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A
Brief History The Early Years
On May 24, 1981, right in the
midst of the 3rd North American Telugu Conference conducted by the
Telugu Association of North America (TANA), several alumni of Guntur
Medical College (GMC) gathered in a large room at the Oak Park and River
Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois. They decided that it was time
for the Guntur Medical College Alumni living in North America to have an
association of their own in order to meet the
goals of raising money and material to promote teaching and
patient care needs at Guntur Medical College and its affiliated
institutions, and serving the needs of the alumni in North America.
Dr. Ramaiah Samala ('54) was elected as the First President, and
a committee chaired by Dr. Rama Rao Kaza ('65) drafted the constitution.
Other office bearers at that time included Dr. Seetharama Rao Bobba
('60) and Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad Dandamudi ('64). Guntur Medical
College Alumni of North America (GMCANA) was formally incorporated as a
General Not For Profit Corporation in the State of Missouri on December
31st, 1981. The First Reunion
During the early days, GMCANA would meet during the TANA
Conferences. Dr. Srikrishna Murthy Nuthi ('59) succeeded Dr. Ramaiah as
President. During his term, a GMCANA Grand Reunion and Convention was
organized at the Rosemont Westin Hotel in Chicago on September 2-4,
1989. A membership directory was also published at that time marking the
occasion. Dr. Ramaraja Bhushanudu Yalavarthi ('67) was the Convener for
this very successful reunion. This reunion is a milestone in the
organization’s history as the alumni met for the first time by
themselves and could dedicate enough time to discuss, without
distraction, issues relevant to GMC and GMC alumni. This meeting
established the organization as a real viable entity, imparted
enthusiasm, and spurred the growth of the organization. Since
then, the reunions now occurring biannually, held in the even numbered
years, have become a major social event for the alumni and their
families. (Since 1992, alumni of Rangaraya Medical College have been
conducting their reunions together with GMCANA; Kurnool Medical College
and Andhra Medical College have joined the group at different times). In
odd-numbered years, GMCANA conducts a general body meeting at the time
of the North American Telugu Conferences conducted by TANA.
The Second reunion was held the next year in Nashville, on
November 9-11, 1990. At this reunion, Dr. Ramaraja Bhushanudu Yalavarthi
was elected as the third President of GMCANA.
A new constitution was adopted.
Decisions were taken regarding new projects that included CG
Ramamurthy Memorial Fund, the first endowment fund setup by GMCANA. A
check for $14,000 was sent to GMC to setup an annual continuing
education seminar in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Ramakrishna Rao
Pinnamaneni ('58) and Dr. Sriharidas Kanuru ('60) began coordinating the
Alumni Building Project raising $100,000 within a year. GMCANA began
publishing a newsletter, Alumni
News, in April 1991with Dr. V. Chowdary Jampala ('72) was the first
Editor. The newsletter ensured that the alumni are kept informed of all
developments effecting GMC and GMCANA. The
Third reunion of GMCANA took place at Falls Church, VA (a suburb of
Washington, DC), on August 21-23, 1992.
Dr. Sriharidas Kanuru was elected as President. Dr. Peraiah
Sudanagunta ('58) was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
A copy machine was purchased for use at GMC. Several new endowments were
set up at GMC to provide continuing medical education in Cardiology,
Internal Medicine, Maternal and Fetal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics,
Orthopedics, and Health Education. Dr.
Mangaraju Vanapalli ('58) became President at the Fourth reunion in St.
Louis on August 12-14, 1994. Dr. Seetaramarao Bobba was elected the
Chairman of Board of Trustees. Efforts were undertaken to supply books
and journals to the GMC Library. However, the Alumni Building Project
got stalled due to bureaucratic hurdles and some of the alumni began
questioning the commitment of the leaders of the parent institution. Development of The
Strategic Plan
Dr. V. Chowdary Jampala became President at the Fifth reunion in
Atlanta on August 9-11, 1996. Dr. Mani Akkineni ('64) was elected the
Chairman of Board of Trustees. During their term, GMCANA entered the
electronic age with its own site on the World Wide Web at www.gmcana.org.
Dr. Ravikumar Tripuraneni ('71), Chairman of Communications Committee,
took the leadership in developing this web site which has become a major
communication tool for the organization.
GMCANA donated funds to install a bust of Dr. DJ Reddy at GMC and
once again supplied books and journals to the library. The
Superintendent of the Government General Hospital (GGH) contacted GMCANA
in 1996 asking for help to rejuvenate the hospital and help with the
training resources. Drs. Venkata Subbarao Uppuluri ('63) and Aruna
Prasad Kancherla ('60) visited GMC and GGH in 1997 on fact-finding
missions and consulted with the leaders of the two institutions as well
as local alumni. They made a preliminary assessment of the situation and
determined that the training resources of the institutions were at an
all time low, but the attitudes of the leaders of the institution were
really positive. They felt that the time is ripe for GMCANA to help GMC
once again become a great training institution if GMCANA and the
leadership at GMC approached it the right way. Dr. Jampala and the
executive committee developed a strategic plan for the rejuvenation of
the institutions and the efforts kicked into high gear. At the urging of
the then Member of Parliament from Guntur, Sri Rayapati Sambasiva Rao,
the Andhra Pradesh State Government approved Dr. Jampala's request to
appoint a Special Officer for development of GMC and GGH.
Redefining
the Mission
At the Sixth Reunion in Pittsburgh (August 14-16, 1998), Dr.
Aruna Prasad Kancherla took over as the President and Dr. Venkata
Subbarao Uppuluri became President- Elect. Dr. Ravikumar Tripuraneni and
Dr. Gowtham Mulpur ('75) were elected as Secretary and treasurer. Dr.
Ammani Dasari ('57) became the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. This
team immediately set out to refine the strategic plan with a focus group
meeting in Chicago on November 11, 1998. The organization defined its
mission: "To help develop
Guntur Medical College and Government General Hospital-Guntur, as
premier modern Medical Education facilities for undergraduate and
postgraduate medical students, staff, and medical community at
large". With
the mission clear, GMCANA acted quickly. A fundraising campaign was
developed. A set of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) and
answers were developed to communicate easily with all members. Several
fundraising dinners were held around USA. The web site and the
newsletter provided all the alumni with the information regarding the
various developments at GMC and GGH. In
a period of twelve months, GMCANA, with large donations from the alumni,
provided GGH an X-ray unit, a fetal ultrasound monitor, a chemistry
analyzer, a modern three-room operating theatre, and a large number of
text books to the library. A Research Endowment Fund and a Scholarship
Fund were established at GMC. A Continuing Medical Education Center with
3 computers, multimedia software and Internet access was established
along with an additional reading room with a capacity for 60 students
was also established. In
addition, an electronic teaching microscope with TV attachment for the
department of pathology, a bronchoscope and PFT machine for the Govt.
Fever hospital and an image intensifier for the X-ray department were
also donated. Suddenly,
the postgraduates and medical students have a chance to learn and
practice modern medicine, and their enthusiasm is revolutionizing the
learning culture at Guntur Medical College. In the process, the quality
of medical care delivered to the indigent people in the area has
improved tremendously. Auditorium
and New Buildings Dr.
Venkata Subbarao Uppuluri was
installed as President at the Seventh Reunion in New York (August 4-6,
2000). Dr. Ravikumar Tripuraneni became President- Elect.
Drs. Gowtham Mulpur and Nagarjuna Ponugoti (’72) were elected
as Secretary and Treasurer with Dr. Kaza Ramarao ('64) taking over as
the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. This
team continued on the gains made by the previous leadership. They
maintained constant communication with leadership of GMC and GGH;
actively participated in the deliberations of the Hospital Development
Society (HDS) chaired by the District Collector Hiralal Samaria,
kept in touch with the local legislators, the Health Minister and
the Chief Minister; and monitored all developments relevant to the
institutions. The GMCANA leadership visited the parent facilities often
and personally kept track of all projects and development activities.
Communication between GMCANA leadership and the members has improved a
great deal and funds were raised at a record pace. The
tenure of this committee is distinguished by several remarkable events:
The GMCANA auditorium project, on the anvil for more than a decade,
finally got off the ground with a combination of funds from GMCANA and
the state government and construction has finally begun in April of
2002. This state of the art facility would remain a lasting symbol of
the commitment of the North American Alumni of GMC to their parent
institution. The generosity of GMCANA members has led to the renovation
of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, and a new Obstetrics and Gynecology
wing. Donations for various
other equipment and teaching activities continued at an accelerated
pace. Comprehensive
Proposal Dr.
Uppuluri and the GMCANA leadership developed a Comprehensive Proposal
for Improvement of Medical Education and teaching hospitals in Andhra
Pradesh and presented the proposal to the Chief Minister in December
2001. The Chief Minister agreed to implement some of the changes
recommended in the proposal including opening the hospital for paying
patients. Elsewhere
in this directory, one can find a comprehensive list of the many
projects that GMCANA is involved in at GMC and GGH. Clearly, GMC and GGH
have turned the corner and thanks to the support and guidance of GMCANA
are once again becoming the leaders in medical education in Andhra
Pradesh. We Care! Several
people from Guntur have been helpful to GMCANA in achieving the above.
Besides the administrations of GGH and GMC, many local alumni and
faculty from Guntur have been instrumental in these projects. Drs.
Nutakki Venkateswara Rao, Venigalla Balabhaskara Rao and G.
Krishnamurthy, Asha Thota, Renuka I V have
been acting as liaisons between GMCANA and GMC/GGH. Dr. Anji Reddy,
first as the superintendent of GGH and later as the Director General of
Medical and health Services, AP state provided the necessary
administrative leadership to create the necessary atmosphere to bring
back GGH’s eminence as a premier medical center. GMCANA heartily
thanks each and every one of them. All
of this could not have happened without the generosity of the caring
members of GMCANA. Several
volunteers spend countless hours in planning and executing the various
projects. The alumni generously donate significant amounts of money to
develop GMC and GGH, two institutions that they care a lot about. With
new vigor, focus, and dedication, GMCANA, thanks to its large hearted
donors and a strong volunteer force, has been forging ahead towards
attaining its goals. We Care!
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