The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Apollo Hospitals ties up with IGNOU for skill training courses

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Friday, Sep 19, 2008
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Apollo Hospitals ties up with IGNOU for skill training courses

Special Correspondent

Over 45 courses will be offered for healthcare workers at all levels

Courses to be offered addressing specific skills
They will be provided in online, onsite, distance education mode

CHENNAI: The Apollo Hospitals group entered into an agreement with Indira Gandhi National Open University to offer skill training courses for healthcare workers at all levels, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary celebrations.

Over 45 courses will be offered, across all verticals, addressing specific skills such as technicians, medical assistantship, health management and dialysis, representatives of Apollo Hospitals told presspersons on Thursday.

The courses will be provided across the online platform, onsite and distance education mode. The first course is expected to start in January and fee details are being worked out.

There is a huge shortfall of trained healthcare professionals in the country, Prathap C.Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said. “We need to double our doctors and nurses, and as far as paramedics go, the number has to increase at least 10 times more,” he added. The vast manpower resources that India possessed would have to be converted into valuable healthcare resources and the MoU with IGNOU was a step in that direction.

Apollo, which runs several training institutes for specialists, nurses and paramedics, will be involved in training in a big way in the future, he said, charting out the plans of the group for the next 25 years. Healthcare would become the largest employer, providing jobs not only in the country, but also globally.

V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, said Apollo was a success story in the corporate healthcare scenario, democratising healthcare by using technology in a big way to take the most advanced techniques to the people.

He said IGNOU was also a success story in the democratisation of education, riding the technology wave to provide access to all.

Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals group, traced the evolution of the hospital from its founding day 25 years ago to its status as the largest private hospital chain in Asia.

The group’s executive director - financial, Suneeta Reddy, explained the business model and indicated the enormous potential of the Indian healthcare industry.

Shobana Kamineni, executive director, detailed the new ventures of Apollo Hospitals, including Reach Hospitals, which aims at taking super-specialty care to rural areas.

Sangita Reddy, executive director, said 3 Bs – biology, byte and bandwidth will change the way healthcare operates, while providing a perspective on Apollo Health Street, a provider of revenue cycle management solutions to the healthcare industry.

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