BLS/ACLS: My Personal Journey Ravinder Reddy Surakanti

The sudden loss of my father and then of my brother at the prime of his life made me realize that physicians in , even those working in the government and private

of emergency cardiac care and advanced life hospitals,support that were we not in the aware west of take the potentialfor granted. benefit After months of introspection, I concluded that introducing American Heart Association

cities is a worthy cause. sponsored certification programs in the twin Regretfully, some of my Indian physician friends were very skeptical and even some of my colleagues in the US had doubts about the utility of introducing AHA programs at the teaching institutions, where we obtained our medical training.

My conviction that the life saving potential of two-day American Heart Association basic and advanced life support course including hands on training was the best means to acquire the skills to recognize prearrest and acute respiratory and cardiac emergencies. This led me to this arduous, long journey.

I started giving overview presentations of advanced cardiac life support in Hyderabad. At the end of one of these programs, Dr. Hari

1998. Prasad of Apollo helped to set up the first ACLS course in the state in I recruited Dr. Ramon Dunkin and Andrew Bowman, RN who

accompaniedheld in the state. me on the first trip to Hyderabad in August 1998. Forty physicians from different parts of India attended the first such course The following year, Dr. Joseph Florence and Eric Kornefel, EMT.P accompanied me. Drs. P.S. Reddy, Kalpalatha Guntupalli, EV Sunderrajan, Hari Prasad, Sunil Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Amir Sitafawalla, R. Vishwanath, Surender Vuthoori and Maheshwar Reddy assisted in conducting three ACLS courses at different venues, MediCiti Hospitals, Hotel Viceroy (Apollo Hospitals, HYD), and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. The year 1999 proved to be very successful when over 100 physicians were trained in the three courses.

In the year 2000, the team was led by Florence and Mark Jones. Drs. Maheshwar Reddy, Vijay Kumar, Vishwanath and Kotur joined us to conduct two ACLS courses, one at MediCiti Hospitals in Hyderabad and subsequently one at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum, Karnataka. The instructor faculty had to travel by train with all the necessary equipment to Belgaum for this

17 undertaking. We were apprehensive when we noticed that there was

traveling. an overflowing river right beneath the bridge over which our train was In 2001, the following year, Florence, Damodar and Maheshwar led the team, which included Raghu Sundaram, Naga Srinivas, Captain Krishna Rao, Mohammed Samiuddin. In 2001, we conducted one course with MediCiti Hospital at Hotel Viceroy and subsequently, we conducted ACLS provider course at Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences in Trivandrum in January of 2001.

We also had a workshop on BLS and ACLS at Kurnool Medical College. Drs. Florence, and Krishna Rao and Maheshwar led a small team with all their equipment. On their way back to Hyderabad from Kurnool, unfortunately, they were involved in a motor vehicle accident and Florence sustained a chest wall injury and rib contusion and Krishna Rao sustained a fractured femur. Fortunately, both recovered very well.

2003 was another momentous year for us. First, I sent a shipment of a crate of ACLS equipment prior to my departure from United States. This was made possible by a generous donor, Dr. Pulipaka Bheemeshwar Rao, for distribution to the three medical schools under Osmania University Medical Alumni Association. Just prior to my departure, my mother passed away, this did not stop us from continuing with the program. However, we had lot more hurdles in Bombay, where the container was opened and few boxes were forlost. conducting However, onthe our classes. request, At first, this wasthe shipmentshifted to wasHyderabad detained where again they detained the container. Desperately, I had to seek the help of a family friend, Mr. Keshav Reddy a retired superintendent of police to intervene and get the equipment released. Maheshwar obtained release of the equipment and reached Warangal at 3 a.m. stayedhours before back in we Hyderabad started the after ACLS we course. left for Subsequently,Warangal and wefinally, had he another course at .

The year 2004 was another hectic chapter in our program. In December 2004, in conjunction with the golden jubilee celebrations of , we successfully conducted courses in the college. Also with the help of Indian Institute of Emergency Medical Services, workshops on basic trauma life support and NRP programs were conducted at Gandhi Medical College. During the time of golden jubilee, Alumni Education Center construction was in progress.

by Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences in Trivandrum, which we Inconducted January 2005,and subsequently, the first ACLS we provider had one course day ACLS was overview again sponsored programs at Owaisi Hospital, Deccan College of Medical Sciences, and Indian Medical Associations, Sultan Bazaar. This year was uneventful.

The year 2006 was a landmark in that the Gandhi Medical College Alumni Education Center was inaugurated in January. We conducted

18 an 8-day long program starting on January 7 and ending on January 15, which included basic life support, and advanced cardiac life support provider classes, and also instructor classes. This was very well attended and received by the students and the instructor

Education Center. candidates alike. This firmly established the program at Alumni In the year 2007, we had conducted a basic life support and advanced cardiac life support course in MediCiti Hospital in Ghanpur and again in 2008, they were held at Gandhi Medical College Alumni Education Center. We made one more trip to Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences in Trivandrum and another ACLS course was done at ICCHA building, Padma Rao Nagar.

In 2009, US faculty travel plans had to be canceled due to the terrorist attack on Mumbai. From 2009 onwards, Dr. Vemuri Murthy with the invaluable assistance of course coordinator, Dr. Maheshwar Reddy have been admirably continuing the program regularly.

Over 1000 physicians and 40 instructors have been trained over the years and it was especially gratifying to note basic life support has been made a mandatory course for all house surgeons in the state. We have conducted over 30 programs up to 2008 and after the unfortunate cancellation in 2009, more than 30 programs were conducted till the end of 2013.

Dr. RamonJoseph FlorenceDunkin of of Winona, Kentucky Indianapolis has been steadfast AHA affiliate in his was support in instrumental in bringing the first ACLS course to Hyderabad and

thealso first to Dr. decade Maheshwar, of this journeywho has as been lead the instructor backbone and of helpedthe program us to establishsince inception the program as coordinator. on a firm This footing. program I am gratefulwould not to havethem been and possible without invaluable help from the faculty from USA, Pune and Hyderabad and various organizations, special mention of OUMA through charitable foundation, Gandhi Medical College Alumni Association and Gandhi Medical College Global Alliance, St. Clare’s Medical Center and Surakanti Mallareddy Memorial Trust. My brother, Devender, has been of immense help and my spouse Rani and both my sons Dushyanth and Jayanth were very supportive during this journey.

I envisioned in the year 2002, is now a reality and the center of Itcontinuing is most gratifying medical educationto find that activities Alumni Educationat Gandhi MedicalCenter, which College, of which American Heart Association courses are the prime examples.

The success of this project illustrates that we, Gandhi Medical College Alumni, can make a difference and make lasting contribution and I am very optimistic that if we take up any other projects like human patient simulation lab or rural health center with similar dedication, we can succeed.

19 Acknowledgments

My sincere and grateful thanks to the following faculty and individuals:

Dr. Ramon Dunkin, Mr. Andrew Bowman, RN Dr. Maheshwar Reddy, Dr. Hari Prasad Dr. Joseph Florence, Mr. Eric Korneffel EMT.P. Dr. Sunil Kumar, Dr. Mohan Rao, Mr. Mark Jones, RN, Ms. Susanne Price, RN, Dr. Ratnavelu Vijai Kumar, Dr. Vishwanath, Dr. Rajsekhar Dr. Kalpalatha Guntapalli, Dr. P. Kotur, Dr. Naga Srinivas, Dr. P.S. Reddy, Dr. EV Sunderrajan, Dr. (Capt.) Krishna Rao, Dr. Mohd Samiuddin, Dr. Surender Vuthoori, Dr. Damodar Reddy, Dr. Sumeet Sinha, Dr. Ravi Malpani, Dr. Roy Varghese, Dr. Vijaya Raghavan, Mr. Surender Reddy (SMRMT) Dr. Raghu Sundaram, Mr. P. Ravinder Reddy (Staff Photographer, SMRMT) Dr. Devender Reddy, Dr. Sudhaker Rao Dr. Col. M.V. Rao, General Aiyanna Dr. Koppolu Sarma, Dr. Katam Lingaiah Ms. Debra Bowman, RN, Northridge Medical Group Dr. P. Maheshwar Reddy MS (ENT) Vemuri S.Murthy, MD Civil Assistant Surgeon Visiting Faculty, Dr. NTRUHS Dist. Hospital, Nalgonda, Hon. Advisor, Dr. NTRUHS/APMGUSA AHAITC Program Coordinator, 1998-2013 National Faculty, AHA Program Director, ACLS - 2014 Chair, AAPI/AHA Liaison Committee Dr. Saif Patel, Dr. Chandan Kesary Dr. Dennis McCauley Dr. Nagarjuna Chakravarthy, Dr. Vijay Kumar Rao Dr. Bhasker Reddy, Dr. Arif Pasha 20