Pune Neurosciences Trust and Research Society's Samavedana

Its founder Dr. Charudutt Apte (Chairman and MD of Sahyadri Hospitals) and his associates, have helped hundreds of poor patients since 1993, through ‘Pune Neurosciences Trust and Research Society’, by providing high quality medical care at extremely low cost or, on occasions, absolutely free of cost. To expand the scale and scope of this mission ‘Samavedana’ was formed on April 1, 2003. Starting with neurology and neurosurgery, Samavedana help is now available for almost all medical specialities.

Some of their activities are as follows:

• Medical Aid: Along with financial support for surgeries, the organisation provides low cost or free treatment for the needy at all branches of Sahyadri Hospitals, medical tests for patients, and partial assistance for traveling. Preference is given to younger people, for complex surgeries, or to those who can be cured completely and lead a normal life after treatment.  
• Community Outreach: The organisation runs a community outreach programme to screen for gynaecological cancer and also health camps to detect possible warning signs of disease to take action. They focus on timely testing and treatment as early action increases chances of cure and reduces cost of treatment. The gynaecological cancer screening programme runs for underprivileged women from the age of 40 to 60 years. Counselling is also provided free of charge.
• Skin Donation: Samavedana is actively involved in spreading awareness of skin donations. This is helpful for cases involving major burns and other injuries to prevent infections and decrease pain.