MEDICAL ALUMNIHEALTH CARE ASSISTANCE FUND
“Not to be ministered unto”
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An initiative in realization of a felt financial need of many dedicated physicians who serve in peripheral hospitals and who require specialized care at CMC Vellore
Medical Alumni – Health Care Assistance Fund
Medical Alumni – Health Care Assistance Fund DOCTORS TRAINED AT THE CHRISTIAN MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL, VELLORE AND WORKING IN A NEEDY AREA
BACKGROUND: There are many physicians who are medical alumni of CMC Vellore who work a lifetime in small hospitals in rural and resource challenged settings. A few unexpectedly need specialized, sophisticated care for a critical illness. Often, these individuals do not have the financial resources to meet the expenses. This initiative is to offset, at least a part of the financial burden of those thus affected. It is being planned, launched and administered through the generosity of world-wide medical alumni of CMC Vellore and the administration of CMC at Vellore who have indicated a willingness to contribute their time, and money for an extremely worthy cause.
ELIGIBILITY:
CMC Medical graduates who have completed an undergraduate or post graduate course Should ordinarily have completed 15 years of steadfast and significant service in needy areas, in mission service, or in disadvantaged and under-recognised circumstances, normally within India or in the country of origin.
FUND REQUEST PROCEDURE: The Executive Board of this initiative will have the ultimate and final authority on how the fund is managed. Requests for financial support will be received by them in writing with supporting documents and a decision made on eligibility within three business days. When a decision to support is made, the funds will be directly transferred towards the treatment at CMCH, Vellore.
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Medical Alumni – Health Care Assistance Fund
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD: The Executive Board shall be responsible for the day to day running of the program and its resources and shall work within the scope of the budgetary restrictions of the fund. The Executive Board shall report to the Governing Body. The Executive Board shall comprise the following:
The Director of CMC / an Associate Director representing the Director Medical Superintendent of CMC / a representative of the Medical Superintendent President of the Alumni Association Secretary of the Alumni Association A nominated alumnus of CMC outside the institution for a term of 3 years, and which can be extended for one additional term
The Governing Body The Governing body shall review and ratify the decisions made by the Executive Board. The Governing Body shall comprise of the following:
All members of the Executive Board Treasurer of the Alumni Association Any 2 of the founding members of this initiative for the initial 3 years One Alumnus holding office in one of the supporting organizations referred to as ‘the friends of Vellore’ and foundations outside of India - UK, Australia, North America – by rotation every 2 years.
THE FACILITATORS: Susie Samuel, Raman Rajagopalan and Ponna Thurairatnam shall officiate as facilitators and oversee all aspects of the launch, popularization, familiarization, documentation, constitution writing and administration with associated timelines for the scheme until the Executive Board is appointed. They shall coordinate with the relevant intramural authorities to expedite the establishment of the scheme.
THE CORPUS: The Corpus shall be built on the goodwill and philanthropic gestures of the global alumni. The Indian contributions shall receive tax deductible status and foreign contributions need to be channelled within their countries of residence through the respective Friends of Vellore or Foundations or Committees that have the local Revenue Agency’s authority to deem such donations as charitable. The Corpus needs to reach ₹10,000,000 (₹1 Crore) so that the prevalent interest rates can be taken advantage of to generate ₹750,000 (₹7.5 Lakhs) annually which will be termed the Support Fund. A maximum of 10% of the Support Fund can be utilized annually for administrative and overhead expenditure. 2
Medical Alumni – Health Care Assistance Fund
GENERAL FUNDING GUIDELINES (SUGGESTED BY ALUMNI) 1. A maximum of 7.5% of the corpus will be available annually for medical expense support constituting the Support Fund. This percentage may be adjusted according to prevailing interest rates. 2. A maximum of 50% of the total gross bill for hospitalization or a designated rupee amount will be covered by this fund provided the annual allotment for disbursement has not been exhausted. 3. A non-negotiable precondition for consideration for support is that all professional fees must be waived by the concerned caregivers in accordance with the Hippocrates’ Oath. 4. Unused annual allotted funds for support will be added to the corpus at the end of the stipulated year end date. 5. Generally, a beneficiary will avail of funds only once in a lifetime. 6. Support can be claimed posthumously by the legal next of kin. 7. Executive Board members shall refrain from decision making when there is an obvious conflict of interest. Alternative temporary members shall be appointed by the Governing Body in these circumstances. 8. The name of the beneficiary, the quantum of support provided and the circumstances and conditions thereof shall remain strictly confidential with the Executive Board members only.
RISKS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Inability to generate the corpus target of ₹10,000,000. Low utilization or sub optimal beneficiary interest. Negative publicity and inability to recruit Executive Board. Change in economic climate with low interest rates. Collapse of fund due to an unforeseen national or global calamity.
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