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 11th Jan 2012. The inauguration
function was held on 29Th 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
