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By Fran Benham
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Sankara Nethralaya (SN) was founded in 1978 by a
young physician fresh from his medical studies and training in the United States. Like many Indian
graduates in medicine, science and engineering, Dr. Sengamedu Srinivasa
Badrinath could have stayed in the U.S. to enjoy a lucrative career. He
chose instead to respond to the call of Indian spiritual leader,
Jagadhguru His Holiness Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Sri
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, who urged him to return home to care for the
people of India.
Dr. Badrinath established Sankara Nethralaya (Temple of the Eye) in Chennai, starting in
small quarters treating with equal care those who could pay and those
who could not. The need was great and as word spread the practice grew.
Today this eye care hospital, based on a commitment to do God’s work,
fills a large complex with a multistory building currently under
construction. Two other facilities have been opened in other locations.
Some 1,500 patients are welcomed and 125 surgeries are performed each
day. Just over half those treated pay for their care with the remainder
treated according to need at no charge.
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His Holiness, Sri
Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi
Swamigal of
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
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Rural out-reach, a
primary objective of SN, is achieved with missionary zeal, as huge vans
equipped with medical technology travel to villages to test and treat
all who ask. Glasses are made for those who need them. Medications and
education are provided. Those with more complicated ailments are brought
to Chennai where they are housed, fed and treated. When well enough,
they are returned home. Those who need continuing care receive it. SN’s
work is widely recognized, and Dr. Badrinath and his staff are
deservedly revered throughout the nation by those who gratefully turn to
them in their time of need.
The staff includes
not only most specialties in ophthalmology, but also specialists to care
for the whole person. And, in an effort to constantly improve, there are
departments of microbiology, histopathology, molecular biology, ocular
pathology, biochemistry, genetics and infectious diseases. They work
with attending physicians in research to better understand and treat
disease processes.
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Dr. Berthold Struk consults
with Dr. S.S. Badrinath
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SN engages
actively in a variety of collaborative projects with highly
prestigious organizations in the U.S., Japan,
New Zealand and Hong Kong. Among them is the U.S. National Eye Institute
of the National Institutes of Health, as well as medical schools
and pharmaceutical companies. SN’s eye gene disorder
identifications contributed to the Human Genome Project.
Significant research is underway in adult onset cataract,
glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinoblastoma. Improved
diagnosis and treatment are the objective as large numbers of
patients are treated for these disorders each year. As example,
20,000 cataract surgeries are performed every year. SN’s Eye
Bank has received over 4,000 donor eyes and restored sight to
over 3,000 patients in need of corneal transplants. Corneal
tissue not useful for transplant is used for research. Peer
reviewed research published papers inform scientists and
physicians around the world of these and other SN discoveries. |
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SN’s normal work
week is six days with only one day for rest. Attending physicians may
consult with fifty patients each day. This is possible through
remarkable organization, excellent committed staff and the most current
technology and know-how. Focus is on what is important - no ostentation
- no pretension. Indeed SN’s approach is so quietly understated that the
uninitiated might not realize they are in the presence of as highly
educated, qualified, experienced and confident a medical organization as
can be found anywhere.
Never satisfied,
another primary value of SN is training. Staff travel globally to study
best practices and new discoveries. Those which are appropriate are
incorporated into SN practice and shared with colleagues across India.
Dr. Badrinath’s wife, American board-qualified pediatrician, S. Vasanthi
Badrinath, MD, Director of the Clinical Laboratory of SN, exemplifies
the drive for improvement as she, in addition to leadership duties,
currently is training in Hematology. In addition to staff development as
a given, SN is certified for and has trained in its residency program
hundreds of ophthalmologists who are practicing physicians in
India
and abroad. SN also is certified to prepare candidates in ophthalmology,
microbiology and biochemistry for the PhD degree.
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