The 76th CHAI National Health Conference was held on 17th & 18th October 2019 at Holy Family Hospital, Okhla Road, Delhi.
The event was enriched by the presence of Alphons Kannanthanam, Member of Parliament, dignitaries from the Catholic network, government representatives from the healthcare sector and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), among others. Panel discussions on hospital accreditation standards and healthcare policies were held with eminent panellists from Ayushman Bharat, National Board of Examinations, Healthcare Sector Skill Council, among others.
The Theme for the NHC was “Healthcare at the margins – Innovation for Quality Care” and several crucial network initiatives were set in motion. The conference featured the rollout of Vision 2030, a ten-year transformation plan for CHAI to provide affordable, compassionate and quality care at the margins. Digital innovations to improve the quality of healthcare were also rolled out. These included a Common Procurement Portal for the network and CHAI academy, a medical e-learning hub to facilitate online capacity building in leadership and healthcare. The event was attended by about 200 participants including 160 Hospital Directors and Administrators from all over India from the CHAI network.
Details of the event
Sr. Victoria Narichiti, JMJ, President, Governing Board welcomed the participants in the inaugural function. Most Rev Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Archbishop of Delhi released the CHAI Annual Report 2019 in the presence of numerous dignitaries. The CHAI Visual identity was released by Mr. Girish, Chair, FICCI and the herbal calendar were released by Fr George PA, Director, Holy Family Hospital, Delhi. Fr George Kannanthanam presented the NHC highlights after which the inaugural concluded with a vote of thanks from Sr. Lizzy Abraham, President, RUPCHA.
Vision 2030, a ten-year transformation vision for the CHAI network was released by Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu, Ecclesiastical Advisor, CHAI. This was followed by a presentation on Vision 2030 by Rev Mathew Abraham, Director General CHAI and an open discussion among the participants.
Mr Sachin Malhotra and Ms Hima Kher from “Tech Care for All” presented on the importance of technology for the CHAI network, concepts such as telemedicine and online club and demonstrated the use of CHAI Academy.
Mr. John Santhosh from Billion Lives and Mr. Rajkumar from Vidal Health demonstrated the use of the Common Procurement Portal which facilitates ease of medical and surgical procurement through a digital platform and promotes collective savings for the institutions.
Alphons Kannanthanam, Member of Parliament, was the guest of honour for the event and delivered his message calling the Member Institutes to play a proactive role to collaborate with the Government and fill up the gaps in the implementation of various government projects which are beneficial to the poorer sections of the society.
This was followed by a presentation by Ms Anuvinda Varkey, Christian Coalition for Health in India, on healthcare policies and initiatives and how the network can collaborate with the government. The discussion was continued on the next day in a panel discussion with eminent panellists including Mr. Varun Jhaveri from Ayushman Bharat, Dr. Rashmikanth Dave from National Board of Examinations, Mr. Ashish Jain from Healthcare Sector Skills Council, Dr. Sunil Abraham and Dr. Jachin Velavan from CMC Vellore.
The second day also featured a presentation on Quality beyond accreditation by Fr Johnson, Executive Director, Rajgiri Hospital followed by a panel discussion among NABH accredited hospitals within the network. They shared their experience during accreditation and will facilitate the process among other hospitals in the network.
This was followed by the business session and Annual General Body Meeting (AGBM) of the network where the Vision 2030 was endorsed and statutory formalities were concluded. The event concluded with a vote of thanks from Fr Sebastian, Director, RUPCHA.
Way forward
The NHC concluded with a reaffirmation to solidarity and interdependence among the network wherein members can help each other to achieve their larger potential. With the aid of a clearly defined long term Vision 2030 and technology innovations, CHAI has the potential to expand its reach and continue to provide compassionate and quality care while keeping it affordable for the people at the margins of the society.
Considering the complexity of the CHAI network, the Board had decided to conduct this national conference for the CHAI Hospitals. Having seen the success of the customized inputs for the participants, CHAI is looking forward to conducting 3 National Conferences next year (2020) – one for hospitals, one for health centres and one for the care centres with appropriate inputs.
Please visit chainhc.org for more details.
