Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Meera's Charity Request - Part 1


Meera works in a  corporate teaching hospital, but is  able to provide help for the poor patients who come to her PICU. She has been working hard to help the needy and is looking for help. Whatever help we could provide will depend on the the contributions we receive. Once we start the bank account, I will send in the information.

Meera has a clear picture of her needs in this endeavour. Please read her letter she usually sends to her sponsors. In time, I  think we will be able to help Meera with contributions, but she reports that any equipment or near expiration date devices(like CVP lines , LMA ) would be put to good use. If anyone has any other ideas or venues to raise money , please comment.

Meera has been able to raise a third of the required amount on her own. Any fund she raises will be matched by the management. 

Part1 is the letter and Part 2 will be the next blog entry with a couple of cases from her PICU.


PART - 1  Meera's Letter (Unedited)

Although I  work in a corporate hospital,the Management has always let me take care of poor patients. In my earlier stay in India,I was fortunate to have Rohini Nilekani sponsor all my needy patients.

However now she is sponsoring some other venture & I am looking for sponsors to help us have 3 free beds in the ICU -ie 1095 patient days .

About our ICU:

PICU  is a 8  bedded unit (becoming a 10  bedded unit next month) which provides care for patients from 1 month to 17 years of age. They suffer from varying illness such as cancer, trauma, liver failure, kidney failure, sepsis , ARDS etc . We have about 550 admissions/year .

The ICU mortality is 6%. If we discount the mortality within the first 24 hours it fall down to about 3% .  Most patients are referred to us in extremis. It is very gratifying to see patients do well despite various limitations. (We have Conventional ventilators-Servo-i ,HFO- Sensor Medics,CVVHD, Plasmapharesis etc)

I have doctors and nurses to assist me so that as a team we  strive to provide excellent care .We have paediatric Critical Care Fellowship which is recognised by National Board. (We are one of the 3 programs in the country to have a FNB)  

The main limitation that we find in our ongoing care is the financial part. Even to run a not for profit organization we need funds. Since all admissions to the PICU are an emergency the family is emotionally and financially ill prepared for the same. Further more parents of most of the children are young and do not have any savings to fall back on. Most do not have insurance and have to choose between an ICU like ours where the care and support is state of the art but unaffordable and government hospitals .In a country like ours I don't think the government can spend on ICU care. However it does not mean it is not important .

The following is the financial details of our ICU

Average cost of care in the PICU for a ventilated patient                 Rs 15,000/day

Average cost of care in the PICU for an unventilated patient -            Rs 7,000/day

Average cost includes – Bed charges, Oxygen charges, investigations, Procedure and Consultation charges and Ventilator charges (for ventilated patients).

The hospital has agreed to waive off the Bed charges and Procedure and Consultation charges. It has further agreed to provide a 50% concession in Oxygen, Ventilation and Lab charges. This will result in a concessional rate of Rs 7,000/day for ventilated patients and Rs. 3,500/day for unventilated patients admitted under this arrangement. For most families even this is a huge amount and hence to make care completely free except for medicines we need to raise about Rs 75,00,000.(Assuming all the patients need ventilation )

Any fund that will be raised by the employees of the organisation will be matched by Manipal Foundation (NGO arm of the organisation)

I assure you your faith will not be misplaced. Your help will not only help these patients but will help me to train junior staff  as well . We are starting Critical care nursing as well from Jan .Proper education is the only way forward .

regards

Meera


Photo Caption - fruits of labour

11 comments:

  1. Is this our Meera...our batchmate ?



    Premakumari

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  2. Meera and Prabhakar

    Great work. Please let us know of bank account details and we will transfer money to your cause. Keep up the good work and please do not hesitate to contact us for any such requirements.

    Regards

    Raghu

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  3. Hi Meera
    You are doing a great job at your PICU at Manipal especially to children from needy families .I will definitley like to help your children.
    Keep up your good work.
    Prem

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  4. Worthy cause Meera.Will definitely support.

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  5. Meera

    The stories are heartrending but the results are gratifying.Those families inspite of their trials and tribulations are truly blessed to have you and your team in their lives. I believe this is your calling and I am sure many of us will support your selfless efforts with monetary donations.


    Ramzan

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  6. I did a regular search in google for funding of medical expenses. May I suggest the following links for you to be of any help... www.governmentalgrants.com/medical_grants.shtml:// www.nuepa.org/Download/IDEPA%20Announcement%202010.pdf wcd.nic.in/revisedswadhar.htm wcd.nic.in/revisedswadhar.htm www.unclesamsmoney.com/ wiki.answers.com/.../What_types_of_grants_are_available_to_help_out_with_medical_expenses www.associatedcontent.com/.../managing_medical_expenses_in_india.html - www.rishivalley.org/funding/funding.htm money.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?89909 doctor.ndtv.com/storypage/.../health_insurance_india.html
    Thou these may not suffice I wanted to try a level my best.
    Kannan

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  7. Thanks for all your comments and good wishes. I am not sure how this will affect our group,however individuals contributing to Manipal Foundation are eligible for tax exemption in India & US .
    Meera

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  8. I'm amazed and awestruck by the great work,Meera is putting in at Manipal.kudos to one of the best and most sincere pediatricians of the country!a doc with a heart o gold!
    would be an honour to be associated with her efforts.lets join hands to help our friend help her little patients.

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  9. We are constantly trying to catch up ,attempting to balance work and family.
    We all work hard in our own ways. If I feel at times that I am stretching my limits, I think of Meera . Here is a person who has always gone above and beyond. That's who she is. It will take at least 30 or 40 yrs more for me to evolve to have the kind of maturity and the outlook she has.
    She could have taken up lucrative jobs in the US,she had the options to work in many reputed PICUs in the US. Instead she chose to follow her heart and her vision.
    People who work in the PICU , know how draining it is ,even with a dedicated team of efficient support staff. Here she was in India , responsible for starting a PICU, training the staff ,treating very sick patients and constantly looking for resources.
    One can only imagine the challenges ,difficulties and resistance she encountered. She literally lived in the PICU ,still works very long hours.It brings a smile to my face to learn that her daughter Vandana knows so much from being around her mom, she is almost half an intensivist.
    Her dedication, motivation , her vision ,passion , her courage to take the initiative , the sacrifices she has made are very real and humbling.For all the work that she has done and the enormous workload and responsibility she is carrying, she is very modest .
    If, somewhere in the back of our mind there is a thought ,telling us to give back ,let's act on it.
    Meera is our representative. Let us come together to help her cause. Her selfless work and relentless effort to provide superior and lifesaving medical care to those who cannot afford it ,needs our support.Let's do it in any which way we can.

    Meenakshi

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  10. I am touched by the spontaneous and whole hearted support. Bindu & Meenakshi you guys put me in a pedestal that I don't deserve.
    I once again want to thank the Organizing committee especially Prabhakar for all their effort & this opportunity to interact once again.
    If we were to move forward,I sincerely feel ,some one should audit my work. I know that there is trust amongst us,yet misunderstanding occurs when ever money is involved.
    Suma & Kumaresan have easy access to records. They could be the people to do it or someone else like Vasnthi ,Kumaran or Srikanth as they are in Bangalore.(hope Kumaran still is)
    Nagaraj had once commented that if equipment is donated then ,what happens if the person leaves the program. I agree,it should be money or small things like lines that gets used in a short period of time.
    I have some donors who tell me that they will give on a case to case basis. It however feels horrible to play God and decide who deserves help. Moreover now people come by word of mouth. If I have enough monetary backing I will be able to tell the referring pediatricians to send patients irrespective of the socioeconomic status.
    Vishwanath had earlier commented that the amount involved is "jujubi" for the Manipal group. Maybe so,but I am just an employee and I don't think they can set different rules for one unit of the hospital. Hence all these rules about Foundation helping with an equal amount.
    Meera

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