NAGARJUNA Hospital in Vijayawada, organisers of the first Cycle India event in 2008, have underlined their support for HEAL by donating 350,000 rupees (approx £4,500) towards the construction of a Health Centre at the Paradise Village project.
During Cycle India 2012 the riders paid a visit to the hospital and were shown some of the wards and facilities ahead of a press conference where a cheque was presented to the HEAL delegation by Nagarjuna’s managing director and chairman, Dr K Jagan Mohan Rao.
Dr K Jagan Mohan Rao and staff at the Nagarjuna Hospital
“We promise that we will render our support to HEAL Paradise, which is a prestigious project,” said Dr Rao.
“We are proud to be associated with you and recall the fond memories of our participation in the first ever Cycle India trip in January 2008, when 50 volunteers, including 10 doctors from Nagarjuna Hospital participated in the event.”
The hospital, which includes HEAL founder Dr Koneru Prasad among its directors, has offered to support and maintain the Paradise Health Centre, part of the first phase of buildings currently under construction at nearby Thotapally.
Explaining the importance of improved healthcare in the region, Dr Rao added: “Our hospital has emerged as the first hospital in the region to start the quality journey towards improving client satisfaction, quality care and safety.
“In recent years we have modernised; buildings have been built, transformed or remodeled. Constantly evolving medical technology is accommodated by growing facilities. Yet the heart of the hospital remains the same – the dedicated staff, the doctors, nurses, technicals, pharmacists, clerical staff and housekeepers.
“Hundreds of employees arrive every day and night to offer their individual skills and the best of themselves to the mission of healing and comforting the sick.”
Supporting HEAL, he said, allowed the hospital to reach out to the region’s poorer individuals and families, many of whom cannot even afford basic healthcare.
“All the clubs, the guest houses, the swimming pools, the airports which are seen and used by tourists, all these are only available to 10 per cent of the population; 90 per cent are still below the poverty line,” he said.
“The Nagarjuna Hospital is therefore happy that our donation will be diverted to the building of the Health Centre at HEAL Paradise as per the wishes of our staff and management.”
The cheque was accepted on behalf of HEAL by Dr Prasad, Matthew Glover, head of fundraising in the UK, and HEAL India’s Ram Yadav and Dhana Prakash.