Health Maintenance Program (MATRUSEVA)
In order to provide a “Health Maintenance Program” for women from lower socio-economic sections of the society with first pregnancy and beyond (all women who are sexually active come under high risk for Cancer Cervix and all tobacco using women (mishri – a form of tobacco paste used for work stimulation by poor women in Maharashtra state of India) for oral cavity cancers), an institution by name MATRUSEVA has been established w.e.f. 1st Aug 1998 and was inaugurated on 17 Aug 1998.

While providing free consultancy and subsidized medicines, the basic aim of MATRUSEVA is to improve the state of health of all mothers in a given specified area since mother plays a very important role in running the house in the Indian way of life and sets a ‘clock of convenience’ to the family. There is a common consensus that a woman (common cases) should be given free education in her childhood and before getting married and her health should be taken care of by the society, after she acquires motherhood to enable her to run the house effectively. “If the lady of the house is educated, the whole family is educated, if the lady of the house is healthy, the whole family is benefited”.

Target Group
The target group is women from the lower socio-economic group of the community, who are sexually active or acquired motherhood. The health maintenance program involves providing free treatment for common health disorders in target population and to screen them for diseases that require high cost treatment such as cancer, tuberculosis, etc. or even dreaded diseases such as AIDS.

The effort is also aimed at carrying out a study on cancer cervix and finding out ways and means to minimize the incidence in a catchment area over the next six to eight years. The project has been conceived to benefit women with first pregnancy and beyond. To start with, four areas – Bhavani Peth, Ganj Peth, Lohiyanagar and Kasewadi have been earmarked with a population of 25,000 women to benefit from this project.

Services Provided
MATRUSEVA has been providing free treatment for common health disorders to women and has also been providing medicines at a highly subsidized cost of Rs. 10/- per day at a flat rate. In addition a qualified gynaecologist also provides free consultancy on gynaec and obstetric cases to the needy.

The women thus attending MATRUSEVA for even common health disorders are educated and encouraged to undergo periodic screening. All such women are put through Pap Smear Test, Breast Physical Examination and Oral Cavity Examination. These tests are undertaken free of cost as minimal screening requirement and carried out regularly as practiced in the advanced countries. This is, perhaps, the only or one of the few possible ways that we can get women in India and encourage them to undergo periodic screening for cancer year after year and keep a close follow up to minimise the incidence of cancer. For patients suspected of infected with HIV, blood samples are sent for testing and they are counseled. Their husbands are involved in the process of counseling.

Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment gifted a digital Colposcope worth Rs. 5.5 lakhs under the Matching Grant Project. The high tech equipment helps in identifying the tissue disorders in cervix.

Beneficiaries
On an average, approximately 20 to 35 patients from the target area are reporting every day at present (during the year 2002-2003) and the number of beneficiaries is likely to cross 40 patients per day during the current financial year. Over 7249 patients have been the beneficiaries, which include 942 new patients registered during the year 2002-2003.

Women coming to MATRUSEVA are assisted with remedial measures such as cauterization, cryosurgery and LEEP for prevention, early detection and diagnosis of Ca cervix in women. They are also counseled to observe family planning measures, which is very relevant to population control in India.

Matruseva Pathology Laboratory
In a bid to make Pathology investigations available at a very reasonable price, MATRUSEVA Pathology Laboratory was opened on 1st January 2000 in the premises of MATRUSEVA to function during off hours. By this we are able to provide Pathology investigations at 20% of the costs in the market and some free for very poor patients.

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