A little over twenty four years since the Amrita Hospital in Kochi was inaugurated by then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math is now venturing into the north with an Amrita Hospital at Faridabad that will be launched by PM Narendra Modi on August 24.
Spread across 130 acres, it will be India's largest private hospital. It will also provide jobs to 10000 employees and 800 doctors when it is fully functional. Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, President of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Vice-Chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, puts the healthcare mission of the Math in context in an interview to Preetha Nair.
The much-awaited Amrita Hospital at Faridabad, will be inaugurated by PM Modi on August 24. How do you see this venture taking forward the legacy of compassionate and inclusive healthcare?
In Amma's own words, "Compassion is both the beginning and culmination of spirituality." The new hospital will carry with it Amma's special blend of compassionate care for all with cutting-edge technology. This is the same paradigm Amma initiated 25 years ago in Kochi when the first Amrita Hospital was launched. Here, in Faridabad, it is the same vision; only the scale is much larger. So, we will continue our tried and tested mechanism of cross-subsidising patient care. In addition, we will be extending our services by incorporating large public insurance schemes like the Ayushman Bharat, ECHS, CGHS, etc.
Tell us about Amma's vision when it comes to healthcare?
All the projects, undertaken by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, both humanitarian and institutional, are an outcome of Amma's direct experience of the day-to-day hardships and sufferings of people she witnesses around her. Amma has always expressed a spontaneous motherly love for everyone and everything. She views all beings as her children—as one with her own True Self. Thus, just as a regular mother will do everything she can to ensure her own children receive the high-quality medical care they require to be healthy, Amma is doing everything she can to make sure everyone—all of her “children”—can receive the high-quality medical care they require. How can a mother ignore the cries of her children? It is this same vision that is behind all of the Ashram's humanitarian activities -- from Amma's darshan, to yoga classes, to homes for the homeless, to pensions, to our medical institutions as well. Wherever there is suffering, Amma always comes forward to help.
About Swamiji's vision and mission in implementing Amma’s compassionate initiative...
In the middle of the Kurukshetra battlefield, Lord Krishna imparted the secret of material and spiritual success to Arjuna. One among the many profound pieces of advice Krishna gave to Arjuna was: nimitta-mātraṁ bhava - "Be a mere instrument." In simple terms, the meaning of this verse is, "Allow God's infinite power to flow through you." All of the Ashram's sannyasis, sannyasinis, brahmacharis and brahmacharinis as well as the householder devotees who are participating in this great yajna for the health of society have this same resolve -- myself definitely included. There is no scope for ego here. To state it in a lighter manner, "Minimise the interference of the ego and maximise the involvement of God within you." Understanding that there is but one divine power flowing through all of creation, our goal is simply to try align our tiny selves with that divine will -- with dharma -- and to allow that divine energy to flow through us. In this manner, we can, in some small way, be of service to others. Amma is doing everything; we are just her instruments.
Significantly, you are now marking your entry into the North with this project. What are the other plans in the pipeline?
Amma has never limited her scope to Kerala or South India. Her compassion and love have always reached the poor and needy, wherever there have been suffering—in fact, all over the world. We already have many schools and other humanitarian programs functioning in north India. Twenty-one years ago, in 2001, after the Bhuj earthquake, the Ashram travelled to Gujrat to rebuild three entire villages there. So, from disaster relief to building toilets for poor villagers, to cleaning drivers, to contributions to Namami Gange, homes for the homeless, pensions, SHGs -- Amma's Ashram has long been involved in North India. In terms of the future, I cannot say. For now, let us be focused on the immense task at hand and live in the only place life actually exists -- the present.
The first of its kind Amrita Hospital in Kochi is a blessing for the poor and the needy. How have 24 years of the hospital and its emphasis on research benefitted society?
Organ transplants have been one of the hospital's key achievements with 2,148 procedures performed, involving liver, kidney, pancreas, small bowel, heart, and cornea.
Surgeons at Amrita Hospital have attained remarkable milestones, the most recent being India's first reconstruction of a nine-month-old's breast bone supported by 3D printing.
To treat a rare birth defect called 'congenital absence of sternum or breastbone', a team of doctors printed out a life-size model of the baby's chest from CT scan using advanced 3D printing software and 3D printing machines within the hospital. The complex surgical procedure was planned to the last detail and simulated using the model. This is perhaps the first time in the world that 3D printing technology was used to understand and treat such a defect in a child.
The teams have also performed Asia's first upper-arm double hand transplant, India's first two double hand transplants, and the country's first successful surgery on a foetus in the womb.
Amrita Hospital, Kochi is also home to India's first School of Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine and is now well-recognized nationally and internationally for its academic and research contributions in the field of nanomedicine, molecular medicine, energy science and engineering.
Also, as a solution for the challenging pandemic, Amrita Hospitals in collaboration with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham conducted a study and identified that inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy kills the SARS-COV-2 virus. This study helps patients recover faster with lesser complications and zero mortality rates compared to patients who received the standard Covid-19 treatment without iNO.
Similarly, a sequencer and real-time PCR and thermal cyclers have been developed to enable provision of diagnostic genetics for common inherited diseases and also to aid in research.
Currently, Amrita School of Biotechnology is working on India's first indigenously designed automated insulin pump and glucose sensor to offer high-quality, low-cost, precise and personalized care for India's multiplying diabetic population.
The university focuses on improving the quality of life for those in need by cultivating one of the fastest-growing, robust research programs in the country. With the support of quality standards backed up by the state-of-the-art infrastructure along with expertise, Amrita Hospitals have emerged as a preferred destination for multi centred international clinical studies.
The researchers at Amrita along with senior scientists in the world's leading research universities are working to innovate new uses for existing technology and to invent entirely new products and approaches to solving some of the world's most pressing needs -- from disaster management to the management and cure of disease.
The prime goal of research at Amrita Hospital is to make India self-reliant by locally creating affordable healthcare needs. For example, Amrita has developed PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator), a protection equipment for healthcare workers, from scratch during the advent of pandemic. The equipment helps to provide purified air to medical professionals working in infection prone areas. PAPRs are generally safer, more comfortable, and reusable as compared to the PPEs (personal protective equipment) used in conjunction with N95 masks. The PAPRs in India were imported and cost from $1000 to $2000 US. Meanwhile, the kit developed at Amrita costs less than $400 US.
What are the state-of-the-art facilities on offer in Amrita Hospital at Faridabad?
Amrita Hospital, Faridabad is spread across 130 acres and will centre around a 14-storey tower that will house all key areas. The hospital will have 2,600 beds, 81 specialities, 64 fully-networked modular operation theatres and smart ICUs with 534 critical care beds. It begins as home to eight Centres of Excellence, including radiation oncology, cardiac sciences, neurosciences, gastro sciences, renal sciences, bone diseases and trauma, transplants, and mother and child care.
At Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, the health of women and children comes foremost as this is an area that many private hospitals in India are not able to sustain financially. It will be home to India's largest paediatric super-speciality centre in a seven-floor building and will run maternal and foetal medicine and all paediatric subspecialities, including a 40-bed unit of nursery and neonatal intensive care. Specialities are cardiology, heart surgery and transplantation, rheumatology, endocrinology, pulmonology, neurosciences, gastroenterology, genetics, orthopaedics, and paediatric and foetal surgery.
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Advanced technology will support the hospital's large spectrum of practice, including state-of-the-art fully-automated smart laboratories, the most advanced medical imaging services in the country, and the latest in cardiac and interventional cath labs for clinical services. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital is also prioritizing India’s largest facilities for infectious diseases.
Key numbers:
• 2,600 beds
• 81 specialities
• A sprawling 130-acre campus
• A 5.2 lakh square-foot medical college
• 64 fully networked modular operation theatres
• Smart ICUs with 534 critical care beds that are digitally monitored around-the-clock
• The largest paediatric super-speciality centre in India dedicated to mother and child care
• State-of-the-art fully automated smart laboratories
• The most advanced medical imaging services in the country
• High-precision radiation oncology, the largest of its kind in the country
• India's largest and most advanced physical medicine and rehabilitation centre
• Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Medicine in diagnostics and therapeutics
• Latest in cardiac and interventional cath lab for clinical services
• Largest facilities to handle infectious diseases
• Dedicated research block
• The largest centre in the country for robotics, haptic, cadaveric, high-fidelity, surgical and medical simulation
What will be the job opportunities the facility creates?
From an economic perspective, the hospital will provide immediate support to the region with direct employment for approximately 2,000 individuals and indirect opportunities for an additional 2,000 employees. By the time it is fully operational, it will have approximately 10,000 employees and more than 800 doctors.
Beyond healthcare, what are the community initiatives going to be taken up by the Faridabad hospital?
Amrita Hospital, Faridabad is an important add-on to India's health infrastructure. It's one of the biggest environmental health projects in the country with a low carbon footprint, and it's a paperless end-to-end facility with zero waste discharge. One of the noteworthy features of the magnanimous Amrita Hospital is that its design will have minimal impact upon the environment. The facility is all set to handle the issue of water supply through a rainwater harvesting system, efficient water fixtures, and use of recycled water. This feature will also help to reduce the consumption of portable water by approx. 42%.
As part of its community initiatives, Amrita Hospitals have already initiated medical awareness programs in various residential wellness associations in and around Faridabad. These include outreach programs for seniors focused on people with neurological conditions, health conferences for school children, general health checks, and much more.