November 15, 2017 - Renovated Thalassaemia Day Care Centre

Dr. Sudhir Nanandkar, Dean of J.J. Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai cut the ribbon to inaugurate the renovated Thalassaemia Day Care Centre at St. George’s Hospital, Mumbai. Other distinguished guests at the inauguration were Mr. Sukumar Venkatachalam of Cox and Kings, Dr. Madhukar Gaikwad, Superintendent of St. George’s Hospital. After cutting the ribbon and the traditional lighting of the lamp by all guests, a tour was made of all the facilities at the new Centre.

An hour later, at a function organized at St. Georges Hospital, Dr. Tatyarao Lahane, Deputy Director, Medical Education and Research, Government of Maharashtra, addressed a large gathering of doctors, nursing staff and all other employees of the hospital. Mr. Sukumar Venkatachalam of Cox and Kings who sponsored the renovation and Mr. Vinay Shetty of Think Foundation, who took the responsibility of establishing the renovated Thalassaemia Day care Centre, were felicitated by Dr. Lahane. Also appreciated was the designing, planning and execution of the project by “Studio Gestalt”.

Earlier in the day, all thalassaemia patients participated in a medical camp by submitting their blood samples for various tests. This was followed by an entertainment programme which was efficiently anchored by Himanshi Chatwani. Himanshi, who volunteered her services, engaged thalassaemia patients and their parents in various games, which brought smiles all round. Amol Ghodke belted out 2 popular songs, and Jyothi Chanda performed a classical Indian dance. Both performances were appreciated very much by the audience. Amol and Jyothi, who are attached to other Transfusion Centres, were invited to perform at the inauguration. In parallel, a blood donation camp was held in the hospital premises, which provided an opportunity to employees and visitors to donate blood.

The project was initiated with a proposal for renovation submitted by Think Foundation to Dr. Gaikwad, Superintendent of the hospital. The proposal aimed at making the blood transfusion experience as comfortable as possible for thalassaemia patients. It also provided better washroom facilities, air-conditioning, nurses’ counter, doctor’s cabin, storage facilities, and comfortable transfusion chairs. Studio Gestalt, the architects appointed for the project, were qualified to deal with heritage structures. After coordinating with civil departments within hospital, preparing drawings and supervising execution, the architects were able to complete the project in 3 months.

The comfortable facility for patients, parents, doctors, nurses, and other staff members was possible due to the financial support received from Cox and Kings Foundation, who have identified with the cause of Thalassaemia. Regular Blood Donation Camps in all their offices, support for Bone Marrow Transplants, support for medicines to thalassaemia patients, and platforms provided for their employees to support thalassaemia patients, are testimony to the commitment of Cox and Kings Foundation to the cause of Thalassaemia.