Places of religious importance, where a large number of pilgrims arrive every day, suffer from a considerable disparity when it comes to medical care. The situation is no different than that in the rest of the country, where a large number of people struggle to find appropriate healthcare aid during medical emergencies.
Understanding the seriousness of this problem, NiiraRadia-led Nayati Healthcare, has set up Sri KashiVishwanathArogyaMandir. The medical unit aims at providing free of cost, immediate medical care to the locals and pilgrims alike. Set up under the aegis of Sri KashiVishwanath Temple Trust, ArogyaMandir is situated within the temple premises.
Over 1.2 million pilgrims visit the holy KashiVishwanath Temple every month. Considering this, a medical unit equipped to handle any medical emergency and provide essential healthcare services is quite necessary. The medical unit served 350 patients right on the very first day of its operations.
Since its inauguration at the end of September 2019, the ArogyaMandir has treated over 8,500 patients, of which, 70% are local population, and 30% are devotees attending the temple from other parts of the country and globe. Shri KashiVishwanathMandir makes the healthcare initiative useful for locals as well as for the millions of pilgrims visiting the temple. The model is similar to the first initiative started by Niira Radia at Badrinath, back in 2012.
“Nayati has always been at the forefront in offering medical support for pilgrims whether it is Badrinath, Kedarnath or the Mahakumbh at Allahabad. People from various social, economic, and demographic backgrounds travelling for pilgrimages often struggle because of the shortage of immediate medical facilities,” the Chairperson of Nayati Healthcare said.
She further added, “Ever since Nayati began its journey from BadrinathDham in 2012, our team has been working continuously to impart healthcare services to the masses through our hospitals and mobile medical units.”
Sri KashiVishwanathArogyaMandir is fully-prepared to treat all kinds of emergencies with the provision of Lab and OPD. The stabilization centre has a 30-member dedicated team of doctors, nurses, technicians and paramedical staff. The unit is equipped with Defibrillator and ECG to handle patient with cardiac emergencies. In addition, the setup has lab facilities for medical tests such as SGPT, SGOT, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, malaria, dengue, typhoid, etc.
Once stabilized, critically ill patients are shifted to the medical department of BHU, or the district hospital, through a 24×7 available ambulance. The unit is also visited by a Super Specialist Doctor once a month. NayatiArogyaMandir is also equipped with afull-time pharmacy, providing medicines as prescribed by the doctors, free of cost. The unit is open for 12 hours (8 am to 8 pm) on all days.
