Dr. Prashant Khandagale, a doctor in Julia Hospital here on campus, has always been tied closely to CRHP. Born into a CRHP family, Dr. Prashant’s parents were among the first to join the CRHP team in 1970. His mother was a nurse, and his father worked as an accountant, so he and his brother grew up on campus: “my childhood was always here in Jamkhed.”
As Dr. Prashant got older, he always had an interest in medicine and received his medical degree in 1996. While he started work in a private practice unassociated with CRHP, he felt that something was missing. “My connection to CRHP has always been here because of my mother and father living on campus. As a result, I found I was not interested to work in other rural practices.” This realization brought Dr. Prashant back to CRHP in 2002, an exciting year not only due to his CRHP employment, but also because it marked the year of his marriage. Now working on campus, Dr. Prashant felt tied not only to his childhood and his parents but also to his brother, who works at the hospital as an operating theater assistant.
Working as a general physician at the Julia Hospital, Dr. Prashant feels his work is fulfilling: “here, my life is going in the direction that I want; it is a meaningful life.” While he enjoys working with the other CRHP staff, he has found deep meaning in his work through the relationships he has developed with his patients. “There are many poor patients in this area, and they want help from us. They need hope from us. Unfortunately, many private doctors are concerned primarily with making money, and the patients can tell. Therefore, patients come here for the proper treatment. They are emotionally, mentally, and physically attached to CRHP. Treatment is so much more comprehensive, it involves how we talk with patients and make relationships with them.”
In addition to the daily tasks that Dr. Prashant manages in the hospital, he plays a major role in CRHP’s surgical camps, from registering patients to monitoring them post-operatively. Pre-screening checkups and monitoring patients following operation requires a lot of skill and experience. Each patient is different. Some need to come back for dressing changes, while others need to be recommended physiotherapy. Some patients have other preexisting conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that will impact the treatment plan as well. “This is always my challenge: to provide each patient with the best treatment. This job requires a lot of experience, and my work with past patients has helped me to gain that experience. After patients are feeling better, then I feel better. When the patient is happy, I am also happy.”
CRHP has touched the life of Dr. Prashant just as he has significantly impacted CRHP as an organization. So often, things operate in a positive feedback loop. CRHP has a mission and vision that attracts dedicated and selfless people, and as a result of having those people on staff, CRHP is able to sustain its mission and vision, thus producing more empowered and knowledgeable individuals that are dedicated to improving the lives of others.
“CRHP is a model for how to live in this world. It is a different type of place from the rest of the world. We care for one another and share sympathy for one another. We learn from CRHP about how to live life and to adapt and implement this knowledge in all spheres of our own lives; we then hope to share this with others.”
CRHP Jamkhed Blog 
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