Our Projects
GMCANA Projects at GMC & GGH
It all began with a Xerox machine in 1994. As Dr. Sriharidas Kanuru, the then President of GMCANA, was visiting the college, the GMC leadership impressed upon him the need for a copy machine as one was not available anywhere on the campus. He arranged for an immediate purchase of a ModiXerox tabletop copier with supplies and an extended warranty at a cost of Rs. 1,20,000. On March 24, 1994, the copier was installed in the library where the students could copy materials for themselves and copy and distribute educational materials in the class rooms as well. This was the first direct contribution of GMCANA to GMC. The college collected a minimal fee from users, and that money was used to maintain the copier, which lasted for more than 10 years before a new one had to be purchased in 2006. In many ways, this first project portended the future. GMC/GGH identifies a need, GMCANA strives to fulfill the need and ensures that any purchased equipment has a longterm warranty, GMC/GGH takes care to maintain it efficiently and the users benefit immensely. We have come a long way in the ensuing 28 years with Guntur Medical College Alumni of North America taking on many projects, both big and small, across several departments and areas at GMC and GGH.
Whether it is a copy machine costing only a few thousands of rupees or a modern patient care building costing more than 30 crores, the principle and the mission remain the same – doing our best to ensure that Guntur Medical College and Government General Hospital be the premier modern medical education facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, staff and community at large.
GMCANA Auditorium
It has been the home for several national and state level conferences. It is heartening to note that annual College Day, Fresher’s Day, Graduation Day, and several alumni class reunions are being hosted there regularly. The memorable graduating class photos and reunion pictures on the steps of the auditorium provide an incredible amount of satisfaction to all of us that were part of this mega project. The airconditioned reading room is very popular with students. We took up some repairs and updates to the AV equipment and changed several light bulbs to LED for improved efficiency. Some cosmetic work and landscaping were done around the building. We have installed an elevator to serve those in need. A dedicated electric transformer is now replacing the need to rely on expensive generators.
Since the historic grand opening during GMC family’s first Global Alumni Homecoming (GAH) in January 2005, several hundred programs including national and regional professional conferences, annual meetings and college functions like convocations and fresher’s days have enjoyed the beautiful facilities. Many of our alumni have delivered lecture presentations in their fields of expertise. Tripuraneni CME Center is equipped with internet access and subscriptions to multiple medical journals and provides a comfortable and popular study zone. We upgraded many facilities, AV equipment, and added an elevator.
The convocation class pictures of recent years on the front steps of the Auditorium fill our hearts with immense pleasure and gratification to know that the Auditorium is truly serving the intended mission of GMCANA in the form of a modern educational facility that many of us were not privileged to when we were students.
During Covid pandemic period, the activities were temporarily halted, but picked up again in recent times. From 2018 to date, over 100 events took place in the Auditorium and numerous educational activities at Dr. KRR Mohana Rao Seminar Hall. Of note are AP Medical council Zonal CME, Awareness of CPR to High school students of Guntur district by Dr. Lokesh Edara and the Collector, APCOG 2019 OB Gyne state conference, APICON 2019 47th annual conference, and District Court judges’ program to name a few.
Several alumni have chosen GMCANA Auditorium as the venue for celebrating their class reunions. Of note are the Golden Jubilees, Silver Jubilees, Ruby Jubilees reunions of alumni from many classes. On a financial note, we are very happy to note that the Auditorium is self-sufficient. We only offer material help with repairs and some areas of upkeep.
Podila Prasad - GMCANA Super Speciality and Trauma Centre
The Podila Prasad-GMCANA Super Specialty and Trauma Centre was conceived to provide specialty services with main focus as a trauma centre. The idea started in 2006 to build a cellar and G + 5 floors. Foundation was laid at additional cost to hold all the 6 floors. Owing to the enormous cost increase, a decision was made to build only cellar and G plus 3 floors with plans to expand in the future.
The project was marked as the first public private partnership between AP Government and GMCANA and set a precedent for future projects. The center was inaugurated by the then Governor Sri Narasimham in February 2014.
Podila-GMCANA Centre soon became the heart of GGH and started providing state of the art medical care in Neurology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology and Cardiology. With modular operation theaters, the Cardiology and CT surgery departments were able to do many cardiac transplants as well as numerous cardiac surgeries. Nephrology Dept was able to provide dialysis on three shift basis and urology dept pioneering Kidney transplants. Casualty is providing medical care to 880 to 1000 patients per day. The Neurology Dept and stroke center are one of the best in south India. Joint replacements were done in this facility as well. Recently the Government added 30 additional ICU beds to the Trauma center at a cost of Rs 3 crores.
The next phase: two more floors
There is an acute need for additional beds and operation theaters for specialty services, including Gastric surgery, Urology and Plastic surgery. After serious consideration, the Executive committee and Board of Trustees of GMCANA decided to build an additional two floors, with the support of the HS, DME, APMDC and the present Superintendent Dr. Kiran Kumar, who helped secure a GO and MOU. Bhargava Associates, who designed the original structure, were commissioned to draw the plans, with Dr. Uma Gavani, instrumental in the original Podila project plans, working with the architects.
The plans include additional 4 operation theaters (with an option for 2 GI procedure rooms), an acute care unit with 12 beds and additional 120 patient beds to accommodate Gastroenterology, Nephrology and Urology departments. The estimate for each floor is Rs 12 to 15 crores. Government gave a similar GO as the Kanuri GMCANA MCH Centre, in which we can select our own contractor, saving us a lot of funds. This will bring additional Postgraduate and DM/MCH seats to GMC/GGH, in line with GMCANA’s mission to advance medical education and patient care at our alma mater.
