PEDIATRICS:
EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL:
Dr. Ramesh D. Potdar is a pediatrician with more than thirty years of
private practice in Mumbai. He did his M.B.B.S in 1962, Diploma in Child
Health ( D.C.H ) in 1964 and his M.D. in Pediatrics in 1966 at Bombay
University, India from K.E.M.Hospital and Seth G.S.Medical College, Mumbai.
After completing his mandatory teaching experience through residencies,
registrarship and lecturership he joined Kasturba Hospital, the city infectious
disease hospital for two years. After this stint he was selected as Hon.Asst
Pediatrician and Hon.Asst.Professor of Pediatrics and became an undergraduate
and post graduate teacher in Pediatrics at T. N. Medical college and BYL
Nair City Hospital, Mumbai, India. After more than 20 years as Professor
of Pediatrics, he took voluntary retirement. He continued to be a Postgraduate
Examiner in the subject to Pediatrics at many Indian Universities till
recently. Currently he is the Attending Chief of Pediatrics at Port Trust
Hospital at Wadala. He is a regular researcher (esp field research) with
2 Research Awards , 30 publications, 5 orations and has many presentations
to his credit including the prestigious Dr. Shantilal Sheth Oration of
IAP in 2000.
PEDIATRICS:
ORGANISATIONAL (IAP, APSSEAR, IPA, AAP):
In his organisational career he has served Indian Academy of Pediatries
since 1974 in various capacities like Treasurer, Executive Board Member,
General Secretary, Chairman of many committees and became the National
President in 1992.( Indian Academy of Pediatrics is the sole professional
body of Children specialists in the country ) Since 1992 he has served
international pediatric community as President of the 8th Asian Congress
of Pediatrics, New Delhi 1994, President of Association of Pediatric Societies
of South East Asian Region APSSEAR from 1994 to 1998 and Standing Committee
member, International Pediatric Association from 1992 to 1998.
In 1990, he started an active dialogue with AAP in his capacity as General
Secretary of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and with Dr. Errol Alden,
Dy.Executive Director of AAP. Ever since then both of them have been co-operating
and co-ordinating IAP-AAP, relations culminating into IAP-AAP CME in Mumbai
in February 2000 and the likelihood of 1 day IAP-AAP CME in near future.
Of course many colleagues from both the associations have helped them
to achieve this.
COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL PEDIATRICS:
SLUM WORK, ORPHANS, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:
His work in Social Pediatrics started simultaneously with his professional
and academic career. It goes on even now through three organisations viz.Streehitkarini
( as a consultant,now) CSSC ( full time) and Shraddhanand Mahilashram
( once a week as consultant).
GENESIS : It was Dr. Indumati Parikh who influenced him when he
helped her to conduct a mass children check up camp in his capacity of
a Pediatrician from a public hospital . Her devotion ,dedication, rational
and integrated approach became an inspiration for him deciding his future
life work in social pediatrics. He even completed his terms for a Master's
in Preventive and social medicine. Ever since early seventies Social Pediatrics
has become his area of work apart from his own private practice which
was needed for his and his family's sustenance.
SLUM WORK: In Streehitakarini, an organisation which is working
in Mumbai Slums for "Healthy, Free and Full Life for woman" for a population of 1,20,000 he was in charge of training Health
workers and a Health Consultant participating actively in planning and
implementing their various projects of Woman and child welfare since last
20 years including :
a.Community Health Survey- Ford Foundation 1984-85.
P.V.O. Project of USAID/GOI on "Community Comprehensive Health Project" for four years- since 1984-1989.
b.Health Workers Training Project- Ford Foundation 1986.
c.Adolescent Girls Health Project - Ford Foundation 1988.
d.Adolescents for Responsible Citizenship Project.1989
e.Health Monitoring of Adolescent girls ICRW 1987
f.Gynaecological Problems of Urban Slum Women- Ford
Foundation 1988 to 94.
INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN URBAN
SLUMS (Prabhadevi SH area)
Started in collaboration with Streehitakarini in 1986, the institute has
carried out following activities to date under the Executive Directorship
of Dr.R.D.Potdar:
Study of intra-urban differentials in a slum population in Bombay;Educational
courses in
modular format for all categories of personnel needed for Primary Health
Care; Holding of Urban
Health Care Workshop on 24th to 26th April 1986 in Bombay with the help
of OXFAM.
Comprehensive Health and Development Project for the Urban Poor Through
Women's Self-help
Strategies for Muslim Women with the help of Artists' Group in New York
to End Hunger and
Hunger Project in India.
Institute work in Bandra East:
This is a programme of CSSC and Streehitakarini since 1990, in Bharat
Nagar and Patthar Nagar hutment colony,Bandra East. It is now extended
to the area around the Campus building. One clinic is at Bharat Nagar
and one clinic is at Siddharth Nagar where integrated programmes for women
and child health are carried out. Stress is laid on Family Planning and
the response is very encouraging even in predominantly Muslim area.
Permanent Health Clinic:
A permanent clinic has been started in the Campus where training is given
to all our health and integrated work and expert advice to women and children.
Cancer detection camp :In an attempt to follow up a full day cancer detection
camp was held on 13th March 2000 at the campus with the help of Cancer
Patients Aid Association and sponsored by Mrs Mira Shah it has been decided
to make it an annual feature in memory of her husband.
Training of Health Workers in Primary Health Care :This is done for our
own workers and will be done as well as for other NGOs at request and
at a nominal cost.
ORPHANS AND DESTITUTE BABIES: At Shraddhanand Mahilashram an Orphanage
in Matunga, Mumbai shelter is given to all women and children in dire
need of the same. Mortality of orphans admitted there was phenomenally
high.In the International year of the Child 1979, he developed a Special
Care Centre for Orphans in the form of a Mini Primary Care Hospital and
trained the inmates to work as Nursing aides. This simple model resulted
into bringing down the mortality amongst orphans from 80 % to less than
5 % in 10 years from 1979 to 1989. Currently the mortality is less than
1%. He has been looking after the orphans and abandoned kids for last
30 years in this orphanage. On an average about 200 new orphans are admitted
per year in this institution.
The model of orphan survival through primary health care strategy at the
orphanage with minimum inputs and rehabilitation of babies through adoption,
education, vocation, marriage have been appreciated through the State
and National Awards received by Shraddhanand Mahilashram. This organisation
is now about 80 years old and the case study of this organisation makes
a very interesting humane and educative experience.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:
He is an active Trustee and Hon General Secretary of Centre for the Study
of Social Change, an institution which works for bridging the gap between
Intellectuals and Grassroot workers through Humanist and Rationalist philosophy
and is currently busy with development of 1,50,000 sq. ft. M N Roy Human
Development Campus in Bandra East which will be used for activities for
comprehensive development of Human Beings. He has contributed his expertise
to the IFPD programme on Family planning in Urban slums, a recent project
undertaken by CSSC The beneficiaries in this area are Muslim women and
children from Bharat Nagar Slums in Bandra East. When complete, the Roy
Campus will house an Institute for Income generation training through
vocational training for marginally educated women, a non formal education
gallery, a comprehensive conference complex, a public library and an international
student's hostel.
ROTARY SERVICE:
His Rotary career started in 1976 in Rotary Club of Bombay North and he
has headed and worked on almost all the committees in Rotary including
being the Secretary of the club in 1980-81..
He was the President of Rotary Club of Bombay North for the year 1998-99.
He is closely associated with "Operation Mainstream " a Programme
for Street Children developed by Rtn Mahendra Mehta for gainful training
in Self Employment for young boys and girls coming through a vast NGO
Network. Apart from serious work in Rotary he has been popular in the
club as well as in the district due to his humorous skits based on Rotary
themes. He tries to utiize his contacts for help in his social service
activities of other organizations through a concept of symbiotic management.
COMPLETE' PEDIATRICIAN:
His fields of activity range from Child Health status of Indian Children,
Child Adoption and Pre-Primary school admission rules and curriculum from
Health Education for masses (through translation of David Werner's "Where
there is no doctor" sold more than 1,00,000 copies, to full free
and healthy life for women' (as a consultant to Streehitkarini ) and from
Bahuroopy, an erstwhile experimental theatre group in Marathi to television
shows on health (Arogya Sampada on DD) and sex education for young (lectures
and authoring of a book titled "Kamasatya". All this in addition
to his work as a clinician, academician, organizer and community pediatrician!
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
His inclination, flair, ability to work and find time to share his knowledge
and experience through public speaking ranges to audiences consisting
of school children, parents, housewives, medical professionals and grass
root health workers and TV and Radio audiences. His command on the written
and spoken English, Marathi and Hindi and working knowledge of Gujarati,
Kannada, Tamil and French make him an excellent communicator with an added
flavour of spontaneous humour. He has been regularly giving addresses
at International Scientific meets. He is an avid traveller having travelled
widely in India, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and Far East both
professionally and for leisure.
FAMILY:
Married to Dr. Uma since 1968, she helps him by looking after their Jeevak
Children Hospital at Dadar. Their children are highly educated and are
well settled.
Specific areas in which talents of Dr. R. D. Potdar are generally sought
for:
a) Consultancy on planning & implementations of Public Health Strategies
with reference to Child Health & Disease through professional and
social service organizations.
b) Development of Programs for slum children & women (both Health
& Development aspects) in Urban Slums through NGOs.
c) Conceptualization, development and presentations of Technical Aspects
of Audio-visual and Multimedia on Health and Development issues.
d) Motivational seminars for medical, paramedical, lay people of all ages
including Primary and Secondary School Children, adolescents.
Dr. Potdar may be contacted on
E-mail at Office : mrcssc@vsnl.com OR at home :rdpotdar@vsnl.com
ADDRESS : Laxmi Gruha,69,D.V.Pradhan Road, Dadar East,Mumbai 400
014,India.
Telephones :91-22-4143829 (res) 91-22-4183922 (clinic)
