPDATE ON PALLAVARAM CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER (PCMC)
History of Kasturba Hospital (KH)- When Kasturba Gandhi passed away, Mahatma Gandhi announced that a Trust be formed in Kasturba's name . The money should be utilized to start centers in remote rural areas and that women, especially young widows and deserted women should be trained as Arogya Sevikas in these centers.
Accordingly, Kasturba Gandhi National Trust was started & Gandhi nominated Dr. Soundram as the agent of this Trust in Southern India by handing over her a portrait of Kasturba in a public meeting in Chennai. She was asked to set-up a rural institution in a remote place to serve the most deprived of people.
It was while searching for a suitable location for the rural institution all over TamilNadu, that Dr. Soundram was approached by Sri. Laghumaiya, a landlord from Chinnallappatti & Dr. Soundram made it to Chinnalappatti, and immediately liked the place.
Formally Gandhigram was launched on 7th October 1947. It is situated on the National Highway (NH-7) between the towns of Dindigul and Madurai at about 6 miles from Dindigul town. It is also close to the railway line between Chennai and Madurai, situated about less than a half mile from the Ambathurai railway station.
Gandhian in Gandhigram heading the
Gandhi army
Inspired by Amma Dr.Soundram’s work, Dr. Kausalya Devi came to Gandhigram and constantly interacted with the village
community. Today, she has inherited the title of 'Amma' herself.
Dr. R.Kausalya Devi has headed the hospital, for nearly four decades now. She is a legend in these areas and has never rested to serve the underserved. She is a happily unmarried woman in her seventies and says "The needs of the community are met through the services
of this hospital".
Having worked at KH for three years after my MPH as a medical officer and a Program manager, my salary was Rs 5000 per month. There was nothing to complaint at KH. A day typically starts at 5:00 AM with family planning surgeries (around 10-15) and ward rounds ( pediat-rics, neonatology, OB/GYN, post op surgical, medical, (duties divided among the doctors) and finally attend the Outpatient . At certain times, due to the shortage of doctors night duties would alternate in a couple of days. It is a busy day everyday in KH. But the people who are served are the ultimate happiness to the staff who work there. Medical residents who come to KH come with one mind– service to the poor and they do get the required training.
Kasturba Hospital (KH) - a 275 bed medical facility is a government recog-nized family welfare center that provides antenatal visits, immunization for children and family planning services. The hospi-tal specializes in recanalization surgery and infertility treatments by education, investigation and treatment both with allopathic and Indian system of medicine.
OB/GYN department serves the rural public and also referrals from other hospitals for complicated cases. There are almost 350-400 deliveries conducted per month. KH conducts around 4800 deliveries each year and 7200 family planning surgeries each year.
Dr.Kausalya Devi handing over an orphan to its new and proud mother Photo by Dr.Vivek
Project:- Antenatal Care Team (ACT) Nine months & Beyond.
A grand adventure is about to begin: ACT wants to make sure the path of this adventure is clear of hurdles and uncertainties. ACT will try its best to
make this journey smooth as possible.
Summary of Needs/ Problem Statement
The rural community is less knowledgeable and holds weaker beliefs about the severity of issues during preg-nancy, for ex: hypertension during pregnancy. Because of the health dis-parities attributable to less education in rural compared to the urban population, Physicians treating the pregnant mothers do not have enough time to sit with
patients to answers all the questions that they may have and the educational services offered at KH mostly is during post pregnancy. Implementation of project ACT will fill the gaps in educating the antenatal mothers at KH.
KH does not have a strategic antenatal education program available. ACT will be used as a pilot to find out how the rural community responds to the tailored counseling and education. ACT will probably be used to implement an antenatal care education program, which could serve as a role model for implementation of this program in other hospitals.
Mission of this project is to promote the health of the antenatal mothers through education and research in to disease prevention, health maintenance and
health care delivery.
Aim :-To increase awareness and knowledge of normal course of pregnancy and antenatal issues through education and seminars during the course of the pregnancy.
Project ACT will be the first pilot antenatal care program , the success of which might be followed by Government and other organizations.
Thank You, Nazeera Dawood [email protected] Gandhi’s message of blessing to Gandhigram :-
"Success attends where truth reigns" * ACT is a project pending approval from ATMA PRC.
GANDHIGRAM – KASTURBA HOSPITAL - Antenatal Care Team (ACT)* Nine months & Beyond.
W hat you are not told is that many of
the plastics used are toxic and the chemicals
used to create a plastic can leach out of the
plastic and into the food / drink.
Celery Spread Celery Spread Celery Spread Celery Spread contributed by Sudha Rajasekarancontributed by Sudha Rajasekarancontributed by Sudha Rajasekarancontributed by Sudha Rajasekaran
Page 3
T HE NUMBER TELLS
You THE CHEMI-
CAL MAKE UP OF
THE PLASTIC.....
Check out this chart that breaks down the plastic, its uses and
chemical makeup http://www.epd. gov.hk/epd/ english/
environm entinhk/waste/ guide_ref/ guide_plascod3. html
AVOID re-using plastic bottles RIGHT AWAY!!!
Did You Know? - Continued
Ingredients: Celery: 5 stalks Green chilies: 4-5 Hing: 1/4 tsp Methi: 1 tsp Cilantro: 1/2 cup chopped Ginger: 1/2 inch cube Mustard: 1 tsp Turmeric: 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Gingely oil (til oil): 1/4 cup (Can use other oil)
Chop the celery sticks and sauté it with cilantro
in about 1-2 tbsp of til oil for 4-5 minutes.
Set aside.
Next heat up another tbsp of oil and add methi,
chopped chilies, hing and ginger. Let this cook
for 5 minutes.
Put this and the celery in the blender and grind
to a fine paste. Heat up about 6-7 tbsp of the oil.
Add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add
the paste. Add salt and turmeric and keep cook-
ing till the oil leaves the sides of the pan.
This step takes a while. The thokku should have a
thick paste like consistency. Add more oil if
required. Can be used as a spread on a sandwich.
Think about it, how many times
have you or a friend said "I don't
like this, it taste like the plastic
bottle .....”
THAT'S BECAUSE You ARE
TASTING THE PLASTIC !!!
Recipe Co
rner
Recipe Co
rner
Recipe Co
rner
Recipe Co
rner
Sudha is the spouse of
Dr.Palanisamy
Rajasekaran .
Dr.Rajasekaran is a
neonatologist at the
Emory Johns Creek
Hospital.
Page 4
Patient:- Do you think I will live until I am 90? Doctor:- How old are you now? Patient:- 40
Doctor:- Do you drink, smoke, gamble or have any other vice? Patient:- No, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t gamble, I don’t have any other vice. Doctor:- Then why do you want to live for another 50 years?
Lady: Doctor, en purusan konjam naala thookathula pesuraaru.
Doctor: Neenga avara Pagal'la konjam pesa vitta ellam sariya poiyidum.
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ெகா��தா�� மய�கேவ இ ைல.
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ATMA - GA Financial Report - January 2010 Beginning cash balance as of 1/1/10 $3,741 Chapter Memberships per 2009 report submitted last year $1,535
•General Body Meeting (Date , Time & Venue will be announced one month prior to the meeting)
• Health Fair (Date , Time & Venue will be announced )
•Continuing Medical Education event
•Fund Raising Event for charitable projects
Upcoming Events ATMA– GA
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE
ATMA GA KICK OFF Meeting 2010 was held on Feb 6, 2010.
PPPPERSISTENCEERSISTENCEERSISTENCEERSISTENCE To say I am excited to be writing to you for the first time would be an understatement. Inaugural editor’s notes are mostly deceptive. Why is it deceptive? Well, because how do you comprehend all the hopes and plans you have for your Chapter’s future publications? And how do you express your sincere desire to make this publication unique? I think I know how to do it, and it only requires persistence.
An unknown author has said “”Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.”” And if it is to serve the underserved and uplift the underprivileged, I do not retire. If you are wondering what has that got to do with being an editor in our chapter newsletter, well there is a deep hidden connection. ATMA GA chapter members have helped thousands of poor back home as well as here. And what do these members get in return. Not to mention many other good things that ATMA provides to its members , publishing this newsletter would mean you can have five minutes of relaxing time on your rocking chair having tea and flipping through these pages. If you have had that relaxing moment in the midst of your busy career life, we have accomplished our mission of thanking you for all that you do.
In the short seven months of being an ATMA & the GA chapter member, I have seen and heard stories that bring a smile and a tear and sometimes I have stood in awe too. And then there are many of you for whom ATMA has its own special meaning. Please keep in mind that this belongs to you. Let the newsletter tell the stories, ideas, photographs, suggestions, complaints and memories that you find the most touching by letting us hear from you.
I thank the ATMA GA executive team and the article contributors without whom PULSE of ATMA GA is not possible. I am happy to report that we have planned on publishing ATMA-GA newsletter three times a year. If anyone is interested in joining the editorial board for the ATMA-GA newsletter, please do not hesitate to email or call me. Finally Nandri maruthuvargaley, aaraichiyaalargaley & nanbargaley. Anbudan, Nazeera Dawood Email :- [email protected] Phone :- 404-583-7138
PULSE of ATMA-GA contains a Q&A section with questions that ATMA
members like you regularly encounter. In this issue. Dr.Venkat Narayan answers
Www.atmaus-ga.org
Balu S Mani MD, MBA Governor
770-312-5536
Nazeera Dawood MBBS, MPH, CCRC Secretary
404-583-7138
Gayathri Indrakrishnan CPA, MBA Treasurer
Indran Indrakrishnan MD Public Relations Chair
Manohar Nallathambi MD Membership Drive Chair
Question & Answer Section
Qn 1. What in your opinion or foresight would change the outcome in the treatment and life expectancy of patients with Diabetes Mellitus? 1.Drug therapy 2.Gene manipulation and genetic counseling. 3.Stem cell therapy (new pancreatic tissue implantation.)
Answer:- In the immediate future, better implementation of lifestyle
factors (diet, physical activity) and organized drug therapy to control
glucose, blood pressure, lipids and regular examinations to screen for
and prevent eye and kidney complications. Just implementing what we
already know can reduce the risk of diabetes by 50% and reduce
complications among those with diabetes by 50-60%. Unfortunately, we
don't do these well. Only 10% of people with diabetes have good
simultaneous control of glucose, blood pressure and lipids.
Qn 2. Is it possible to completely change the diet to eliminate
the glucose and lipids in the diet and still have a reasonable
quality of life?
Answer:- It is possible to achieve a healthy diet: one high in fiber, not
high in fat, less refined and processed carbohydrates, plenty of fresh
vegetables, and 30 minutes of activity a day and have a wonderful
quality of life. Cutting out fried foods, large portion sizes, too much
sweets, overcooked vegetables, and avoiding
junk food, snacks, and eating out a lot will
actually improve quality of life in a huge way.
Dr.Venkat Narayan is the Ruth & O.C. Hubert
Professor of Global Health & Epidemiology at Emory
Rollins School of Public Health.. He is the recipient of
the Life Time Achievement Award from ATMA 2009.
Goals of ATMA– GA
2010 • To increase ATMA-GA membership by at least 50 %
• To start a newsletter for ATMA –GA as the first chapter initiated newsletter
• To conduct CME at least once for this term
• To discuss further on the fundraising events and the charitable projects
SPREAD
THE
WORD
ABOUT
ATMA
Page 6
Dear Georgian members of ATMA,
Your news letter is "PEACHY". I on behalf of the entire organization extend my congratulations on your premier issue of the Chapter
"News Letter". It is the work of free spirited leaders of your chapter who should be recognized and applauded for their hard and unselfish work in
bringing this first issue to you, namely Dr. Balu Mani who as your Governor and is at the helm, Dr. Nazeera Dawood who as your secretary and
editor, who is also our national ATMA communication director. and Mrs. Gayathri Indrakrishnan. who will be controlling your finances. I strongly
believe that the momentum in the Ga. chapter which is setting up a pioneering role that should be taken up by the other
chapters and this new and improved attitude and dedication of all our members would make our ATMA name recognizable
