NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI, MAR 3
Dr Saranya T. Jaikumar, educational psychologist and President – Voxdemy on Monday inaugurated Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre’s new comprehensive cleft care centre of excellence. It was launched to mark the 20th Anniversary of partnership between Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research and Transforming Cleft of Canada. The centre will provide seamless services from cleft lip awareness to identification, interventions through adulthood speech therapy and rehabilitation.
- This marks the 20th Anniversary of partnership between Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research and Transforming Cleft of Canada
- Till date 700 CLP children were enrolled and followed from birth through adulthood with home visits, camps, NGO, district rehab centres, local hospitals and at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre.
- About 100 cleft lip patients who benefited from the collaboration participated in the event
- Vice Chancellor Dr. Uma Sekar honoured stalwarts in the field of cleft care in India
About 100 cleft lip patients who benefited from the collaboration participated in the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Saranya T. Jaikumar said, “Born with cleft lip and palate I was also a beneficiary of this medical treatment and can assure those affected that they can be cured fully and speak and learn like any other children. Some children may have one surgery and some others eight or nine. But if they trust the medical team and undertake all treatments and speech therapies they can shine in life like others.”
Transforming Cleft which provides cleft lip and palate rehabilitation services in Argentina, Peru, Thailand, Laos, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia began its partnership with SRIHER in 2005 in Thiruvannamalai district, expanding later to Cuddalore and Kancheepuram districts providing free services for which so far it has spent Rs.6.5 crores. Till date 700 CLP children were enrolled and followed from birth through adulthood with home visits, camps, NGO, district rehab centres, local hospitals and at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre. So far 400 camps by speech and dental teams have been held, 35,000 assessments made and 18,000 speech correction sessions have been done. 15 research projects have also been completed.
Speaking on the occasion Hugh Brewster, Executive Director, Transforming Cleft said the SRIHER team has set several bench marks in comprehensive cleft care services at the door step of the patients.
The Vice Chancellor Dr. Uma Sekar honoured stalwarts in the field of cleft care in India like Prof. S.M. Balaji, Director, Balaji Dental and Craniofacial Hospital, Chennai, Prof. M. Pushpavathi Director, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru and Prof. Puneet Batra, Pro Vice Chancellor, Manav Rachna International Institute, Faridabad. She also felicitated Prof. Roopa Nagarajan, Special Officer SRIHER who piloted the project and its present head Dr. K. Vignesh, Professor of Orthodontics.
Prof. H. Thamizhchelvan, Dean, Sri Ramachandra Dental College and Hospital and Dr. Prakash Boominathan, Principal, Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology were among those who participated in the event.
