CHICAGO: Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine in Springfield and Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding February 21 for fostering academic collaboration and improving rural healthcare. Both institutions cater to predominantly rural communities in their respective countries.

The credit for bringing this project to fruition must go to the dedicated efforts of Dr Jagan Ailinani, Clinical Professor of Radiology at the SIU School of Medicine and past president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).A team led by SIU School of Medicine Dean Provost J. Kevin Dorsey, MD PhD, visited PIMS to formalize the agreement, which is a first for Andhra Pradesh. The agreement allows for student and faculty exchange between the two institutions, as well as joint research and development for improving rural healthcare.

It will greatly benefit fourth and fifth year students from PIMS by allowing them to acquire valuable clinical and other skills at SIU.Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences was founded under the initiative of a group of non-resident Indians, headed by Dr Prabhakar Guniganti, Chief of the Cardiopulmonary Department at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital, Texas, and chair of the board of PIMS. Dr Ailinani, who hails from Karimnagar, is another founding board member of PIMS.The signing of the MOU was accompanied by a day-long workshop on medical education inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi.

Dr A.V. Krishnam Raju, Vice Chancellor of the N.T.R. University of Health Sciences, Dr Jayarama Guntupalli, Professor of Medicine/Nephrology at the University of Texas, Houston, and Dr Debra Kalmen, Associate Dean of the SIU School of Medicine, were among notable presenters. Another perspective was provided by senior medical students Pritish Patel and Nauren Ahmad.Dr Ailinani, who is passionately involved in promoting rural development in AP, said that for him the MOU was another landmark in improving the lives of Karimnagar residents.

He has been instrumental in initiating several rural development projects in the region, including the establishment of a rural health clinic, provision of safe drinking water systems for entire villages, construction of sanitary facilities, conducting periodic medical camps, sustained measures to improve women's and children's health, improving schools, and funding infrastructure projects. Dr Ailinani also has championed the cause of adopting villages by other physicians settled in the US.Dr Guniganti said this is an agreement with tremendous impact for PIMS.

It would allow students to acquire valuable clinical experience and gain a perspective on medicine as it is practiced in the US.B. Srinivas Rao, Managing Director of PIMS, said this agreement represents a logical progression in the growth of PIMS, which is dedicated to a high quality of education and service. The institution has been growing rapidly since it was established five years ago.