CMC Vellore related Blog link:
Palliative care at CMC Vellore http://elnecindia2009.blogspot.com/

Combined Federal Campaign, SEFA  and United Way.  The Vellore Board is listed for these campaigns under ID # 10765. Please note this is a new number.

 In its partnership with CMC, the Vellore CMC Foundation office in New York has:

• Filed 19 successful grant requests with the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program of the U.S. government, garnering over $8 million in commitments since 1982. 

• Raised $1.6 million and contributed a total of $2 million for the Ida S. Scudder Building for Women and Children.

• In the last decade, underwritten senior training fellowships in the U.S. and many other countries for 61 CMC faculty.  Financial support for the program to date totals $330,000, much of which is paid for out of current giving. 

• In the last ten years, assisted 193 volunteers from the health professions to work at CMC.  The value of their time comes to $1,317,820.

• During that same time period, helped to orient 136 medical students who went to CMC for elective studies.  Students came from nearly every major medical school in the country.

• Raised over $150,000 for the Tsunami Relief Fund at CMC at the time of the disaster.

In sum, over the last ten years, the Vellore Foundation has raised money for disaster relief, poor patient care, medical student scholarships for disadvantaged students,  new equipment, and continuing education for staff totaling over $11 million.

Tree Planting Ceremony at New Chittoor Campus

This collage (thanks to Hugh Skeil of the CMC Development Office) was taken during a mid-July tree planting ceremony at the site of the planned new CMC campus in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. (See item right in President's Corner.) It was a beautiful event with over 40 medical and nursing students participating. The Collector of Chittoor, his deputy and the MLA together with CMC director Suranjan Bhattacharji initiated the planting. Over 100 saplings were planted that day.
(Click on image for a larger version.)

The Ida S. Scudder Memorial Oration
Call for Nominations

The Vellore CMC Foundation, working exclusively in support of CMC Vellore, has joined hands with CMC to honor the memory of Dr. Ida S. Scudder through the creation of the Dr. Ida S. Scudder Memorial Oration. The organizers of the award seek the help of all members of the CMC community and its global network of friends and supporters in nominating candidates to be considered as the first Scudder Orator.  To read more about it and to send in a nomination, follow this link.

Secretary of the Foundation Board Visits CMC

Dr. Madelon Finkel, secretary of the Foundation board and professor of public health at Cornell/Weill Medical School, visited Vellore in early March.  She reviewed a cervical cancer screening project she initiated at RUHSA and met with Louis Knowles and George Chandy to discuss the proposed Ida Scudder Lecture. 

 

Medical Education in India

Two members of the CMC faculty have teamed up to provide a thoughtful critique of medical education in India and to provide recommendations for future reform.  People in the U.S. and elsewhere can also benefit from studying this essay.  Click here.


The new College of Nursing Campus Is Dedicated

On December 11, 2009, the new College of Nursing campus was dedicated.  Below are pictures from the ceremony. Click on thumbnail to see the full size photo (with caption below). For a full description of the event, please read Lou Knowles' first-hand account in his diary entry for December 11, 2009. Click here.

March to New College

New College of Nursing Building

Ribbon Cutting

Dedication Ceremony

Former Dean Honored

The group gathered at the Schell Hospital to march to the new College of Nursing (CON) Campus. Starting second from left, the Mayor of Vellore P. Karthikeyan; Dr. Suranjan Bhattacharji, CMC Director; Mrs. Bharaty Jacob, Dean of CON; Mrs. Sundari Edwin, Nursing Superintendent; and Mr. J. P. Peter, General Superintendent.

Alumnus Dr. Wiji Ratnathicam cuts the ribbon to open the new Friendship Chapel

The Dedication of the Friendship Chapel with Dr. Louis Knowles, President fo the Vellore CMC Foundation at the podium; The Rev. Arul Dhas, head chaplain; Mrs. Bharaty Jacob, Dean of CON; Dr. Wiji Ratnathicam, alumnus donor; Dr. Ravi Korula, CMC Associate Director; and The Rev. Robin Phipon, Chaplain.

Former CON Dean Miss Kuruvilla receives honor from Tamil Nadu Governor, Shri Surjit Singh. Also pictured Mrs. Bharathy (r.) and Mr. Rajendran, District Collector (rear).

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March to New College

The group gathered at the Schell Hospital to march to the new College of Nursing (CON) Campus. Starting second from left, the Mayor of Vellore P. Karthikeyan; Dr. Suranjan Bhattacharji, CMC Director; Mrs. Bharaty Jacob, Dean of CON; Mrs. Sundari Edwin, Nursing Superintendent; and Mr. J. P. Peter, General Superintendent.

 

Dr. Chongthu Biakmawia Receives Paul Harrison Award from CMC

Each year, in November, CMC gives the Paul Harrison Award to an alumnus who has distinguished him or herself in service to the needy and neglected in society.  This year, the  Award was awarded to Dr. Chongthu Biakmawia at the Medical School  graduation on November 16  by the graduation ceremony's Chief Guest, Dr. Dinesh Trivedi, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare (see picture left). The award was in recognition of alumnus Dr. Biakmawia's life-long commitment to the poor in the far northeast of India. Operating out of the Durlang Presbyterian Hospital in the state of Mizoram, he has built a strong institution that is oriented to the needs of this very poor area. By force of necessity he became a multi-competent family physician for the first ten years. He then underwent postgraduate training in England, returning as the first qualified pediatrician in Mizoram in 1982. Soon the child health services in the hospital expanded greatly, often with over a hundred admissions. Apart from his services in the hospital, Dr. Biakmawia made innumerable extended medical tours in remote parts of Mizoram. His research on the relationship of Vitamin A deficiency and childhood illness led to widespread Vitamin A supplementation programa. A significant part of the credit for the considerable improvement of health indices for children in Mizoram surely goes to the untiring work of Dr. Biakmawia.

 

CMC's Efforts in Orissa

CMC Vellore sent a medical team to the Indian state of Orissa where religious conflict has displaced thousands of Christians, forcing them into refugee camps.  Read about the situation and CMC's efforts in our fall newsletter, The Vellore Advocate online in our Newsletter Archive. Click here to open the pdf file.
 

And a Name Change for the Board

At the Corporate meeting that afternoon, after the Board meeting, the Corporation voted on and approved a resolution to change the name of the Vellore Christian Medical College Board (USA), Inc. to the Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation, Inc.  The word "Board" is an anachronism, dating from a past era when the American organization owned and controlled the medical college in India   The new name, The Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation, Inc. more accurately reflects the work of the organization.  The word "foundation" connotes the collection of financial gifts for humanitarian purposes as well as the prudent management of charitable endowments. Since these activities now make up most of our program, the Board felt the new name better reflects reality.  The certificate for name change is being submitted to the appropriate New York State agency and will probably be in effect sometime in the next 6 months.  Our friends and donors will be notified when the change becomes official. 
 

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This page was last updated: Wednesday July 21, 2010

President's Corner

Lou Knowles spent several months at Vellore and created a diary about his experience. Read about his experiences, click here.

CMC TO BUILD A SECOND CAMPUS

For the first time in its 110 year history, the Christian Medical College is opening a second campus. On Saturday, April 24 several hundred people gathered to celebrate this historic moment at a spot on the old Bangalore-Chennai highway, a few kilometers south of the town of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Click here for more info.

CMC Joins With Government To Help The Poor

Easter Eve, April 3, late in the day, CMC received the distinguished visitor, M. K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He came to inaugurate a new program whereby poor people in the area around Vellore can come to CMC for treatment of serious illnesses with insurance coverage from the state government. Click here for story.

Research at CMC

Learn about the wide variety of research projects undertaken by CMC faculty in the interests of  a healthier world.  Click here for a pdf of CMC's Research Digest(3 Mb).
 

Rev. Lou Knowles Starts a Diary at CMC

Lou Knowles, President of the Vellore CMC Foundation (formerly the Board) here in New York, is stationed from September 2009 to June 2010 at Vellore. He will be helping create an international development strategy and program for CMC. His presence in Vellore will allow for in-depth reporting on many aspects of life and work at CMC.

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