STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Son of the soil, Prof. (Dr.) Vipin Koushal takes over as Medical Superintendent of prestigious Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh on Friday.
Having diverse experience of over three decades ranging from working at the grass roots as a Medical Officer in a primary health centre in Jammu & Kashmir to being a Nodal Officer in the national program on organ donation as well as spearheading the war against pandemic of COVID-19 as In-charge of the dedicated COVID Hospital, Prof. Vipin Koushal was currently placed as Additional Medical Superintendent in the Department of Hospital Administration in PGIMER, Chandigarh.
In his present capacity as In-charge Nehru Hospital Extension (NHE), PGIMER, Prof. Koushal put in his best to fast track the work and made the building operational to enable the concerned departments relocate and start functioning from the premises of NHE.
Leading from the front, Dr. Koushal’s contribution speaks volumes as PGIMER was awarded ‘Kayakalap Award 2015’ and later ‘Cleanest Hospital in India’ award for 2016. Prior, Dr. Koushal had a four-year stint as Medical Superintendent with Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh where he made a mark with his robust reforms and effective administration.
Having many scientific papers published in national and international journals to his credit, Dr. Koushal has also contributed many chapters in various books on hospital management. A prolific student of Government School Reasi and Ranbir Higher Secondary School, Jammu and an alumnus of Government Medical College, Jammu, Dr. Koushal obtained his Master’s Degree in Hospital Administration from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
With the designation of NHE as PGIMER’s COVID Hospital, Prof. Koushal handled the herculean task of mobilising all the requisite resources as well as manpower from different areas in the hospital to make it rapidly functional and ready to admit COVID positive patients, with the result, NHE started admission of the COVID positive patients from April 1, 2020 onwards and till date over 8000 COVID positive patients have been admitted and taken care under the dynamic leadership of Prof. Koushal.
Also, it goes to the credit of Prof. Koushal as Medical Superintendent, AIIMS Bathinda to gear up the operationalization of the institute and make the OPDs functional there in an extremely short span of three months. Through his regular monitoring, micro-detailing and continuous engagement with the team in AIIMS Bathinda, Prof. Koushal ensured the re-dressal of initial teething issues as well as consistent improvement in the delivery of services. Alongside, as Nodal Officer of Regional Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization under the aegis of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he has played a pivotal role in promoting cadaver organ donation, an indicator to this effect is that PGIMER was awarded four times in a row for its contribution towards the cause by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India since 2016-17.
Adding to his accomplishments, PGIMER was again declared the best hospital for the promotion of cadaver organ donation and ROTTO (North) was adjudged the best ROTTO for the year 2019. Earlier, Prof. Koushal’s responsibilities in Department of Hospital Administration included hospital purchase and procurement, management of private grants and poor patient cell, administration of intensive care unit and effective functionality, which enlisted him as a ‘go to person’ of the teams managing any crisis in PGIMER.