LVPEI opens Arjun Waney Eye Centre in Odisha

Hon’ble CM to inaugurate Arjun Waney Eye Centre at Berhampur

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, December 12, 2015: L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), paves the way for a prolific and rewarding 2016 with the inauguration of its 15th secondary centre and the third in Odisha. The Arjun Waney Eye Centre at Berhampur supported by The Savitri Waney Charitable Foundation will be inaugurated on 13th December by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik.

LVPEI’s endeavor is to provide high-quality, low-cost, self-sustaining permanent eye care infrastructure in underserved areas of the country, therefore LVPEI set up the eye centre at Berhampur in partnership with The Savitri Waney Charitable Foundation and Mission for Vision.

The facility will provide comprehensive eye care to all communities in need. The Arjun Waney Eye Centre at Berhampur marks the augmentation of LVPEI’s services in the state, which began in 2006 at Bhubaneswar. The Arjun Waney Eye Centre at Berhampur is equipped with desired medical equipment and well trained staff to deliver excellent and equitable comprehensive eye care services on a sustainable basis, aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness in the region.

The state of Odisha ranks 15^th in eye care services program in India. The state has limited access to eye care facilities, which ultimately affects those who are less affluent. Access to healthcare is a general concern in India, with rural and tribal pockets being the worst affected. Eye care in many parts of India is unavailable, inaccessible and unaffordable to the economically underprivileged, despite the fact that most eye related problems are avoidable and can be prevented, treated or managed

According to Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder and Chairperson, L V Prasad Eye Institute, “These Eye Centres in the state of Odisha will be a continuum to LVPEI’s vision of providing good quality, permanent and affordable eye care for rural India. The Berhampur eye care facility will be a part of LVPEI network and provide high quality comprehensive eye care services to all, irrespective of their socio-economic status.”

Dr Taraprasad Das, Vice Chairman, L V Prasad Eye Institute opined that the quality eye care brought to the door step of people of Ganjam and neibouring area, will further augment the institute’s commitment to the state. It will augment similar effort in the districts of Sundergarh and Rayagada eye care facilities opened earlier this year.

Mr Arjun Waney, Business Entrepreneur and Founder of The Savitri Waney Charitable Foundation said, “It is a great honour to be part of this initiative, to bring the high quality services of L V Prasad Eye Institute to those who cannot otherwise afford or access eye-care services in the state of Odisha.”

Ms Elizabeth Kurian, CEO, Mission for Vision said, “Mission for Vision is delighted at the launch of the Arjun Waney Eye Centre in partnership with our longstanding associate, Savitri Waney Charitable Foundation and LVPEI. This hospital also marks our second initiative in the state of Odisha and is geared towards comprehensive eye care for the people in and around Brahmapur.”

Shri Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak – Hon’ble Minister, Health and Family Welfare and Information & Public Relations, Govt of Odisha; Dr Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy – Honorable Minister of Higher Education Department; Shri Sidhant Mohapatra – Honorable MP Berhampur; Dr Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik – Honorable MLA Berhampur and Shri Priyanshu Pradhan – Honorable MLA Chhatrapur are also expected to be present on the occasion.

The LVPEI network currently includes a Centre of Excellence at Hyderabad, 3 tertiary centres in Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, 15 secondary and 127 primary care centres that cover the remotest rural areas in the four states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.