Zimm Mobile Van to Train Orthopedic Doctors in 53 Cities

Parent Category: News and Stories
Posted in: Product on Friday, 08 October 2010 00:00

There’s good news for patients in need of basic orthopaedic surgeries related to arthroplasty as well as trauma procedures. A fully equipped van-the Zimmer Mobile Learning Centre-will tour over 12,000 km in 120 days covering 53cities to train young surgeons/residents and paramedical staff in caring for these patients. The idea is to deliver to these carers high-quality, cost-effective learning at their doorstep.

Ms Judy Reinke, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy in India, flagged off the Zimmer Van at 1230 hours on 17 September, 2010. Speaking to media persons she said, “The van is an important and innovative approach in India both for people living in cities and in smaller metros. The training it offers is appropriate for younger ortho surgeons living in smaller cities. Such public education for communities promises better healthcare for India.”
 
The van has a mock operation theatre setup, a full array of display products including gender knee for women, real-time instruments and sawbones, audio-visual aids, pull-down workstations, backlit display frames and seating. Besides educating orthopaedic surgeons and paramedical personnel, the van will conduct community seminars and increase awareness among the general public.
 
The journey of the van was flagged off in Delhi in a small ceremony on Friday, 17 September at 1230 hours. In the next 15 days the van will travel to Varanasi (September 21), Kolkata (24-25 September) and Goa (1-3 October). The van will further cover major forthcoming conferences in Kanha and Jaipur.

Earlier, the van was parked in Medanta - The Medicity in Gurgaon and a demonstration of its instruments made to paramedics and orthopedics staff. Renowned orthopedics surgeon Dr Rajagopal said, “It’s an amazingly novel concept where cutting-edge technology is useful to not only paramedics but also the population at large.” He added, “It’s a great learning tool and this tour is a great way of disseminating information.”
 
The van is part of the Zimmer Institute’s initiative to offer quality educational opportunities to orthopedic surgeons at different levels of learning, with sensitivity towards learner needs, language and culture. Zimmer is a global leader in  restoring mobility to people suffering from knee, hip, shoulder and back pain through its first-rate orthopedic products and solutions. This initiative is not just restricted to
select hospitals in certain cities but would also extend and involve Resident Welfare Associations, clubs, parks and seminar venues where experts deliver talks on arthritis.

According to Sanjay Banerjee, Managing Director, Zimmer India Pvt ltd, “This initiative is yet another contribution by Zimmer in its role as responsible corporate  citizen towards capacity building in form of trained surgeons and paramedical personnel enabling them to serve orthopedic patients better. For this target group  which otherwise may be constrained by time away from workplace for attending such programs, it shall provide a cost-effective access to high quality learning opportunities and updated training curriculum.”

The van will also have on display and demo Zimmer’s state of the art solutions for things such as knee replacement (high flexibility knee which accommodates higher degree of bending for the patients undergoing total knee replacement, and Gender Knee-world’s first and only knee replacement shaped to fit a woman’s anatomy.