Nithya (30), who was living with her children and husband at Boston, received a call from India informing that her father, who was living alone in Chennai, had a mild heart attack. Nithya ran from pillar to post to book tickets, left her children with friends and informed her employers before boarding the flight to India.
She reached Chennai to find her father on road to recovery but a dilemma awaited her. After an emergency angioplasty, her father was advised to undergo regular check up.
She could neither take him along nor leave him without medical assistance. It was a cause for concern which weighed heavily on her mind.
She realised that there were not many healthcare organisations that cater to the medical needs of the elderly. It was at this juncture that Orion Health Centre, Mandaveli, came to her rescue. The centre offers ‘Orion Eldercare’ — a package for the elderly.
“We provide personalised care to parents of NRIs by visiting their homes and conducting routine medical check ups and assisting them in their medical requirements under ‘Orion Eldercare’, launched a fortnight ago,” said Dr. Sheela Vishwanath, director of the centre. “Our vision is to be the premium provider of geriatric wellness through care, compassion and commitment to service. We employ competent, caring and well-trained individuals who are responsive to the needs of our patients. As it is attention provided within the confines of the home, it relieves the elderly of long waiting periods at clinics and other paramedical centres,” says Dr. Sheila.
All tests — blood, sugar, ECG and even a bedside X-ray are done by the visiting doctor, who will act as an interface between the patient and doctor under whose supervision the patient is.
The centre also has physiotherapists who will be sent home upon request to relieve the patients of neck pain, back pain and treat them for conditions such as periarthritis and other emergencies.They offer services such as IFT, laser therapy for pain, wax treatment and ultrasound.
“We have plans to provide complete nursing care. We will try to provide attendees (need based — short term or long term or live-in) for the ailing,” said Dr. Sheila.
Some of the other services include diagnostic tests, blood collection done at home and reports sent by courier, door delivery of medicines, tie-ups with hospitals in case of emergency admission needs, apprising the NRI children about the health of their parents through email and periodical visits by their relationship managers to ensure smoothness of service.
Orion centre also has special packages for diabetics, geriatric profile, senior wellness profile and many more need-based ones are on the cards. The frequency of the tests in each will depend on the type of the package the patient opts for.
Apart from its special packages and yearly offers, the centre also has monthly offers.
Orion Health Centre, which started as just a lab testing facility in 1996, has now grown into a polyclinic and the brain behind this venture is Dr. Sheila Viswanath. The centre provides comprehensive health care services with a dedicated team of specialists — obstetricians, orthodontics, dermatologists and physiotherapists.
The health centre is fully equipped in haematology, serology, immunology, endocrinology, biochemistry and microbiology. It also offers many medical lab tests (ECG, X-ray) and counselling.
In this trained faculty counsel special children with disabilities such as ADHD, autism and others.
“As regarding our latest venture one can book a package with us and we will offer our best services at the comfort of their home,” assures Dr. Sheila. Orion Health Centre is at 8/24, Thiruvengadam Street, R.K. Nagar, Mandaveli. Ph: 2495 0096 / 2495 6110.
