Al-Shifa Trust News letter
HIGHLIGHTS
Al-Shifa Pharmaceuticals nearing completion
Al-Shifa Tower finally sees the Light of the Day
New OPD Hall for Pediatric Ophthalmology
Pre-Clinical Training Room set up for Ophthalmic Technology students
Sukkur Hospital achieves a landmark – two training programs launched.
Muzaffarabad Hospital completes one year screening project.
Tele-Ophthalmology services launched for ASTEH Kohat
Al-Shifa faculty conduct training abroad Participation in National Conferences by
Al-Shifa
Al-Shifa Journal of Ophthalmology brings out latest issue.
HIGHLIGHTS (continued from overleaf)
Director of Fred Hollows visit ASTEH Rawalpindi
Al-Shifa Center for Community Ophthalmology sets up camps in collaboration with HelpAge International
ASTEH moves to strengthen its Medical Record System Staff News
Great loss to Al-Shifa Patients‟ Column - Appeal
Al-Shifa Pharmaceuticals nearing completion
The work on the recently inaugurated Al-Shifa Pharmaceuticals modern setup is rapidly progressing. The premises are located at the northern end of the ASTEH Rawalpindi complex and cover an area around 60,000 sq ft. It is expected that this drug manufacturing facility to be completed at the cost of about Rs. 80 million will be ready for production by the end of current year.
Al-Shifa Tower finally sees the Light of the Day
Self- Reliance has been always on the fore- front for Al-Shifa Trust. Al-Shifa Tower, a multistory, commercial plaza, which was the brainc hild of our founder President, late Mr. Jahandad Khan has finally got through all the administrative and bureaucratic hurdles due to efforts of President of Al-Shifa Trust, Mr. Hamid Javaid. Mr. Hamid Javaid, also a firm believer in sustainable quality eye care, emphasized that we are working on war- footing to make AST self-reliant in
shortest possible time. “Various projects, including Al-Shifa Towers, are underway to achieve this milestone. The work on construction of this 6-storeyed Tower will start shortly”.
New OPD Hall for Pediatric Ophthalmology
The department of pediatric ophthalmology at ASTEH Rawalpindi, which caters for the management of wide range of eye diseases of childhood, is one of the busiest in the country. To cater for the growing demand, the management is constantly working to expand the facilities gradually. Recently two steps have been taken. Firstly children registration counter has been shifted from general OPD and set up within the department. Secondly, a separate OPD waiting hall is being built as an independent attachment to the present department of pediatric ophthalmology. Future plans also take into account further extension both in terms of infrastructure as well as human resource development.
Sukkur Hospital achieves a landmark – two training programs launched
ASTEH Sukkur is providing modern eye care facilities to interior Sindh. In the recent past, Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmology building was completed at a cost of Rs. 25 million. Sukkur PIO was established to provide state of the art training facility for eye care technology. As a first step, training was started through video conferencing from ASTEH Rawalpindi using the Tele-Ophthalmology setup. Now PIO Sukkur has independently started two training programs – one year ophthalmic technician program and one year Nursing Assistant Program. The programs attracted large number of applicants. Twenty candidates have been selected for each program and classes have started from 1st January 2013. Most of the training is being co nducted by the ASTEH Sukkur faculty. In addition some lectures are being delivered from ASTEH Rawalpindi via video conferencing.
Muzaffarabad Hospital completes one year screening project
Gulfraz, my eldest son was recently found to have decreased vision in his right eye. Thanks to Al-Shifa Muzaffarabad team, he can now see very clearly with the help of glasses provided.” remarked one of the parents at MARQ School Chatter. With the help of Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF) Australia, school children vision screening program was launched in Jan 2012. FHF provided full support to this program through provision of screening and refraction
equipment and glasses for the students with vision impairment. The dedicated team of ASTEH Muzaffarabad conducted screening of children throughout the year in district Muzaffarabad with the help of district education department. In addition to screening of children, teachers were also trained in primary eye care. During vacations, when the government schools were closed, the students of madrassahs (religious schools) were screened and provided with glasses. Overall, 24,610 school children were screened from 126 schools (including 10 madrassahs), out of which 576 were found to be in need of glasses. 1300 teachers were trained in primary eye care. The school screening program has been very successful, not only because of the kind of services provided for the first time in Muzaffarabad, but also because it created awareness amongst the community about eye care. It also served well in creating awareness about ASTEH Muzaffarabad and its facilities.
Training of Madrassah Teachers in progress
Tele-Ophthalmology services launched for ASTEH Kohat
The 2 years of Tele-Ophthalmology Project have just completed. This 3- year project supported by Government of Italy (PIDSA) provided for the first time in Pakistan, the tele-ophthalmology services in which all four ASTEH hospitals interlinked will provide quality eye care to remote parts of the country through telemedicine technology. Recently the 3rd ASTEH hospital Kohat was linked via tele-ophthalmology with other sister hospitals and soon the senior faculty of ASTEH Rawalpindi will provide expert consultation for difficult to manage eye patients at ASTEH Kohat.
During first two years of project, over one thousand patients with complicated eye diseases from remote areas have been provided with expert teleconsultation, 30 doctors and 50 ophthalmic midlevel personnel underwent training through dista nt learning program of the project, and six local and one international video conferencing session conducted under program of Continuous Medical Education (CME), in which 150 physicians participated. This project has the potential to serve as model for replication for rest of the country. Government of Italy (PIDSA) is the major
contributor for purchase of equipment, while building, infrastructure, staff, services and support facilities are being provided by Al-Shifa Trust.
Al-Shifa faculty conducts training abroad
Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi is increasingly receiving requests from the countries of the region to spare its faculty to impart training to local ophthalmologists in different disciplines of ophthalmology. Recently, National Institute o f Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIO & H) Dhaka invited four of our professors to conduct week long training for their district ophthalmologists. Prof. Wajid Ali Khan, Prof. Nadeem Qureshi, Prof. Tayyab Afghani and Prof. Farah Akhtar conducted week long workshops at NIO Dhaka in the field of Cornea, Retina, Oculopastics and Glaucoma respectively. Our readers may recall that AST also conducts this type of training in Mauritius also.
Prof. Wajid and Prof. Nadeem Qureshi with Executive Director
of Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute & Hospital, Dhaka
Participation in National Conferences by Al-Shifa
Dr Saemah Zafar, Head of the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi presented a scientific paper
at National Eye Conference “32nd
Lahore Ophthalmo”. She discussed her clinical experience on some of the birth anomalies in newborns and young children.
At the second National Optometric Conference held at Islamabad, Ms Sara h Iqbal,
senior Orthoptist at ASTEH also presented her research on a very complicated eye muscle disorder. She received great applause from the audience on her novel research technology.
Mr. Mutahir Shah, Lecturer in Optometry at Pakistan Institute of Opht halmology
participated in a 2 weeks workshop at Islamabad organized by a German NGO GIZ on curriculum development for midlevel ophthalmic personnel.
Al-Shifa Journal of Ophthalmology completes seven years of publication
The official scientific journal of Al-Shifa Trust is being regularly published since 2005. Being the first ever national ophthalmic journal recognized both by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council as well as by Higher Education Commission, Al-Shifa Journal of Ophthalmology (ASJO) has attracted number of authors from Pakistan as well as abroad. It has published original research papers from countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Volume 7 (2) of the Journal has just been published.
Director of Fred Hollows visit ASTEH Rawalpindi
Fred Hollows Foundation- a trusted partner of Al-Shifa Trust is supporting multiple projects at ASTEH Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad. The FHF officials from Sydney regularly visit Al-Shifa Trust Hospital to observe the partnership projects and discuss future plans. Recently Mr. Tom White, Director Programs of Fred Hollows Foundation visited ASTEH Rawalpindi along with Dr. Rubina Gillani the country director for Pakistan. He observed the training facilities at PIO and inaugurated the first pre-clinical training room for ophthalmic midlevel personnel at Pakistan Institute of Ophthalmology for hands-on pre-clinical training of students of National Academy of Paramedics (NAP) like Optometrists, Ophthalmic technicians and Optical technicians. The lab consists of training equipment and practical demo facilities. This will help in improving the quality of training.
Al-Shifa Center for Community Ophthalmology set up camps in collaboration
with HelpAge International
HelpAge International and AST has been working together to provide quality eye care for the rural areas. Al-Shifa Center for Community Ophthalmology has recently set up multiple outreach programs with support of HelpAge in rural areas of Jalozai, Haripur and Gujar Khan. Over 9,000 patients were screened in these camps for various eye diseases like cataract and diabetes. 330 patients were brought to base hospital for surgery, while glasses were provided to 1200 patients and medicines to over 2,000 patients.
ASTEH moves to strengthen its Medical Record System
The medical records are the backbone of any medical institution that aims for excellence in research and quality. But the job is painstaking and resource extensive. AST has steadily built its HMIS and has made excellent progress in financial and procurement data recording. The medical record keeping is also being developed side by side. Bigger space for medical record keeping has been now provided where the Record Room will be ready few weeks time. In addition, we are also working to create a paperless environment for medical records. The development of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is also now in progress. As a pilot program it has been launched in department of pediatric ophthalmology. We are also looking for donors who can support the development of EMR at ASTEH Rawalpindi. The approximate cost for this project is around 20 million PKR.
Integration into EMR has entered into pilot phase at department of pediatric ophthalmology
Staff News
During the last quarter of year 2012, there have been few developments in staff induction and promotion
Dr. Asghar, a senior ophthalmologist has joined Al-Shifa Trust. He has been entrusted to look after the Outpatient Department of ASTEH Rawalpindi
Dr. Saima Nuzhat with years of experience in children eye diseases, has been promoted as Associate Professor in department of pediatric ophthalmology
Dr. Sumaira Altaf also an experienced pediatric ophthalmologist, has also been promoted as Associate Professor in department of pediatric ophthalmology
Dr. Mehmood Ali, previously holding the position of registrar has been promoted to Senior Registrar in department of glaucoma
Dr. Sara Zafar, previously holding the position of registrar has been promoted to Senior Registrar in department of retina.
Associate Prof. Dr. Saima Nuzhat
Senior Registrar, Dr. Mehmood Ali
Great loss to Al-Shifa
Al-Shifa Trust has to bear the loss of few of its great friends in recent past. Dr. Pervez Rasul a seasoned ophthalmologist from Chicago recently breathed his last. He was always a great help to Al-Shifa Trust in building up its image abroad and always played great role in many fund-raisers. May God rest him in peace and give his family the strength to bear this loss.
Chaudhary Mohammad Rasheed, a key trustee and a great promoter of Al-Shifa met a tragic accident along with his wife and died shortly afterwards. It has been a shock to Al-Shifa and to all of his friends and family. May Allah shower His blessings on the departed souls. Our readers may recall, that he was the principal architect for most of Al-Shifa projects like Al-Shifa Eye Hospitals Sukkur and Muzaffarabad, PIO, Ayesha Mosque, Specialty blocks, Accommodation block and Pharma Project to mention a few.
Adieu! Chaudhary Rasheed is seen here with founder President and other Trustees of AST (File Photo-third from left)
Patients’ Column
„I am so happy that Uzma has shown tremendous improvement in her academic performance this year. It is unbelievable.” These were the remarks given by Khawaja Abdul Latif, father of Uzma who is a student of class VI at a Chatter School in Muzaffarabad AJK. In February 2012, a team of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Muzaffarabad visited this school as a part of a one year school screening project with the support of Fred Hollows Foundation. Uzma was one of the 29 girl students identified to have visual impairment out of a total of 543 in the school. Uzma was a below average student till after she was prescribed and provided with the glasses by Al-Shifa Team. Exactly after eight months, in November 2012, the sent-up test results were completely baffling for her teachers and parents. From an average score of 36% in the past, she jumped to 75%. “It is unbelievable” exclaimed her father, “that simple provision of glasses can dramatically improve the academic performance. “It is completely understandable” explains Dr. Rafiq, the ophthalmologist at ASTEH Muzaffarabad. “Vision impairment in children sometimes remains completely unknown and may result in poor school performance. By restoring the normal vision, the child regains her grip over the studies and starts performing well”.
There are many such children in our schools who need to be identified in time for disabling refractive errors. WHO estimates that the coverage rate for refractive services for school age children is around 30% in rural areas. That is why it is very important that all school children should have vision testing at the time of entry into schools. Al-Shifa has been on the forefront in this regards. With over 2 million children screened, AST is constantly endeavoring to meet this challenge.
APPEAL
Al-Shifa NEEDS Your Support to HELP Restoring Sights
Al-Shifa is a Not- for Profit and Non-Political organization. It is committed to providing eye care and treatment mainly to the underprivileged and poor. Almost 75% of all patients attending Al-Shifa Eye Hospital are treated free. The trust is able to meet only 30-40% of its expenses from its own sources while the remaining expenses are met through Zakat, Donations and Support from Philanthropist.
Your contribution means the gift of sight for someone in need!
Kindly note that your Zakat donations go separately to the accounts which are dedicated for treatment of Zakat patients only.
Kindly send your donations or Zakat to following Account Numbers:-
In Pakistan
Donations can be sent directly to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Jhelum Road, Rawalpindi or to: 1. Askari Commercial Bank Limited, Al-Shifa Branch, Jhelum Road, Rawalpindi. Account
No. 1650000585, Branch Code. 0181
2. MCB Bank, Morgah Branch, Morgah Turn, Rawalpindi. Account No. 0701000008-7, Branch Code. 1389
3. National Bank of Pakistan, Corporate Branch, Bank Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi. Branch Code 1858, Account No. 18-5
4. United Bank Ltd. Cantt Branch, Bank Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi. Branch Code. 0041, Account No. 011-0228-4
5. Allied Bank Ltd. DHA Phase -1, Rawalpindi. Branch Code. 0010, Account No. 006490890016
6. Habib Bank Ltd. Bahria Town Branch, Commercial Sub Centre, DHA Business Bay, Block-8,Sector-F, Islamabad Branch Code. 2301, Account No. 79005569-01
7. Bank Al-Falah Ltd. The Mall Branch, Rawalpindi. Branch Code. 0007, Account No. 02906752
In UK
1. Habib Bank AG Zurich 5/7 High Street Southall, Middlesex UB 1 3HA, UK, Account No = 7-2-7-20311-402-109356 (Pound Sterling Account), Account No = 7-2-7-20311-333-109356 (US Dollar Account)
2. HSBC Bank AuchinLeck House, Birmingham: Account No = 40-1108 (sort code) – 41311565 (Account Number)
In USA
1. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), 100 Wall Street, 21st Floor NewYork, NY 10005: Account No = 52152578
2. Al-Shifa Foundation of North America: 474 Wall Street, Princeton, NJ 08540. Tel: (609) 279-1400, email: [email protected], website: www.afnausa.org. (AFNA has been granted not- for Profit status under section 501©(3) status of the internal Revenue Code. Tax ID No: 36-4328912 (for use of US Residents)
For donors outside the country especially UK and USA provision for online donations through Paypal are also now available.
Al Shifa is NOW on MCB Mobile. Make donations using 'Quick Pay' & let’s help make someone's life better!
TAX EXEMPTION:
In Pakistan, all donations to Al-Shifa Trust are exempt from Income Tax vide “Clause 61(x) of Part – I of Second Schedule of Income Tax Ordinance 2001”.
In USA, you can get Tax Exemption if your cheques are made payable to AFNA (Al-Shifa Foundation for North America). "AFNA has been granted not- for-profit status under section 501( C)(3) status of the Internal Re venue Service Code" Tax ID No: 36-4328912 (For use of US Residents)
In U.K., you can get Tax Exemption if your cheques are made payable to Al-Shifa Trust Ltd, Our Charity Number is 1077363.
In Canada, you can get Tax Exemption if your cheques are made payable to IDRF (Al-Shifa)
--- Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Jhelum Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Tel: 0092 51 5487820-25, Fax: 0092 51 5487827 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Railway Road, Sukkur, Pakistan Tel: 0092 71 5612766, 0092 71 5615466 Fax: 0092 71 5613453 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, KDA, Kohat, Pakistan
Tel: 0092 922 515686, 0092 922 515710: Fax: 0092 922 515668 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Ambore Camp, Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Tel: 0092 5822432159, 0092 5822432144, Fax: 0092 51 5487827
