International Partners in India
Collaborative Partners in India
CHART-India
USF-INDIA Center for Health and HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART-India), was founded by Dr. John Sinnott, Dr. Kiran Patel and Dr. Eknath Naik in 1998. CHART-India's mission is to promote collaboration between the United States and India. With the help of health care professionals and educators who specialize in HIV/AIDS, training and education programs began and CHART has developed partnerships with numerous healthcare organizations across resource-deprived regions in India.
Overview of Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Mumbai, Maharashtra
Associate Dean, International Affairs, John Sinnott, signs the Agreement of Collaboration between USF Health's Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine and the Government of Maharashtra, India, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, January 2006.
Directorate of Medical Education and Research is a division of the Government of Maharashtra, India that oversees the administration of eleven government medical colleges and hospitals, their attached Urban & Rural Health Centers and three Government dental colleges & hospitals. DMER coordinates the fundamental research, applied research & operational research in these institutions.
Collaborative Agreement Signed with Directorate of Medical Education and ResearchThe partnership between the Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine and DMER focuses on capacity building in medical education, research and infrastructure. The main start-up areas the agreement addresses are:
- Clinical Research
- HIV training model
- Continuing medical education
- Faculty and student exchange
- Hospital protocols
- Quality assurance
Training of Health Care Providers from India at USF
The partnership with the Directorate of Health Services, Maharashtra, India, provides technical support establishing protocols and training for physicians and public health personal. The Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine trained forty-nine policy makers and public heath physicians from Maharashtra between June 2004 and May 2005, as well as conducting four capacity building training programs aimed to educate physicians and administrators from Maharashtra, India to better manage HIV/AIDS and to reduce its devastating impact. The curriculum combined twenty-five HIV-related medical and psychosocial didactic presentations with culturally relevant instruction and reading sources.
USF Provost Renu Khator and Dr. Kiran Patel, Chairman, Patel Foundation for Global Understanding, presenting certificate of completion to Ana
Participants of the training programs shadowed physicians in
- Hospitals
- Laboratories
- Outpatient HIV specialty clinics in urban and rural county health departments
Future certificate training areas include
- Pre-hospital trauma care
- Infectious disease
- Cardiac and pulmonary surgery
- Pediatric neurosurgery
Overview of KRIPA Foundation, Vasai, Maharashtra
KRIPA Foundation is the largest non-governmental, secular and non-political organization in India. KRIPA has helped people suffering from chemical dependency and HIV infection for over two decades. The professionals involved with KRIPA have tremendous experience in behavioral modeling and interventions in vulnerable populations. CHART-India has a partnership with the KRIPA Foundation in behavioral research.
Advancing Partnerships with Vasai Regional AIDS Control Society (VRACS), Vasai, Maharashtra
The Vasai Regional AIDS Control Society is a project developed through a partnership between the KRIPA foundation and the CHART-India project at USF. VRACS is a community-based project that combines prevention strategies with research of intervention activities. The Division of Infectious Disease provides technical assistance in the HIV research and management as well as training the VRACS physicians in HIV medicine.
Inauguration of the Vasai Regional AIDS Control Society, left to right, Father Joe Pereira, Dr Jeffrey Nadler, and Mr. Vaidynathan
Transforming Healthcare: Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, India
Dr. Wills teaching in India
Ruby Hall Clinic is a multi-specialty hospital dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment and research related to various diseases. It is a teaching institution for Post Graduate Medical Courses of the University of Pune. Ruby Hall serves as the site for physician training and clinical research for CHART-India within the state of Maharashtra. The USF Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine has partnered with Ruby Hall Clinic to host the Annual Course in HIV Management for physicians at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, India since 2002.
Pioneering Research with Indu Health Research Foundation, Vadodara, Gujurat
Indu Health Research Foundation (IHRF) was founded to ensure the provision of blood products for transfusion needs to patients all across the state of Gujarat. USF Health worked closely with IHRF to improve blood safety and tissue banking. IHRF has pioneered work in triple sero-surveillance of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus. The Foundation advocated for and successfully implemented a policy change in blood screenings for the State of Gujurat, India.
Collaborations with Sterling Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Sterling Hospital is a 285 bed hospital with five ICUs and ten major departments located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In November 2004, with technical support from CHART-India, the update on Neurologic Manifestations of HIV was held at the Sterling Hospital. CHART-India and Sterling Hospital have also jointly published a research paper on generic HIV drugs.
Overview of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) Mysore, Karnataka
Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, established in 1984, is a non-profit organization that operates hospitals and provides outreach services through mobile health units. They aim to improve healthcare and sustain enrichment through education, and a broader social outlook. The SVYM, which has more than 150 dedicated members and serves 250,000 people, also runs the Viveka Tribal Center for Learning at Hoshalli, a semi-residential school with over 400 students.
Collaborations with SVYM CHART-India trains physicians and other healthcare providers, and conducts behavioral research in SVYM. The faculty of Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine have contributed individually by:
- Funding medical student scholarships at Mysore Medical College
- Donating laptops
- Teaching in SVYM's leadership program
- Sponsoring a state-of-the-art learning center
Students at the SVYM computer lab.
Clinical Research with The Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College in Sion, Mumbai, Maharashtra
The Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College (LTMVC) is one of four major medical colleges in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The hospital treats Mumbai residents and provides outreach services to residents of rural slums and neighboring rural villages. LTMVC also provides educational programs in HIV/STD prevention through training of volunteers and indigenous health practitioners. CHART-India has joined with this organization to perform clinical research, particularly in the areas of HIV treatment efficacy and post-exposure prophylaxis.
Collaborative Training with Baroda Medical College (BMC), Vadodara, Gujurat
Baroda Medical College is a medical education and tertiary care center located in the heart of Vadodara (Baroda), Gujurat, India. The center houses a Skin and Venereology department to provide care for patients with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. BMC offers free HIV testing and pre- and post-test counseling. The Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine collaborated with Baroda Medical College to host the 2003 CHART-India Annual National HIV Update.
