Bhubaneswar: Three new facilities were inaugurated in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of the Foundation Day of the city’s L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) Mithu Tulsi Chanrai Campus: NTPC Operating Room Complex, courtesy – National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), and Digital Library and Special Needs Vision Clinic for persons and children with vision loss and special needs, courtesy – Columbus Global Services India Pvt Ltd.
NTPC Limited is the largest Power Producing CPSU of India having about 70 GW installed capacity all over the country. Believing in the concept of trusteeship and collaborative social development, NTPC has implemented various CSR initiatives – impacting all segments of society. The focus areas for NTPC’s CSR are – Health, Education, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Income Generation, Sports Promotion, Skill Development, etc. Committed to the development of Odisha and complying with the thematic area of Health as mandated bythe Govt of India, NTPC has supported the construction of the state-of-the-art “NTPC Operating Complex” at LVPEI’s Bhubaneswar campus. The complex is equipped with eight modular operation rooms catering to all ophthalmology specializations. Since its inception in Bhubaneswar, LVPEI has performed 173,134 surgeries – 38% at no cost to the patients. The newly inaugurated surgical facility will help scale up the surgical services offered at the campus and treat more patients from vision-threatening eye diseases.
LVPEI is the first institute in the world to include Vision Rehabilitation as an integral part of its services. So far, 15,707 patients have benefited from the vision rehabilitation services offered at the LVPEI. The Digital Library for Persons with Special Needs supported by Columbus Global Services India Pvt Ltd will assist visually impaired students in accessing the reading materials in audiobooks – in English, Odiya and Hindi. The books recorded will include academic textbooks from high school to post-graduation level (State Board and CBSC). Besides other books such as law, preparatory books for competitive examination – the entrance test for banking, general knowledge, children stories, degree course materials of all universities, communication, psychology, auto-biography, religion, etc. The services will need the support of volunteers to lend their voices for the recording of audio books.
The Special Needs Vision Clinic for Children with Special Needs will provide comprehensive eye care services to children with special needs by assessing their visual needs with special assessment tools, providing appropriate prescriptions for spectacles, low vision devices and therapies to maximize their functional ability of such children. A multidisciplinary team comprising an optometrist, rehabilitation specialist, vision therapist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, special educator, and other trained staff, will be part of the clinical assessment and management. The services will also provide instructional training videos to parents, school teachers, and special educators. Through this service, LVPEI aims to meet the literacy needs of students with vision impairment in the state of Odisha. Eventually, the benefits will extend to neighbouring states as well. With this beginning, Columbus and LVPEI are looking forward to a long-term commitment to accomplish collaborative projects for the welfare of society in eye care and rehabilitation.
“We extend our sincere thanks to NTPC and Columbus Foundation for their support. We are currently expanding and scaling up our services to cater to the eye care needs of the larger population. The support provided by NTPC and Columbus Global will go a long way in impacting the lives of many more patients, not only in Odisha but also in the neighboring states,” said Dr Srikant Kumar Sahu, Head – Mithu Tulsi Chanrai Campus, Bhubaneswar.
