Last Day in Chennai

Unfortunately my time, this time, in Chennai is coming to an end. My host, Dr. Nandkumar Sundaram, was, in the English language-- a true gentleman. In Tamil- த்ருஎ கேன்ட்லேமன் .

On this last day we solidified our commitment to a Fellowship relationship and continued affiliations between departments. We will begin Video Conference Meetings as soon as I return to the US and start the curriculum and structure of sharing Fellows across the two countries.

I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people of the Fortis Hospital System. At the press conference announcing the relationship between the departments I sat next to Dr. Sajan Nair who is the “Medical Superintendant” of the hospital. In the US this would effectively be the Chief Medical Operating Officer. Later at dinner we were further honored by the presence of Krish Ramesh who is the “Zonal Director” of Fortis. In the US this is the equivalent of the Chief Operating Officer of a large region of hospitals. Their depth of knowledge of healthcare reform and medical delivery systems was an education for me and I thank them sincerely for the precious time they were able to spend with me.

Of Dr. Nandkumar Sunsdaram (Kumar) I cannot say enough. A master surgeon, a remarkable and respected teacher, a leader of his departmental group and a visionary on the delivery of Orthopaedic care in his community. More importantly he is great fun to go out and have a beer with. For the record I now only drink Kingfisher beer. If you haven’t tried it- get it. Excellent.
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