Breathing quality back in to the lives of respiratory patients

Dr Poorvi Shah – Chest Physiotherapist and founding team member of the Pratibha Prabhakar Pulmonary Rehab Center talks about how the center came in to existence and how the team (backed by leading pulmonologist, Dr Prabhudesai) continues to help patients with lung diseases improve their quality of life

Dr Poorvi Shah

The term “ Pulmonary Rehabilitation” was not new for me, as my thesis had centered around pulmonary rehabilitation in chronic respiratory patients. But the idea of starting a new venture of a pulmonary rehabilitation centre in Mumbai was rather new for me.

With a Masters in Physiotherapy (specialized in cardio-respi) , I was more than aware of how beneficial pulmonary rehabilitation could be to patients with respiratory disorders. 

However, doubt still clouded my mind. The huge lingering question was - wheather this idea or concept would work here in india, and in Mumbai?

Dr. Prabhudesai

A huge challenge was thrown at me when one of the best and most renowned chest physicians, Dr.Prabhudesai (Chest Physician, Lilavati Hospital) asked me to help him set up and run a pulmonary rehabilitation centre.

While a part of me was instantly excited to take on this task, another part of me was very confused, nervous and unsure about bringing this concept to a country as nascent as India, which unlike the west had little or no awareness in this space.

Moreover, leaving behind a good secure job at a big tertiary hospital to start something in an unexplored area of physiotherapy practice could have proven to be a risky move for my career.

After mulling over it and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to listen to my heart.  My gut feeling said that I should do this. With god’s grace & my brother’s encouragement, I took upon the challenge & went ahead with setting up the Rehab centre along with Dr. Ashwini Sansare (who is now pursuing her masters degree in USA).

The idea, which was born in May 2011 began to take root and materialize as we started work towards the development of the centre.

The team of doctors at the center

With a vision & aim to help respiratory patients improve their quality of life, we started the centre & saw our first patient on  11^th Jan 2012. The inauguration function was held on 29^Th Jan 2012 and since then there has been no looking back.

From JULY 2012 , Dr. Priyanka Jain & Dr. Nicole Pinto joined our team and we now work together towards fulfilling Dr, Prabhudesai’s dream. We are thankful to him and continue to peruse it under his guidance and encouragement.

Seeing my patients who note a drastic improvement in their quality of life, months in to the rehab program, reassures me that I couldn’t have made a better decision when I chose to be part of the team that started the Pratibha Prabhakar Pulmonary Rehab Center.

To know more about our pulmonary rehab program, call us on +91-9892038213, 022-28713081 OR drop in at 101/1st floor, kesarinath building, opposite Vijay Sales, s. v. road, Goregaon (w), Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400062