Apollo Foundation’s Upasana Kamineni Konidela Brings Healthcare to All Through New Initiatives – The New Indian Express

Express news service

At 35, scholar and elegant Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Vice President, CSR, Apollo Foundation, is the force that ensures that healthcare reaches as many people as possible. Based in Hyderabad, she recently launched the URLife online wellness platform, which caters to anyone looking for expert advice from certified and trained professionals. It reached one million people through its combined social channels, registering a 7.5 lakh subscriber sign-up at last count.

Meanwhile, Konidela is moving forward and revolutionizing children’s health care: in partnership with Saving a Child Initiative (SACHi), the Foundation offers a free digital consultation with Apollo doctors for disadvantaged youth (16 years or under ) in India, with more than 200 pediatricians. on board as human capital.

Why now? “It is Apollo’s vision that no child should be denied access to health care. With the pandemic spreading in successive waves, children’s health deserves even greater attention, vaccine available for young people constituting a huge challenge, ”Konidela said. By working with NGOs to deepen pan-Indian reach, initiatives have gained momentum and gained momentum in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“After creating a success story with treating young people with cancer, orthopedic and birth problems, we have strengthened our resolve with SACHi. Wellness should be treated like medicine,” she says.

“We need to encourage people to see qualified doctors, dieticians and nutritionists. The pandemic has brought about a new body composition and created a kind of vulnerability in us on many levels. People are reluctant to contact wellness experts. As part of SACHi, our doctors also advise parents to alleviate their concerns, ”she says.

Her focus is on certified voices because she believes there is a big difference between an influencer and an expert. An influencer eats well, looks great, but can’t match the skill and experience that an expert brings, says Konidela, who also struggled with weight growing up.

Then there is mental health. “People are afraid to ask for help, which is why we have created videos to browse digitally.” It is a great legacy that Konidela lives up to. His grandfather, Dr Prathap C Reddy, founder of the Apollo Hospital Empire, revolutionized healthcare in India.

Her maternal aunts – Preetha Reddy, Sangita Reddy and Sunita Reddy – are directors of the Apollo hospitals. Konidela zealously carries the torch. “I have been working for over 21 years now. My grandfather always says that I was born into the family for a reason: I have to use it properly or it will be the waste of a lifetime. These words always stay with me. “, she shares.

SACHi started 15 years ago as a Save a Child’s Heart initiative with heart surgeries for children with congenital problems, who could not afford treatment. “Today, with the uncertainties that the pandemic has brought, with a situation where our young people are not even vaccinated, their health takes on an even more important dimension,” she said, adding: “Half the battle is won. when you understand how to cope with a situation: this awareness is the key to well-being. Providing access, to more and more people, is the solution. As the consecutive waves of COVID hit the country, we planes over 300 trained warriors venturing into tribal areas to educate people on how to deal with the pandemic. “

Now, with URLife, its primary focus is to create authentic and holistic wellness content to harness the power of micro / macro communities to create a strong model of content to commerce. The infrastructure that Apollo provides reinforces its mission.

“We are collaborating with NGOs on several projects to extend medical aid to underprivileged children. Fortunately, we have the bandwidth in terms of technical prowess and experts to deal with most issues. This allows us to map the child’s medical history before it kicks in. We have introduced a holistic health care umbrella since many are reluctant to take allopathic medicines. We have also introduced naturopathy, ”she explains.

Konidela is a formidable star in the country’s health landscape, determined to revolutionize wellness in the truest sense of the word. Her husband Ram Charan is a Telugu film industry superstar, following in the footsteps of her father, the megastar Chiranjeevi.

So how does the great balancing act express itself for her? “For me, wellness means being with my loved ones,” she laughs, admitting that she re-energizes by getting enough sleep. “Charan and I watch television a lot. We also stuff ourselves with films and series”, she shares.

His passion for animals recently made him adopt a lion and a lioness. She also provided lunch for more than 450 employees at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. If she had to give one piece of advice, what would it be? “Prioritize your personal growth. Be kind to others. It will improve your well-being.”

“I am very optimistic. The biggest challenge in health care is to educate people about the treatments available and to make them accessible,” she adds.

She has more to say

• People do not know the benefits of health insurance offered by companies. This lack of knowledge of what is available is a huge challenge.

• The real influence makes you eat well and look great. Listen to the experts but not to those who don’t have a degree and aren’t a certified voice.

• People are afraid to contact mental health experts. That’s why we’ve created video content that can be viewed digitally.

• You are the best judge of what your body needs, so be wise in your choices.