Pain and Palliative Care Society

A recent study of ‘Quality of death’ in 40 countries by Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked India as 40^th. The need for palliative care in India thus needs no further elaboration. 

Pain and Palliative Care Society runs a social care model which is much more than a biomedical care model usually practiced in the conventional world of health care. This is meant especially for the incurably ill and dying for whom systems in India are very poorly developed and patchy except for that in Kerala.

The society was formed in 1993 by a group of doctors and social workers who deeply felt the need for development of a system of care for the incurably ill people. The idea was to try to improve the quality of life of people living with incurable and advanced diseases with health care and much more. Its direct target are the incurably ill, chronically bed ridden and dying people living in North Kerala.

Impact :  

Pain and Palliative Care Society(PPCS) is the only organization in the developing world that was recognized by the World Health Organisation as a demonstration project way back in 1996 and it is the first charitable society for community based palliative care in Low and Middle income countries. PPCS has the distinction of initiating the first community volunteer program and the first home care program for the bedridden patients to its credit. Systems have been further refined since then and quality control has been ensured. Today there exists an established system with community participation for the care of people with advanced diseases, which in addition to providing care for thousands of patients in Kerala, could effectively show how intervention by general public can improve the quality of life of fellow human beings. The organization has been an agent in changing the way a large number of people die in Kerala, it has brought about policy change in the area of Palliative Care in Kerala. It has proved that lay people can positively contribute to health care. Neighbourhood Network in Palliative Care (NNPC) formed in 1999 jointly by four organizations – Pain and Palliative Care Society, Malappuram Initiative in Palliative Care, Alpha Charitable Trust and Justice Sivaraman Foundation evolved in the next few years to become World’s largest palliative care network.

Institute of Palliative Care, Calicut

The Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) is the leading training institution for palliative care in Asia and the training, research and outreach arm of Pain and Palliative Care Society. It is the fifth WHOCC in Palliative Care and the first one in Developing World. Designation as the first WHOCC in palliative care in the Developing World is a great honor to the institution and also to Kerala.

What do they do?

Locally

1. Run the Palliative Care Outpatient clinic at Calicut Medical College Hospital. The clinic sees more than 250 patients every week. More than 2000 patients with advanced cancer, major problems related to old age, stroke, spinal injuries and people with HIV/ AIDS register as new patients every year.
2. Maintain a 32 bedded inpatient unit for patients with advanced diseases at Institute of Palliative Medicine. Patients with difficult physical/ emotional symptoms, dying patients and bed ridden patients in need of a change in atmosphere are admitted for round the clock care
3. Look after patients with advanced disease in and around Calicut. The home care program in collaboration with Palliative Care Society, Calicut has more than 750 patients registered for regular home care. Calicut is the only place in the country with a round the clock home care service.
4. Run a Community Care Center for People Living With HIV/AIDS
5. Train and vocationally rehabilitate bedridden patients through Footprints program partially supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust. More than 100 bedridden patients currently earn a regular income through the program.

Regionally:

1.  Institute of Palliative Medicine is the technical advisor agency in palliative care to Local Self Government
2. Department Facilitates the development of palliative care programs in Government sector in Kerala. Kerala State Resource Center at Institute of Palliative Medicine coordinates the National Rural Health Mission project in Palliative Care. The project has facilitated the development of palliative home care units in all the 1000 Local Self Government Institutions in Kerala
3. Develops Students in Palliative Care program in various campuses to involve students in the care of the bedridden and dying people

Nationally:

1. Facilitates the development of community based programs in regions outside Kerala. Palliative care programs are being developed in Delhi, various districts in Tamil Nadu and in Karnataka under this scheme 
2. Institute of Palliative Medicine advises Ministry of Health, Government of India on development of palliative care programs in the country

Globally:

1. Institute of Palliative Medicine is the technical advisor to World Health Organization and Member countries on matters related to community participation in palliative care
2. Institute of Palliative Medicine has been developing palliative care projects in Bangladesh, Thailand, Srilanka, Jordan, Seychelles, Ethiopia and Switzerland in collaboration with national agencies
3. Institute of Palliative Medicine has been running six week Basic Certificate Course in Palliative Medicine for doctors in Bangladesh. This is the first professional course in palliative care in Bangladesh
4. Institute of Palliative Medicine has been running six week Basic Certificate Course in Palliative Nursing for nurses in Thailand. This is the first professional course in palliative care in Thailand

Message from Pain & Palliative Care Society: Help in developing a system of care for people in their last phase of life because we all have to die one day. 

For more information, feel free to contact Dr Suresh Kumar, Director, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut 673008 email: drsuresh.kumar@gmail.com

Mountain Shepherds Initiative

While work began in 2002, Mountain Shepherds got incorporated as a private limited company in 2008. It has successfully experimented community owned tourism where all fields of operations of the company are managed by local youth, who eventually get shares in the company. It campaigns for ‘Bio-Cultural Diversity Conservation’ through tourism and promotes handicraft of Bhotiya women through in online shop ‘Angwal’. 

Mountain Shepherds is a commercial spinoff of the post chipko movement for rights over natural resources in the Niti Valley area of Garhwal Himalayas. It was set up in response to the beneficiary based approach to tourism during the early years of Uttarakhand State. The villagers outlined their tourism approach in the ‘Nanda Devi Declaration’ of 2001. Mountain Shepherds represents the efforts to actualize it with focus on equity and conservation.

Artist Camps                               Training Camps for Guides     Student Trips

Now with a turnover of more than 3 lakhs, the organization ensures that local culture and way of life is not lost at the behest of tourism.

• It has built capacities of more than 70 youth from remote areas in a variety of skills pertinent for responsible tourism in the Himalayas ranging from search & rescue methods, emergency medical response (WFR), life saving techniques, nature guides, yoga and cooking. 
• To ensure minimisation of ills of tourism, a systematic garbage management system has been put in place. The exposure of local communities is increased through direct interaction with visitors and through participation in tourism fairs. 
• Some of the avenues through which the locals earn apart from daily employment include direct sale of carpets and woolen products from remote villages (approx. Rs 80000 per year), homestays (approx. Rs 60000 per year), mule services for treks (approx. Rs 2,00,000 per year), porters/guides for treks (Rs 3,00,000), local transportation ( approx. Rs 4,00,000), local agri products ( approx Rs 20,000). The organization has succeeded in transforming some of the porters/guides into responsible tourism entrepreneurs. For itself, it has transformed from a seasonal trekking company to running one of the most popular lodges at the Ski destination of Auli. 

Future : Mountain Shepherds plans to expand its network of people by building capacities of youth in other tourism potential areas. It also wishes to develop need based infrastructure in strategic locations.

Taking control of a tourism industry with community responsibility, cultural survival, and ecological sustainability at the forefront.

To know more Contact: Dhan Singh Rana or Dr. Sunil Kainthola, Email: bhotiya@gmail.com or visit - http://mountainshepherds.com/

Total Village Management of Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra

Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra (KGVK), is an entity that specializes in delivering multi-dimensional Corporate Social Responsibility Services and applies business management principles at the grassroots. The integrated approach to rural development envisioned through the proprietary concept of Total Village Management (TVM) borrows its fundamental theory from the Japanese concept of Total Product Management is now a movement.

In TVM, strong business principles have been adapted and indigenised to the rural setting to build community ownership and grassroots entrepreneurship; eventual goal being to meet and surpass the Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in its area of operations. 

State Institute of Rural Development, London School of Economics, John Hopkins University (JHPIEGO), Clinton Global Initiative, University of Washington, and International Centre for Excellence in Malaria Research are keenly observing and partnering the TVM model.

All TVM efforts have multiple 90-day implementation cycles, at the end of which, impact is measured through Social Return on Interventions (SROI). KGVK has also developed its own organisation structure with a cluster-approach to take forward TVM initiatives following an 80:20 Model where 80% of the workforce comes from the villages while 20% is from KGVK. The target is to reduce this ratio to 95:5 over a course of time thus ensuring a high level of community ownership.

Following the fundamental edifice of TVM and igniting initiatives at the grassroots through Public–Private-People’s Partnerships (P4) has won the organization the Most Admired NGO Award at the Emerging Jharkhand Times Impact Award Ceremony.

TVM has now been introduced in 130 villages to cover 20,000 households. By 2015 the organization plans to scale up to 350 villages and further replicate it outside its direct area of operation in partnership with likeminded national and international agencies.

To know more visit:  www.kgvkindia.com/

EPOCH For Elderly Indians

January 1st marks more than the start of the New Year ( and a Happy New Year to you! ) – it is also Global Family Day – a global day celebrated of peace and sharing. To start off the new year and to celebrate family care, Niiti is going to focus on an organization whose motto is “…because the fun does not have to end.” Certainly something useful to keep in mind with regard to family! Epoch is a foundation providing elderly care to families in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Elderly care is a soft spot for all of us who couldn’t or wouldn’t want to live without grandma’s cooking or grandpa’s secret wages – the elderly have a hold on us as being a special part of our hearts, and often pass down the most important of life stories and incomparable words of wisdom.

Epoch Elder Care was founded in January, 2012 by Kabir Chadha, a Stanford University and McKinsey & Company alumni. Inspired by his grandmother, he researched the needs of the elderly and found:

• India is a young country with the world’s second largest elderly population

• The elderly have many needs, but the biggest one is that of loneliness and companionship

• Indian elderly want to stay at home, unlike their Western counterparts

• However, there is no professional at-home care service to help the elderly, all you have is family and domestic help

• The elderly are unwilling to pay for high quality services, but their children are

The highly impressive team of employees at Epoch is responsible for taking into consideration all aspects of elderly care and life where there could be improvement. Home visits and regular check-ups, Epoch is like a friendly neighbor. Intellectual companionship was the first of three services that Epoch provides. Epoch team members will take you out for coffee, play games, explore the blogosphere, discuss current events and using its resources can create a whole new social space for the elderly community. With specialists in Healthcare management and medical systems engineering, Epoch also guarantees a second service of health monitoring. Seniors who recently returned home from hospitalization are ensured home visits for check-ups, monitoring of vitals like blood pressure and blood sugar, medication management and for creating a fall-proof home environment. The third service provided by Epoch is Alzheimer’s and dementia care. Epoch specialists conduct cognitive exercises, help label the environment, create daily calendars, train caretakers and provide respite care.

The vision and values of Epoch are something to surely appreciate on a day like this. The organization prides itself for creating and celebrating fulfilling relationships. Both at work base and within the elderly communities, Epoch does business with compassion; trust and good humor as the only end goal and it proves to be self-rewarding as the organization continues to grow. The organization is creating employment and if you go to the website will find are presently hiring caretakers in Delhi and Mumbai. Contact: Kabir Chadha - Founder & CEO - kabir@epocheldercare.com Phone: +91.989.946.9345 http://www.epocheldercare.com/

Iliana Foutsitzis is a recent graduate of Northeastern University's Political Science curriculum. Before embarking on a law degree Iliana is spending a gap year in New Delhi, India interning with the Niiti Consulting team. Contact Iliana at ifoutsitzis@gmail.com.