Chembur IMA gets new president

Members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Chembur branch converged at Acres Club on April 25, to welcome Dr Rajni K Gwalani who took over as the president. Dr Gwalani who had been attached to the civic hospitals for more than three decades presently she runs a charity clinic at P L Lokhande Marg.

Officially, she was installed as president of IMA Chembur branch on April 25. Briefing us on some of her future plans Dr Rajni explained, “We will continue with our four-fold objectives and community oriented projects, particularly those meant to reach out to the economically weaker sections.

We are organising a free medical camp on May 4, which will have tests for haemoglobin, body mass index (BMI), blood sugar and bone density. We will also conduct a medical check-up for the children housed at Tilaknagar orphanage.”

On the objectives of IMA, Dr B Ramnarayan, the senior vice president said, “We focus on various areas like CME (Continuous Medical Education) for the doctors which include updating the doctors on the various advances made in the medical field. Our thrust is to reach out to the underprivileged section.

In the past we have conducted several awareness camps including a camp on diabetes and other modern lifestyle related diseases. There is a lot of misconception about diseases like diabetes among the uneducated and financially weaker sections.

They are not serious about diet and medication which in turn can lead to serious complications like organ failure among those suffering from diabetes. Similarly asthma and respiratory diseases are also common in the slum pockets. Besides awareness camps we also conduct free health camps with regular follow ups.

DOTS programme to control TB is one of our major initiatives. Last year IMA also targeted eight schools in Chembur with a project called ‘Eat Right’. This was like a war against junk food. This year we want to reach out to many more schools.”

On April 26 during a musical programme, IMA also felicitated Dr Hari Singhani, a senior medical practitioner from Chembur. Dr Gwalani is assisted by her team which includes two vice president namely Dr B Ramnarayan and Dr Rakesh Nair. Dr Manish Sharma took over as the secretary while Dr Diren Kalawadia took over as the treasurer of IMA Chembur.

The four fold objectives of IMA
1. CME (Continous Medical Education)
2. Community service projects
3. Adopting an orphanage at Tilaknagar
4. Awareness camps.