Dato’ Dr Ramanathan Ramiah was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah (YSIS), a rehabilitation service centre based in Bercham, Ipoh, this year.
Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, the newly-appointed CEO has been serving intermittently at YSIS for almost 20 years, before assuming office after retiring from government service in April. An orthopaedic surgeon by profession, Ramanathan served as the head of orthopaedic services for Perak state a few years back.
Established in 1982, YSIS is a foundation that provides therapies and rehabilitation services for physically-challenged adults and children, for a small fee (RM30 per session).
“YSIS aims to increase its clientele base so that more people can benefit from our therapy regimes, ranging from physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, hydrotherapy to daycare services for children with autism,” said Ramanathan.
According to Ramanathan, services offered at the foundation are provided by trained occupational therapists, speech therapists, qualified physiotherapists and child psychology persons with great fervour.
As an orthopaedic surgeon, Ramanathan will be meeting with orthopaedic patients regularly. He will also be running a consultant clinic in the premises in the near future.
“At YSIS, we price our treatments at minimum rates as many of those who require such treatments come from less affluent families. It’s our duty and obligation to improve our therapies and services, and ensure the satisfaction of our clients.
“The centre is open to everyone, regardless of age, colour, race, creed or religion. And since we offer a variety of therapies, people with stroke, cerebral palsy or autism can come here to receive all their therapies,” Ramanathan added.
Dato’ Chew Choong Seong, member of the Board of Trustees of YSIS, is a testament to the credibility of the services and therapies provided by the foundation.
“I had a stroke six years ago. The YSIS staff were kind enough to come to my house to give me my physiotherapy treatment. After six months of treatment, I could drive. I took about a year to recover from my stroke,” Chew told Ipoh Echo.
The staff at YSIS believe that having a stroke is not a death sentence. But if one does not seek therapy, their condition will not improve. Rehabilitation centres like YSIS provide services and state-of-the art facilities that will help patients to recover.
Aside from the usual services offered at YSIS, the foundation will conduct a course in August to teach caregivers how to take care of the elderly, or people with brittle bones. Apart from that, plans to build a senior citizen villa for the retired, aged, and the bedridden on the premises, are in the pipeline.
YSIS depends mostly on public funding to operate. Readers who wish to donate can write cheques payable to Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah, or bank in to their CIMB account number: 80-0504634-2.
Leanne Tan
