Prez Jones inaugurates a radiation centre in Pune

I can feel what these women are going through. I wouldn’t be standing here today if I had not received prompt treatment then. So don’t underestimate whose life you are going to be changing in a profound way,” said RI President Jennifer Jones, referring to the breast cancer patients awaiting their turn at the oncology department, and recalling her treatment for breast cancer 15 years ago. She was inaugurating a radiation centre in the presence of RI directors Dr Mahesh Kotbagi and A S Venkatesh, TRF trustee Dr Bharat Pandya and RID 3131 DG Dr Anil Parmar at the Surya Sahyadri Hospital in Kasba Peth, Pune, during her visit to India in early August. She thanked Pandya and the Rotarians “for making this facility possible as it gives the same kind of sophisticated treatment to a person with less or no economic means.” The hospital has eight branches — six in Pune and one each in Nashik and Karad, Maharashtra.

RC Pune Pristine set up this radiation therapy centre worth $860,000 (₹6.9 crore) at the hospital through a global grant with guidance from DRFC Girish Gune. RC Pune Central and RC Yarmouth, RID 7780, were the partners.

There are four hospitals in Pune offering radiation therapy, but at commercial rates. “This will be the only facility across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Panvel to offer radiation treatment, which would typically cost around ₹2 lakh ($2,500), free to the underprivileged under the PM’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, said project coordinator Sudin Apte. Over 10,000 patients a year will benefit from it taking the project’s impact value to at least $20 million. “I had checked the last five years GG data with TRF. This is probably Asia’s largest GG,” he said, prompting Jones to comment in a lighter vein, “You must have gone through the Foundation’s minutes more than the trustees.”

Kotbagi said that the district had contributed $2.2 million to TRF last Rotary year. “This project has shown us what the Foundation can do if we Rotarians open our hearts and purses liberally for it.”

Pandya said, “When people say thank you for sparing your time, I would say thank you for inviting me here because we are able to see what the Foundation is doing for the transformation of a community. It is heartening to see from this project how much families Rotary can save and it gives me goosebumps to realise that our TRF makes it all possible for the people world over.”

Genesis

The club’s association with the hospital goes back to the setting up of a neuro rehabilitation centre in 2019. “Dr Charudutt Apte, CMD of the hospital, requested us to provide more such facilities with a promise to extend free treatments to patients referred by us at the hospital,” said Sudin Apte. A 10-year partnership MoU was inked between Rotary and the hospital by PDG Ravee Dhotre and Dr Apte respectively.

RCs Pune Pristine and Pune Central subsequently did several projects there. Pristine set up a Covid ICU and chemotherapy ward, and sponsored paediatric heart surgeries for 175 children through a grant and CSR funding, while RC Pune Central set up 12 dialysis machines at the hospital’s nephrology ward. A cardiac diagnostics facility was installed by RC Pune Pashan.

Donors

An additional ₹4.8 crore for construction of bunker and other ancillary equipment was funded by RC Pune Pristine and the hospital. The Pune Neurosciences Trust and Research Society, an NGO and now an institutional AKS member, donated ₹1.3 crore, and additionally contributed to the civil infrastructure. The Nag Foundation supported with ₹50 lakh. AKS member Nitin Desai contributed ₹1.3 crore and Madhusudan Rathi, an industrialist, donated ₹55 lakh from his family trust.

President Jones unveiled a partnership for co-branding the hospital with Rotary and naming it ‘Rotary-Surya Sahyadri Hospital’. “This building radiates hope,” said Jones’ spouse DGN Dr Nick Krayacich, impressed with the new radiation therapy machine.

Picture by Jaishree