In a special session on ABP News’ India vs Corona 2.0 e-Conclave, Dr. Geetika Patel (Medical Director and Trustee, Parul University) put a spotlight on the initiatives taken by her University towards combating COVID-19. She also shared her key learnings from the crisis.
Relating COVID-19 to an exam, Dr. Patel said, “If we consider the first wave of COVID-19 to be an exam, one would say, it was easy and we passed it. However, if we consider the second wave as the same – I’d say it was tough and we weren’t fully prepared to tackle it.”
Highlighting the University’s initiatives, she said, “Currently, we have 30,000 students in our university. So, in order to instill the values of social responsibility in them, we started a special ‘social responsive cell’. Last year, we had donated food packages to migrant laborers as a part of the initiatives carried out by the cell.”
“Further, Parul University has treated around 5000 patients and donated 600 beds to the government. In terms of initiatives taken for the staff - we had provided one month advance salary to everyone and offered financial aid to all employees and their families who were directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19. Plus, psychological counselling was provided to the students who were stressed or facing mental health issues amidst the pandemic.” She added.
ABP News initiated this special conclave to understand the impact of COVID-19 on different sectors and communities. Through a series of conversations with the people who are leading the fight against Covid-19, this edition of India vs Corona e-Conclave looked at how businesses and industries are responding to the crisis, with compassion and innovation.
Sharing her thoughts on India’s fight against COVID-19, Dr. Patel further stated, “We may have overcome the major hurdles of COVID-19 but we still have a long way to go in terms of dealing with this issue in its entirety. Now, we are facing post-covid complications like fungal infections, cardiovascular problems, and other psychological issues. The good thing is, this time we are already preparing ourselves for the third wave. This will surely help us in the long run.”
Apart from this, the conclave delved into various pertinent themes like ‘Tackling Adversity With Innovation’ which involved conversations around business strategies adopted by companies to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their organization, as well as the larger society. Various leaders threw light on how companies are lending a helping hand to the society through their CSR initiatives.