DOCTOR ‘COOL’KARNI
An alumnus of the prestigious GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Dr Suhas Kulkarni completed his MD in Pediatrics. He is a household name in Thane. “I was the first doctor in my family,” he says. “My parents were keen that at least one of us takes up medicine. My brother opted for engineering, and I had a liking for life sciences, so it was natural for me to go for medicine. Even post-graduation in pediatrics was an automatic choice, given my love for kids”
“We stayed in Sion, so I started my practice in 1986 in Sion-Koliwada-Antop Hill area.In 3 years, I was doing fairly well but was running around a lot. Around this time, I realized that if I concentrate on one place where I have facilities for inpatient care, I would be able to give better service to my little patients. Hence along with my wife Anuja, I started looking for suitable areas to set up a childrens hospital. We scouted locations far and wide in Maharashtra, even going upto Ratnagiri. Finally we zeroed in on Thane”
Dr Kulkarni, being a first-generation doctor, had neither the advantage of a ready made set up nor had he any referrals. Financial investment was going to be a challenge, as was a lack of contacts in Thane and around. He avers, “I thought of starting a joint practice, which would mean that the initial investments would be divided and the patients would have the advantage of a second opinion in-house. I had a good equation with Dr Sunil Abhyankar, my classmate. Together we decided to start a joint practice. With Rs twenty thousand, sum total of my savings, I managed to raise over 4 lacs by borrowing from family and friends. Here I must mention that my brother Sudhir and sister-in-law Pushpa were tremendously supportive and ensured that I did not have to take an initial bank loan!”
Chiranjeevi Hospital was started on 1st March 1989. Around this time Dr Sunil Abhyankar got an opportunity to go abroad for further studies. Dr Kulkarni states, “By 1995 Sunil told me that he would not be coming back, which meant that I would have to manage the hospital on my own.”
The first 3 months were not that great for Dr Kulkarni. He reminisces, “I saw my first patient on the 3rd day of my new practice. During the first three months, I made barely enough to pay my staff salaries and other hospital expenses. But the onset of monsoon brought about a change, and the hospital beds were soon overflowing! From then there was no looking back. I must add that my wife Anuja was a great support. Being a microbiologist with a steady job in the Quality Assurance Dept of Johnson and Johnson, she soon realized that the hospital needs her services. She gave up her lucrative job and set up the pathology department in our hospital, apart from taking over the administration. Of course, my son Tejas, who completed his post-graduation in Pathology a few years back (also from GSMC), now looks after our full fledged “CityLab Diagnostics” Path lab. It is indeed a great help to have such in house facilities!!”
In his 35 year career, Dr Kulkarni has come across a number of challenging cases. “I vividly recall a case that I saw almost 3 decades ago. A baby of around eight months of age was brought to me suffering from acute bronchiolitis and was severely breathless. He was in impending respiratory failure. I rushed the child to Singhania Hospital, which was the only corporate multi-specialty hospital at that time in Thane. Those were the days when we were still learning the basics of ventilator care in children. Along with my colleague and dear friend Dr Sudhir Sane’s active intervention, the child survived and is doing well. The parents were very grateful. Indeed, it feels nice to have made a difference in the lives of such small innocent children”
He further adds, “Recently I happened to treat a newborn who developed facial palsy within 24 hours of birth. It was a cesarian section delivery with no history of birth trauma, so the cause of facial palsy had to be determined. I involved Dr Omkar Hajirnis, Pediatric Neurologist, who asked for some tests including some for blood coagulation, etc. Some of these tests were deranged, so, with the help of Pediatric Hemato-oncologist Dr Ratna Sharma we found that the child was suffering from hemophilia and that he had bled in the brain, giving rise to facial palsy! We gave factor replacement therapy and the baby not only survived but is now thriving well! This was a rare presentation of hemophilia in the newborn period, which we presented in our pediatric clinical meeting”
Apart from his practice, Dr Kulkarni is a Charter member of Rotary Club of Thane Hills. “I am grateful to Dr Mohan Chandavarkar for inspiring and supporting me not only in my profession but also motivating me to join Rotary. I always wanted to give back to society, and I found Rotary to be the perfect platform for my objective. And since I was also keen on joint practice, I was happy that Dr Parul Shukla, who looks after the evening OPD in the hospital, decided to join me. Because of this I was able to devote time for my passion of serving through Rotary. As A Rotarian I have been part of many social initiatives. During my stint as President of the Club we came out with a Blood Group Directory for the residents of Thane. Later our Club, under the able leadership of Ravi Iyer, established the Triumph Blood Bank and Thalassemia Day Care Centre, a flagship project!”
“Rotary International, with over 35000 Clubs and 1.2 million members worldwide, took a pledge to eradicate Polio from the face of the earth. Along with Governments all over the world, we are close to this goal, with only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, still having a few active cases. I was District Chair for Polio Eradication for almost a decade, being responsible for motivating Rotary Clubs across Mumbai and Thane to take active part in Polio Immunization drives, along with government and municipal health workers. My work was recognized by Rotary International, and I was given several awards, including “Service Above Self” award, considered the highest honour for an individual Rotarian!”
Before signing off, Dr Kulkarni has this piece of advice for young and budding pediatricians. “There is no short cut to success, be sincere and give enough time to your patients, as coming to a diagnosis when a child is screaming, kicking and not able to express himself or herself can be very tricky. Unless it is life threatening, give a day or two for symptoms to develop, early investigations don’t help in most cases. Do go in for joint practice with like minded colleagues, especially in these times. Stay updated with advances and technology to give the best clinical experience to your patients”
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