Visitors from India and other places especially those who were 50 and above took advantage of a unique opportunity of a Free Health Camp offered by the newly formed Devotee Liaison Committee (DLC) of the temple whose main objective is to act as a bridge between temple organization and devotees.

The health fair was co-sponsored by the Youth, Cultural and Education Programs Committee (YCEP) led by chairman K.G.Narayana. S. Venkatraman, a Temple trustee and also the current chairman of DLC said “The Health Fair was very successful considering the fact that this is the first time we are doing after more than 6 years and we had very limited time preparing for this event. Thanks to all volunteers and doctors for their time and efforts which made this a successful event. The feedback from participants has been very good and we plan to do more of these events frequently and also expand the scope a little bit to cover more areas of medicine. We are also exploring into looking for medical sponsors such as Joslin Diabetes Center, who could help the community”.

As many as 8 doctors volunteered their services for this event. Listening with a kind and patient ear, and offering a cheerful greeting were Dr. Meena Sundaram – Cardiology, Dr. Rohit Jangi - Internal Medicine, Dr. Ammani Dasari - Anesthesiology and OB/Gyn, Dr. Sridhar Dasari – Pulmonary, Dr. Keshav Pandey - Gatro Intestinal, Dr. Lakshman Prasad – Dentistry, Dr. Geeta Trivedi – Anesthesiology and Dr. Rajendra Trivedi - Neuro Surgery, and Psychiatry and who serves as a medical director of CCA and Pain CENTER.

Many visitors commented on the friendliness and warmth extended by the doctors. Sangeetha Bhatta, Youth Committee Chairman was there on the front desk helping visitors to fill in the requisite registration forms. Meena Sundaram, who was doing this for the first time at the temple found the idea very appealing. “This is a wonderful way to give back to the community. Visitors especially who lack Health insurance are looking for advise and feel good when they meet a doctor from their own community,” She said. Dr Lakshman Prasad, talked extensively with the visitors and felt that the visitors could connect since they were able to talk freely sometimes even in their native language to the doctors. .Dr Keshav Pandey, hoped that in future, the facilities could be extended beyond the Indian community and that the event should be advertised openly. Dr Ammani Dasari, walked up to most visitors and greeted them with a friendly smile and lent a patient hearing to their concerns and offered counsel.

As many as 54 visitors took advantage of the health fair. Mrs Vedavati Ramani from Coimbatore appreciated the time and care taken by the doctors and felt reassured and happy, Mr. A.V. Aswathanarayana Setti from Bangalore wished that the facility would be offered on an ongoing basis especially in the summer months when many parents were visiting from India.

This was the first major event organized by the DLC. Besides this, the activities of DLC involve volunteers and members development, and fundraising. DLC is planning on a major fundraising event soon. For further information email to NEHTI_DLC@yahoo.com.

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