Our Team
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF SWASTHYA SWARAJ SOCIETY
- Dr.SURANJAN BHATTACHARJI M.S, D.N.B., President
- Dr.YOGESH JAIN MD, Vice President
- Dr.AQUINAS EDASSERY (JEMMA JOSEPH) MD, Secretary
- Dr.RAVI D’SOUZA MD, Treasurer
- Sr.MERCY JOHN M.Sc. (NSG), Member
- Dr.KANISHKA DAS MS, DNB, MCH, Member
- Dr.K.R. ANTONY MBBS, DCH, DTCH, Member
A word about our Board members:
- Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji is an illustrious surgeon who set up the occupational and rehabilitation medicine department in Christian Medical College Vellore and was the Director of CMC Vellore. He is a passionate doyen of rural health care.
- Dr Yogesh Jain is a paediatrician from AIIMS, New Delhi who left AIIMS and founded the Jan Swasthya Sahyog in Bilaspur in order to serve the underserved, along with a team of doctors. He continues to serve there and constantly advocates for the health of the poor.
- Dr Aquinas Edassery (Jemma Joseph) is an internist from St John’s medical college Bangalore who left the secondary and tertiary hospital-based healthcare and chose to work as a primary health-care physician. She founded Swasthya Swaraj.
- Dr Ravi D’Souza is a Community medicine specialist from CMC Vellore, passionate about community health and is a public health consultant, living in Bhopal now.
- Ms Mercy John is a senior, well-known nursing educationist, consultant and is the founder and principal of Christian Hospital Nursing School in Bissamcuttack.
- Dr Kanishka Das is a Paediatric surgeon who was head of the dept. of paed-surgery in St John’s medical college for many years and presently the head of the dept in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. He is a famous Odissi dancer too.
- Dr K.R.Antony is a paediatrician who served as programme officer (health & nutrition) of UNICEF for many years and as director of SHRC, Chattisgarh and is a well-known public health consultant
We are a team of doctors, public health specialists, other health professionals, social scientists, educationists, clinic support staff, trainees and grass root level workers.
- Dr Aquinas Edassery (Jemma Joseph) is the driving force behind Swasthya Swaraj. She is an internist from St. Johns Medical College, Bengaluru who listened to an inner call and chose to work with neglected communities as a primary health
care physician. - Young enthusiastic doctors who joined the team from the very beginning brought ideas and an almost infectious enthusiasm. Drs Ashish Changola, Sachin & Dhanashree, Abhijit & Ashwini contributed in a big way and were truly change makers. Presently Drs Randall Sequeira, an internist from St John’s medical college, Sandeep Praharsha, a global health specialist go out of their way to make health care available and accessible to the poor. Drs Ajay Meher and Anuja Pardhee are the public health specialists who stitch the whole programme together and make it well co-ordinated and effective. Ms Deeparani Patra and Ms Rajalaxmi Behera are seasoned social scientists in the team. Mahir Bhatt is an engineer who adds colour and dynamism to the team.
- Sister Angelina Thomas is a senior lab technician with versatile talents and creativity. She works silently behind the screen managing the laboratory, training the lab technician assistants, housekeeping and other mundane things needed to run a community health programme. Other senior lab technicians are Anup Panda and Durga Prasad Gupta. All three senior lab techs are committed to the cause of Swasthya Swaraj and eager to make the diagnostic services more and more efficient, round the clock.
- A team of 6 trained nurses with Sister Biji Mary as the senior nurse make the centres truly 24x7 health centres. Clinic support staff in both the centres work hand in hand with them.
- A team of 15 educated tribal women are being trained as a new cadre of revolutionary community nurses in innovative ways and they contribute to the clinic and community-based health programmes. 10 educated tribal youth work full time as field animators and few others as shikhya sathis.
- Mr Vikram Paswan is the Health Administrator, Prakash Parida is the accountant and Bhabagrahi Bag as the data entry operator constitute the admin team.