“Mental health is precious. Treatment for the mentally ill is of vital importance. And it is more than our duty to offer the best possible treatment to the mentally ill patients in the neglected region of Marathwada,”

It is with this ardent feeling and a sense of duty that the sapling of our dream came into being, in the form of a humble consulting at Khadkeshwar in Aurangabad. The day was 27th October 1979. We were not, that day, what we are today.. Very few in this region had felt the necessity of this service at that time. But, in due course of time all realized its need. Shanti Nursing Home came into existence.. We started receiving appreciation from the people, and we also received the deserving honor, “The Best Private Psychiatry Hospital in the State” award from the Government of Maharashtra..

DSC_0813

In the field of Psychiatry, an important prerequisite is to create social awareness about the psychological illnesses. Diagnosing mental illness and treating it properly is extremely essential, but it may prove to be a futility if there is no continuity in the treatment. All these hurdles could be overcome only because of the sincere and genuine efforts taken by Dr. Vinayak Patil who tirelessly worked with dedication. I personally consider Dr. Patil getting associated with this mission in 1982 as a milestone in our long journey.

In 1986, our hospital – Shanti Nursing Home started functioning on a spacious campus at the village Kanchanwadi, which seemed a little too far away from the city then. Seven kilometers separated the IPD from the consulting at Khadkeshwar. Precisely at this juncture, Dr. Patil had to go to Mumbai for higher education. How was I to look after the affairs on two different fronts all alone? It was a great relief and a sheer coincidence that I chanced to meet Mrs. Shaila Subhash Vaidya, the only Occupational Therapist in Marathwada at that time, with remarkable knowledge of psychology. She had just then come with rich experience from Ranchi Mental Hospital. Her cooperation invaluably helped us maintain the quality and continuity in the hospital work. This was the second important stage in the development of our hospital.

The expanse of the work in the hospital was widening and inspite of frantic efforts, it was difficult to cope with the requirements. It was at this crucial stage, in 1989, that Dr. Anuradha Barhale – who had by then firmly established herself as a Gynecologist – gave up her practice and rushed to help us in serving the mentally ill. Dr. Anuradha Barhale getting attached to us helped enrich the standards, quality and the repute of Shanti Nursing Home. This was the third and extremely important stage in the sweeping development of our hospital.

We could concentrate on our work peacefully just because Mr. Vijay Nandapurkar carried out the most complex responsibility of running the Hospital Pharmacy.

Psychiatry was a faculty relatively new and little known in the then Marathwada. An Anesthetist is vitally needed for ECT. Not many anesthetists were available at that time. But Dr. Pramod Lale, a renowned anesthetist, started visiting us – only on a simple request by me. In his absence, we were greatly helped by Dr. Jagadeesh Kandi and Dr. Dilip Deshmukh. However, in 1985, Dr. Sanjeev Deshpande started working with us as an anesthetist. He has a passion for learning and love for teaching. Dr. Sanjeev Deshpande and Dr. Patil gave this department the existing standard. Another anesthetist Dr. Manik Deshpande is with us too. All these friends paved down the way to smooth working of the hospital, and just because they have been efficiently shouldering the responsibilities, I could dedicate myself to the development of other departments and enrich them.

The incessant work and the soulful dedication of all of us culminated into the prestigious “Best Private Psychiatry Hospital in Maharashtra” award which we received at the hands of the then Maharashtra Health Minister Shri. Digvijay Khanwilkar.

Now, the second generation has joined us in this task.. more enthusiastically..  with newer ideas and fresher spirit..

And this is the prelude which assures the ceaseless and meaningful continuity of the holy mission we have undertaken..