Humans of Safe Care, Saving Lives

This is the ninth in a series of profiles of the dedicated individuals behind the Safe Care, Saving Lives project. Safe Care, Saving Lives is a quality improvement project to improve neonatal care in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 

Dr. Venkateshwara CEO and Chief Pediatrician, Venkata Padma Hospital, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh
Venkateshwara
CEO and Chief Pediatrician,
Venkata Padma Hospital,
Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh

Pediatrics has always been a passion for me, not a subject or a specialization. I came from humble beginnings, the son of a sanitary inspector in the municipal corporation. My mother was a homemaker. I was brought up alongside two brothers and a sister. I was the eldest, born in Gosha Hospital when my mother was just fifteen years old. I was always good at studies. I remember being promoted from the third to the sixth grade directly in Ankapally, where I studied.

My father always wanted a better life for me, so he pushed me toward science and wanted me to become a physician. I feel immensely blessed to have trained under my guru, Pampana Venkateshwara Rao, who showed me the way to enjoy studies and achieve any goals that I set for myself.

The happiest moment of my life was in 1988, when I won the gold medal in pediatrics, which had not been given to any student at Andhra University in the past thirteen years. In eighteen years of practice, I have faced many challenges. I have always believed that the solution to any problem lies within the problem itself.

Venkata Padma Hospital is a labor of my love, in many ways. I have grown it from a single bed clinic to a 130 bed specialty hospital. I remain immensely grateful to the community for their support.

We are all here for a reason, and I believe my reason is to save lives!