Expressnews
Chennai, 2023: Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH), a premier medical education institution in Tamil Nadu, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transforming Faces, a Canadian charity promoting comprehensive cleft care in low and middle-income countries, to build the capacityof professionals in India in providing comprehensive care for the children and families affected by cleft lip and palate.
As per the MoU, signed between the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre of SBMCH and the Canadian organization, the medical college will become a Network Partner of Transforming Faces, and will carry out joint research and public education in cleft care relevant to low- and middle-income settings. The agreement will also pave the way for Transforming Faces to contribute to the professional development of the team at the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre and increase the breadth and depth of rehabilitative support the centeroffers to the affected children and their families.
A team of Transforming Faces comprising Mr. Hugh Brewster, its Executive Director, Ms. Neeti Daftari, Program Manager, and Mr. Andrew Inglis, Program and Financial Officer, visited SBMCH recently and met Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan, Chairman, SBMCH, Dr Mohammed Rela, Chancellor, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Dr. J. Sri Nisha, Managing Trustee, Mr. N. Elamaran, Managing Director, Dr S Bhuminathan, Registrar, Dr. W.M.S. Johnson, Dean, Dr D.R. Gunasekaran, Medical Director, and Dr P. Sasikumar, Medical Superintendent, SBMCH. The team also interacted with Dr. Syed Altaf Hussain, Director, the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre, and its multidisciplinary professionals.
Talking about the partnership with Transforming Faces, Dr. D.R. Gunasekaran, Medical Director, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH), said, “We are very happy to become a part of the network of Transforming Faces, which is promoting comprehensive care to the children affected by cleft lip and palate and helping them experience full rehabilitation and community inclusion. The organisation believes in working with trusted local health teams. We are happy that they have chosen SBMCH as one of their trusted institutions in India. With the partnership, our Cleft and Craniofacial Centre will get the opportunity to deepen its access to a network of global Cleft Lip and Palate specialists andthus better its Comprehensive Cleft Care strategies and services.”
In his comments, Mr. Hugh Brewster, Executive Director, Transforming Faces, said, “We greatly appreciate the work being done by SBMCH and the dynamic team at its Cleft and Craniofacial Centre. By joining hands with the centre, we look forward to shaping the future of comprehensive cleft care in India. We are confident that our partnership will be sustainable and will bring safe, innovative, and evidence-informed Comprehensive Cleft Care services to the children and families of the under-resourced communities in the country.”
The Cleft and Craniofacial Centre of SBMCH is a state-of-the-art,multi-disciplinary facility dedicated to providing comprehensive care to patients with cleft and craniofacial deformities. It offers integrated services including surgery, speech rehabilitation, orthodontic and dental care, audiology, and ENT services, feeding and nutritional counselling, among others, to the underprivileged at free of cost.
The centre has performed more than 100 cleft and craniofacial surgeries during the past one year to the children in 6-18 age group belonging to low socio-economic background from various districts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and other states of India. It also takes care of the travel expenses of the patients who come from various parts of the country.
