an online magazine from eyeway.org
an online magazine from eyeway.org
issue 1 
september-october 2004
click here to browse other issues
other sections in this issue: by george | focus | perspectives | profile | forum
Headlines : India News
other headlines sub-sections: world
news | calendar of events
One man's vision...
M. Somasekhar; The Hindu Business Line; www.thehindubusinessline.com
It was called the "04-04-04"
event. The day – April 4, 2004 – was marked by an international
conference on developments in ophthalmology. But the evening was reserved for
flashbacks – rich praise was heaped on Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao, founder
of the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (L.V.P.E.I.) in Hyderabad in 1987. Dr. Rao
stepped down as the Director, handing over the baton to Dr. Ravi Thomas, a world
renowned Glaucoma specialist. The workaholic ophthalmologist, together with
his dedicated team and a large number of supporters, has successfully moulded
the institute into one of the finest eye-care centres in the world. What made
the day truly momentous though was the farewell gesture – the creation
of a `Village Vision Fund' to set up vision centres across Andhra Pradesh. Named
after Pratibha and Gullapalli N. Rao, the vision centres would provide primary
eye-care in interior rural areas.
This was nothing uncommon, perhaps, in the life of an institution. But what followed was definitely unprecedented. Dr. Rao introduced his successor, Dr. Ravi Thomas from Christian Medical College (C.M.C.), Vellore. The rapt audience listened as Dr Thomas's teachers – Professor Frank Bilson of the Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and Dr. J.P. Muliyil from C.M.C. – recalled their association with the incoming Director and gave insights into his personality. Indeed, a smooth transfer of the reins of power had taken place!
Significantly, the power transferred not within the family or even within the institute, which is often the norm, but to a rank outsider. For most outsiders, this came as a complete surprise. After all, it is not easy to recall many examples where leadership has been voluntarily abdicated in Indian organisations in recent times. Infosys's N.R. Narayana Murthy is of course an exception.
Admitting that Narayana Murthy was an inspiration, Dr, Rao however said that the idea of relinquishing his position at an appropriate time was at the back of his mind for long.
Having detached himself
from the institute's day-to-day responsibilities – not a single member
of his family is on the Board of Directors – Dr. Rao however continues
to be a distinguished ophthalmologist at the institute. He has now set himself
the task of enlarging the vision of L.V.P.E.I. His priority is to strengthen
eye care in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh. From September 2004, he will assume
the presidency of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness.
Recalling the long journey that brought him to Hyderabad and the creation of L.V.P.E.I., Dr. Rao says, "I was always driven by a passion to do something for my native land, hence I gave up a lucrative position in the U.S.A. and launched the hospital project in 1982. My wife Pratibha and I discussed the dream project with the aim of returning to India in 1986. She had the veto power to shelve it as well.
"We informed our friends of the decision, but nobody took us seriously... The common refrain was: `No Indian goes back easily'. I studied various institutions in the U.S.A., looking at them with a 'different eye' to spot the best. I did a similar exercise with institutions in India. Simultaneously, I prepared a blueprint and formed a foundation to raise funds. The first contribution was our four years' savings in the U.S.A. Lots of Non-Resident Indians (N.R.I.s) came forward and soon we had $500,000.
"The big boost to the project came when a letter to the then Andhra Chief Minister, N.T. Rama Rao, in 1985 got a surprisingly fast and positive response in 15 days. Land was offered in Himayathsagar on the outskirts." Parallely, A. Ramesh, the son of noted film personality L.V. Prasad of Prasad Laboratories, offered 5 acres of land in the city and Rs 1 crore towards the trust. This was instrumental in the fast realisation of the institute. Dr. K. Anji Reddy, founder of Dr. Reddy's Lab, Rao Remala of Microsoft, Somasekhar Mukkamala and a long list of donors backed the hospital at every stage.
The project soon got under
way, with N.T. Rama Rao laying the foundation stone on October 17, 1986, "the
first and last time a politician graced any major function at L.V.P.E.I.,"
says Dr. Rao. On June 1, 1987, the first patient was treated. "Several
well-wishers told me that it would be difficult to do something like this in
Hyderabad. My response was: 'I shall try hard and see.' In the last 17 years,
the institute has grown beyond my dreams. Today, every single international
ophthalmic organisation supports it and every conceivable eye ailment can be
treated here," he adds proudly. Quizzed on his decision to lay down office,
Dr. Rao says, "It was one of my most satisfying decisions. It was well
planned and not sudden. My initial goal was to be Director for 10 years. I had
offered the Director's post to two other people in the past, but they both left
for the U.S.A. Finally, in 2002, we selected Dr. Thomas."
The only criterion for the selection: the best candidate available in India. A two-year transition period would ensure that power is transferred seamlessly and that the new Director is fully familiar with the mandate and functioning of the institute.
Dr. Rao says that his move was inspired from the experiences of great institutions across the world, including some in India. L.V.P.E.I. today represents a hospital that has made "excellence and accessibility compatible in the Indian context. Fifty per cent of all surgeries are gratis for the poor. Till date, not a single patient has been turned back because he cannot pay and every form of curable blindness can be treated here," he says.
This has been made possible with all the doctors getting salaries, and not being allowed private practice; efficient operating systems put in place; and differential tariff structures for different classes of patients. "All our financial transactions are transparent. I have not run after anybody for favours, nor have we given bribes to anyone for anything," he says. L.V.P.E.I.'s work speaks for itself -- the institute is at the cutting edge of eye research, including stem cells. Ophthalmologists in India have a culture of public service, owing to the eye camps conducted by many of them. However, Dr. Rao points out, "The need here is to ensure quality service and follow up."
Under a project called 'Community Assisted and Financed Eye Care', each member of the community contributes one rupee a month and the L.V.P.E.I., in turn, sets up a satellite eye hospital to take care of the community's needs. An experimental project started in a West Godavari village with 50,000 people is doing well. A similar initiative is under way in Adilabad district. In an effort to energise the project, plans are afoot to link it to women's self-help groups. The project has received a major impetus thanks to the efforts of two N.R.I. brothers – Srikanth and Sudhakar Raavi from Silicon Valley.
Hailing from a village near Chirala in Prakasam district, they have pledged to take care of the village's eye-care infrastructure through the creation of a satellite hospital and vision care centres.
When asked how he would make eye care sustainable in the long run, Dr. Rao says that a workable financial model should have four ingredients: low-cost community insurance (rupee one a month) in villages; enhanced cross subsidy; Government-funded insurance for the poor and greater funding from philanthropists. During 2003-04, L.V.P.E.I. achieved a record 1,000 corneal transplants, amply demonstrating the heights to which it had reached. As the new Director, Dr. Thomas says, building upon the strong foundation and reputation gained by the hospital is now the challenge before him.
Other India News stories in this issue:
Visually impaired boy makes headlines on Akashwani
Keyboard Braille brings hope for blind users
Low-cost reading aid