Patients with acute illness, stroke, and traumatic brain injuries, and soon after discharge from the hospital, need post-hospitalization care under an expert multidisciplinary team. People involved in accidents are prone to injuries extending to bone and ligament damage. Recovery from such incidents, sports injuries, or particular health conditions, operations, or orthopedic treatment takes time with the prescribed medicine dosage and rest. In realigning bodily structure and regaining movements, the scientific method of a steady and monitored exercise program helps faster recovery and brings the patient back to normalcy.

Physiotherapy aids in the speedy recovery of patients with acute illness, stroke, accidents, and operative procedures for severe illnesses. It also addresses supportive mechanisms for seniors to cope with their health conditions. Physiotherapy acts as a catalyst in recovery by aligning the bones/human body in the right natural position, with the muscles, tissues, and ligaments getting healed and the injured areas recovering steadily and swiftly.

Regarding the most advanced, comprehensive, and trusted physiotherapy, Dr Sunanda Kandiraju has emerged as the leading expert in helping scores of patients recover from their nightmarish situations. Passionate about delivering quality recovery and healing services through focused and effective physiotherapy at her HCAH SuVitas Holistic Healthcare, Dr Sunanda drive best-in-class rehabilitation outcomes by combining Research with Clinical Implementation and Technology enablement to positively transform her patients’ lives.

The Saga of Medical Excellence

Graduate in Physiotherapy from DDH-2005, Dr Sunanda pursued her Master’s in Musculoskeletal and Sports from the esteemed University of NIMS in 2007. She has been in clinical practice since then, focusing on and enhancing her skills in the recovery and rehabilitation of patients. She began her career as a physiotherapist at Yashoda Hospitals from 2008 till 2011. She joined Suvidha Rehabilitation Center as the HOD-Physiotherapy from 2013 to 2015. From 2015 -till date, she has been associated with HCAH SuVitas Rehabilitation Center. Growing higher, Dr Sunanda became Therapy Head overlooking all the Physiotherapy professionals from 2018-2022. Since then till date, she has been the National Therapy Lead supervising all the crucial operations and decision-making.

Award-Winning Pioneer of Global Best Practices in India

As a pioneer of inpatient transition care facilities in India, HCAH SuVitas serves patients undergoing treatment for serious ailments across neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, and oncology. Combining protocol-based care plans with personalized attention in a home-like environment, HCAH SuVitas helps individuals achieve enhanced strength, functional independence, and overall quality of life to make one Live Again.

*HCAH SuVitas Speciality Recovery Programs

SuVitas, India’s first dedicated inpatient transition care facility, has enabled over 2500 residents to help recover from their injuries/illnesses. Combining evidence-based protocols, personalized attention by an expert multidisciplinary team, and a state-of-the-art facility in a home-like environment, SuVitas specialized rehabilitation programs offer the best of care to ensure Early, Effective, and Empowered Recovery.

Dr Sunanda informs, “Our expert multidisciplinary team has designed disease-specific rehabilitation programs by amalgamating evidence-based global-best practices with the Indian context.”

#Stroke Care- Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in India. Given the epidemic burden and complexity of the requirements, we have crafted comprehensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation care that will fit your personalized rehabilitation care requirements.

Primary Objectives of Stroke Rehabilitation

~Is to restore lost strength, balance, speech, or cognitive functions

~Functional Independence with task-specific training

~Prevent complications and recurrences

~Improved overall quality of life and emotional wellbeing

Comprehensive Rehabilitation in an inpatient facility has a significant role in ensuring the best possible outcomes and improving the overall quality of life after stroke rehabilitation.

Key Components – of the Stroke Recovery Program are

Multidisciplinary Approach

24*7 medical monitoring by doctors, skilled nursing care by a qualified nurse, personalized physiotherapy plan by experienced physiotherapists, the activity of daily life preparation by an occupational therapist, systematic evaluation and therapy by a speech and swallow therapist, prompt respiratory therapy interventions by a respiratory therapist, healthy and nutritious diet by a dietician and ensuring emotional wellbeing by a psychologist.

Stroke Rehab – Powerful Personalized Recovery Stories

*****Mr Deekshitulu, “HCAH SuVitas is certainly up there at the top. I will recommend HCAH SuVitas to my colleagues and friends.”

*****Mr Satyam, “Once we came here, we pretty much felt at home. I thank HCAH SuVitas for the care they have shown us and would recommend the facility to anyone looking for rehab in case of Heart or Brain stroke. Thank you, HCAH SuVitas.”

#Spine Care – Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program

HCAH SuVitas Spinal Cord injury rehabilitation is a specialized inpatient rehabilitation program designed by an expert multidisciplinary rehabilitation team to address the spectrum of requirements for spine care after an injury.

A spinal cord injury is damage to any part of the spinal cord or the nerves at the end of the spinal canal. As this is an extremely sensitive part of the human body and a complex one that impacts all aspects of your life – physical and mental, an injury here can be very serious, even potentially causing permanent disabilities. While injuries can be treated with surgical intervention, in almost all cases of spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation, and pain management are key to a person’s ability to lead a productive and independent life.

Primary Objectives of Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

• Bring back the lost physical and emotional strength
• Functional Independence with adaptive techniques and task-specific training
• Provide required medical care and prevent complications
• Improve overall quality of life and get back to social integration

Key Components of Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation 

Methodical approach Rehabilitation needs of Spinal Cord Injury:

Spinal cord injuries typically require rehabilitation team members from various specialties who should work together to get you the best possible results. HCAH SuVitas Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation team will include a doctor, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a nurse to manage medications and other nursing care needs, a dietitian for a personalized diet plan, and a psychologist to assist with the emotional wellbeing after trauma

After base evaluation by respective multidisciplinary department leads, a personalized goal setting is concluded along with the individual and the family. During the various stages of rehabilitation, therapists will focus on maintaining and strengthening muscle function, redeveloping fine motor skills, and learning adaptive techniques to accomplish ADLs (Activities of daily life). Along the recovery journey, you and your family will be educated on the effects of a spinal cord injury and how to prevent complications, rebuilding your life, and increasing your quality of life and independence.

The duration and outcomes of rehabilitation therapy will depend on multiple factors like the level and severity of the injury and also individual factors and motivation. The sooner one initiates quality rehabilitation, the better the value for overall physical, functional, and overall quality of life.

Personalized Spinal Cord Recovery Story

*****Mr Vinod, “I came to HCAH SuVitas when I was completely helpless and bedridden with all tubes attached. I could not move at all. The nursing care and the physiotherapy team here are remarkable and very supportive. Day by day, my movements improved, stiffness reduced. I am now able to walk with support. I can’t believe that in a month’s time, I am on my feet! This would not have been possible if not for HCAH SuVitas.”

#Trauma Care – Recovering from Brain Injury

HCAH Suvitas Trauma Care is a multidisciplinary team-driven comprehensive rehabilitation program for individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury. Whatever the cause, a fall, bad road traffic accident, or sports injury, quality rehabilitation is a critical component for recovery to normal life.

Primary Objectives of Stroke Rehabilitation

“What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.” Brain injury doesn’t mean the end of life. While a complete treatment for brain injury does not have a predictable end point in all cases, early initiation of specialized rehabilitation can yield significant improvements.

The Need for Rehabilitation is:

• It is to improve physical, functional, and cognitive disabilities.
• To prevent short-term and long-term complications that may arise after injury
• To enhance emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life for active daily living.

Essential Components of Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Where Recovery Happens is key for a successful brain injury rehabilitation program. Environment plays a crucial role in promoting neurological recovery. Dr Sunanda informs, “Our multidisciplinary rehabilitation team will have a structured approach to recovery from brain injury in a well-planned environment equipped with appropriate equipment and tools and well-trained rehab therapists.”

Functional recovery is an important component of a brain injury rehabilitation program that can have achieved by trained therapists in some ideal rehabilitation settings. “During the recovery phase, our expert rehabilitation specialists reinforce paradigms like cognitive stimuli which encourage adaptive, functional transfers and pro-social feedback to the brain.”

Systematic Approach by Experienced Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Team

Early and Intensive rehabilitation interventions shall be given to the patient at the intensive care unit, as required. As soon as the patient shows signs of medical stability, they can be transferred to a specialized inpatient rehabilitation setting.

Individualized rehabilitation programs are designed per the baseline evaluation by multidisciplinary rehabilitation, and a personalized recovery care plan is implemented as per the capabilities of the individual and desired goals.

The program is constantly modified to adapt to the patient’s improving status. Dr Sunanda adds, “Our expert rehabilitation program for brain injury is constantly monitored and evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of specialists to ensure the overall recovery of the patient.” Most importantly, family members or primary caregivers are always educated to actively participate in the recovery plan.

Powerful Personalized Recovery Stories

*****Pradeep, “Finding the strength with each passing day for me had been difficult after a recent road accident. Thanks to HCAH SuVitas, who helped me recover physically as well as emotionally.”

*****Biplab, “Tough times don’t last, though tough people do, with the help and support they get. Thanks to HCAH SuVitas, who have been my biggest support in recovering from a recent road accident and have become my family now. I’m very grateful to HCAH SuVitas.”

#Senior Care – Healthy Ageing and Empowered Living

India is aging fast. Very soon, as the country ranks first in the global population, it will also become home to nearly 32 crore elderly people (above 60 years). Thanks to the tremendous advancements in the healthcare sector, we have a higher life expectancy today. But the question is, are we aging well? Along with longer life, our elderly population is forced to bear the brunt of chronic illnesses and rising medical expenditures. The quality of aging drastically impacts not just the individual but the nation’s overall economic and social status. Geriatric Rehabilitation can be one solution for making the inevitable aging healthy and happy.

HCAH SuVitas Healthy Ageing Program

HCAH SuVitas Healthy Ageing is a comprehensive Geriatrician-led program to address your elders’ Medical, Functional, and Emotional needs.

The program led by a US Board Certified Geriatrician addresses the comprehensive needs of the elders.

In inevitable aging, elders face some common issues – Memory issues, vision and hearing difficulty, and bowel and bladder issues. There can be problems with balance, mobility and a higher risk of falls. Loneliness and a sense of non-belongingness might creep in. They might not be able to manage their own routine as before. In Geriatric Rehabilitation, the special needs of the elderly are taken into astute consideration, and various interventions are offered as per their individual medical profile to help them attain optimum physical, functional, and emotional independence.

# Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care 

Alzheimer’s disease is classified as one of the many incurable diseases. However, medical circles have seen positive results on patients introduced to the many available treatment options like Cognitive Rehabilitation at an early stage.

Cognitive Rehabilitation to Tackle Early Alzheimer’s Disease:

Cognitive rehabilitation is a goal-oriented, personalized care plan designed for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease to enhance their everyday functioning and independence. Evidence-based rehabilitation strategies are corroborated with cognition-focused intervention to reduce a patient’s disability and improve the overall wellbeing and coping abilities. A combination of cognitive stimulation, cognitive training, and daily activities support is offered to patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s or dementia to reverse or slow the disorder’s impact. Rehab care programs with the best success rates stand out for their clinical brilliance (skilled and specialized professionals work on the program), therapeutic innovation (customized programs like art therapy, aroma therapy, healing touch, music therapy, etc., are offered to enhance recovery) and smooth evolution (provides necessary support to improve coping skills for better adaptability to the environment).

#Oncology Rehabilitation

Oncology Rehabilitation is a specialized program for individuals who have undergone any medical treatment or major surgeries due to gastrointestinal, abdominal, and other cancers. It is beneficial in increasing strength, emotional wellbeing, and overall quality of life.

Things We Focus On

Dr Sunanda says, “We design and implement a specialized and personalized rehabilitation plan for every patient. Our expert multidisciplinary team establishes a plan that helps the patient regain strength and optimal functional independence. We assess the patient’s medical condition and set specific goals that are mutually agreed upon. Once the tailor-made treatment plan is in place, we constantly monitor the patient’s progress, evaluate and readjust the program as required.”

Reasons to Choose HCAH SuVitas

She adds, “Physical and psychological support play equal importance when considering patients seeking oncology rehabilitation following surgeries to remove tumors or those ongoing treatments for the same.”

HCAH SuVitas Services for cancer rehabilitation focuses on giving the patient a chance to live normally again and deal with the complications and depressive aftermath of the dreadful diagnosis.

“We provide rehabilitation and support services for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy as a part of their treatment. We understand the side effects of these treatments and provide the patient with effective pain management and psychological support, which is of paramount importance to them during this difficult time.”

Therapies and Treatments We Use – We use a combination of treatments to ensure that the patient moves back to normalcy and as much independence as soon as possible:

Dr Sunanda explains that they also conduct Individual and group therapy to address physical, emotional, and social behavior and wellbeing. Their ongoing patient education and counseling sessions help make the patient and their family emotionally stronger. They focus on working closely with the referring surgeons and physicians and ensuring continuity of care in a medically supervised environment.

Patient Benefits – HCAH SuVitas adopts a very individualized and focused approach to each patient’s needs. Dr Sunanda claims that their oncology rehabilitation program helps patients recover in the best possible way and gain the maximum possible functional capacity. Once rehab program aims to improve physical strength and independence in day-to-day activities, quality of life, and overall wellbeing. Family is an integral part of one rehab program.

Rich and Diverse Experience

Dr Sunanda has evolved from a regular physiotherapist to heading a department with a team of 13 and now managing Therapy Pan India. Her expertise in evaluating and coordinating with a multidisciplinary team to ensure early and efficient care delivery to all the residents is commendable. She has had hands-on working experience since 2008 and has significantly improved her clinical acumen.

Dr Sunanda has been part of tech projects in physiotherapy to develop prototypes as an educator and evaluator, ensuring her vision towards the digital world. She says, “I’ve been part of paper presentations in Neurology, ensuring my contribution to the academics.” From launching departments in the first center to managing departments at multiple centers, thus she is continuously enhancing her professional efficiency. From being a part of India’s first transition care to developing the department, best practices, choosing the right equipment, and ensuring best-in-class service delivery, Dr Sunanda has now spread her wings into digital rehab therapy, an initiative from HCAH to improve professional therapists’ accessibility.

*Our Expert Rehab Services*

~Skilled Nursing Care – “Our skilled nurses provide 24/7 quality nursing care for early and infection-free recovery.”

~Physiotherapy – “Our qualified and experienced therapists will perform evaluation, design, and execute personalized physio plan to achieve goals.”

~Occupational Therapy – “Our experienced therapists provide personalized occupational therapy to maximize functional independence in Activities of Daily Life (ADLs).”

~Speech Swallow Therapy – “Our speech therapists design individualized treatment plans to help patients recover from speech and swallow issues.”

~Psychology and Wellness – After an injury or serious illness, emotional recovery is as important as physical recovery.

~Diet and Nutrition – Right nutrition is a critical component of recovery. “Our dietician and in-house kitchen will ensure a personalized diet plan based on your health needs.”

~Respiratory Therapy – From tracheostomy care to chest physiotherapy and breathing exercises, our experienced respiratory therapists play a critical role in therapy and educating patients and their families.

~Integrative Medicine – Evidence-based Integrative Medicine Therapies are combined with the core rehabilitation program for a holistic recovery.

~Medical Supervision – “Our qualified doctors are available round-the-clock to ensure medical monitoring of the recovering patient for an early and effective recovery.”

Admired Qualities

Dr Sunanda is an able and passionate physiotherapy expert who deeply understands the applications of the healing process in varied health conditions. She is respected and popular with her patients for her active involvement in the entire process, guiding the doctors in handling the cases effectively and helping them heal completely from their health conditions. The qualities she is most admired for are,

• Patient centricity.
• Teamwork.
• Quality and compassion.
• Proactive approach.

Dr Sunanda believes that rehab cannot wait. She says, “We understand that.”

• Physical medical Rehab interventions need not and should not wait. Delay in availing of these can result in greater pain, longer-term debility or permanent disability, recurrence of diseases, and, in some cases, fatal results.
• Folks are and will continue to be restricted in their travel to avail of Outpatient Services in Hospitals and Clinics.
• Folks will be reluctant to enter traditional healthcare facilities for fear of infection for the foreseeable future.
• There will be some actual and some perception risks with home health service providers being exposed to multiple clients and, therefore, potential infections.

To address this need, HCAH SuVitas offers Online Consultations and Guided Sessions with their Expert Rehab Team. “You can now avail of our personalized care plans that have been crafted and delivered by an expert multidisciplinary team in the Neuro, Cardiac, Ortho, Onco, and Geriatric specializations,” states Dr. Sunanda.

HCAH SuVitas Virtual Rehab Process:

Physiotherapy – Whether you are suffering from Back Pain or need immediate attention for Pain Management post any Surgery, HCAH SuVitas has made its Expert team of Physiotherapists available for online, phone, or video consultations.

Speech Swallow Therapy – Speech therapy assesses and treats communication problems and speech disorders. It is performed by speech-language pathologists or speech therapists who use evidence-based techniques to improve communication.

Occupational Therapy – Aimed at improving upon and reinstating the basic mental and physical functions of the patient so that they can lead a relatively normal life, HCAH SuVitas’ occupational therapy services are now available online.

Naturopathy – Naturopathy uses natural therapies such as Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Hydrotherapy, Physical Manipulations, Colonic Irrigation, Fasting, Exercise, and others, following Naturopathic principles.

Clinical Psychology – Whether dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, domestic abuse or isolation, and work-related stress, speaking to our doctors will help you achieve greater mental health. “Our therapist works with many scientific tools,” says Dr Sunanda.

Diet and Nutrition – She adds, “Our in-house diet and nutrition specialists have renowned expertise in putting together the right diet plans that suit the patients’ requirements on short and long-term bases to facilitate the healing process.”

Foundation of Reliable Healthcare

HCAH is India’s trusted out-of-hospital recovery partner and the first to offer integrated care services nationwide. It provides the option for post-hospital recovery either at home or at one of its Transition Care Centres. Dr Sunanda informs, “Since its inception in 2012, HCAH has been backed by the Burman family and Health at Home UK.” In 2013, it launched its services in the tri-cities of Chandigarh, namely—Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar. In 2014, HCAH acquired the health impetus to expand its pharma relationships apart from the doctor and patient network. In 2015 HCAH expanded its service from Delhi in North to Mumbai in Western India.

HCAH Vision: To enable people to live well by delivering the best-in-class health outcomes and quality of life outside of hospitals while building the most affordable and accessible healthcare ecosystem.

Primary focus areas are:

• Physical Rehabilitation and Recovery.
• Elderly Care Services.
• Chronic Disease Management.

Enriching Technologies

Dr Sunanda has observed the role and importance of technologies in simplifying and transforming medical services. She says technology plays an essential part in every growing field. Rehab and recovery after any hospitalization are necessary to attain mobility and independence and perform activities of daily living. “At HCAH transition care center, we ensure technology is integrated into every recovery phase.”

From capturing the patient demographics and diagnosis to designing care plans, and updating the progress, assessment scales, and discharge summary – all are updated, stored, and shared on a tech platform.

Tech-driven equipment enhances recovery, ensuring gamification, active patient engagement, and recovery report display. Ensuring active patient participation and the ability to perform target-driven activities for achieving desired outcomes, long-term activity engagement with remote monitoring of outcomes are positive results offered with tech-driven treatment protocols.

Impactful Physiotherapy Solutions

According to Dr Sunanda, there has been a significant improvement in physiotherapy. The importance of physio during the COVID phase has created an extraordinary impact on the world. Dr. Sunanda points out that physiotherapy provides solutions for promoting overall health and wellness, from reducing pain, improving mobility, and enhancing independence to now evaluating the anatomy and compensatory movements via technology-driven reports, with a growing emphasis on technology, interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centered care.

Expanding with Focused Treatments

Expressing their future vision, Dr Sunanda reveals that there have been significant recent advances in digital evaluation; patient/client activity monitoring via tech-driven reports; gamification equipment that engages patients along with target-driven results; major emphasis on tech-driven assessment scales, rehab aides in assisting patients and physios for faster recovery; tech-driven milestone based care plans.

Important Advice

Offering the gems of wisdom from her rich experience, she says, “Consistent growth is what each of us must aim at.” To ensure this, a clear vision of the present market, recent advances in the field, research, and analysis to expand your reach horizon is the need of the hour for everyone to evolve as an expert. Looking for comfort will only limit your reach and approach. Adapting to the new technology as per the current need by combining a conservative care plan, an interdisciplinary team need, clear outcome goals, and proactive communication with the patient would be ideal for treating any patient/client.

The physios now have vast options in the field of health care. They can be part of clinical work at hospitals, academic verticals, digital rehab, content writing, research, and analysis. Rehab as a vertical has opened the doors for many physios as department heads, rehab directors, and therapy leads.

Scaling the Epitome of Excellence

It is no wonder that HCAH is India’s trusted out-of-hospital recovery partner and the first to offer integrated care services in the country. Dr Sunanda mentions, “We provide the option for post-hospital recovery either at home or at one of our Transition Care Centers.”

With 1500+ specialized medical professionals on board, SuVitas assures state-of-the-art rehabilitation for each and every person by closely understanding their unique requirements. Dr Sunanda adds, “Thanks to our 89,378 success stories (and counting), we are very proud to be North India’s leading out-of-hospital care provider.

Our all-in-one HCAH app allows people to instantly track bookings, monitor progress, and order medicines.”

The expansion of HCAH is meticulously laid out in implementing the network with modern infrastructure and the team building of efficient and experienced physiotherapists. Dr Sunanda highlighted the points of expansion:

• Availability of transition care centers with multidisciplinary teamwork across India.
• Serving every patient who needs post-hospitalization care via different verticals of reach – Inpatient rehab/Homecare/Outpatient/Digital/Daycare.
• Standardization of protocols and processes.
• Ensuring Evidence-based care plan Implementation.
• Milestone-based recovery.

HCAH Accolades:

• Best Quality Initiative in Healthcare by CMO Asia 2016.
• Customer Service Award in Healthcare by CMO Asia 2016.
• Ancillary Healthcare Provider of the Year at India Health and Wellness Awards 2016 HCAH.

For more information, please click on the links – www.linkedin.com/in/sunanda-kandiraju-459221b9 or https://www.linkedin.com/company/suvitas-holistic-healthcare/ or https://suvitas.com/ or www.hcah.in.