American India Foundation, Goldman Sachs and Lenovo India Launch the First Portable Hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka
Bengaluru: American India Foundation (AIF) with support from Goldman Sachs (GS), Lenovo India launched the first 70-bed mobile hospital in Mother & Child Hospital, Doddaballapur, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The facility has been installed by AIF as part of the philanthropic efforts of GS and Lenovo India towards COVID care.
The 70-bed facility at Mother & Child Hospital, Doddaballapur, Bengaluru, Karnataka includes treatment centers, a 62-bed isolation unit and 08-bed ICU unit
As part of Covid relief, this initiative is part of Goldman Sachs and Lenovo India’s grant to the American India Foundation (AIF) to expand medical infrastructure across India
American India Foundation (AIF) with support from Goldman Sachs (GS), Lenovo India launched the first 70-bed mobile hospital in Mother & Child Hospital, Doddaballapur, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The facility has been installed by AIF as part of the philanthropic efforts of GS and Lenovo India towards COVID care.
The second wave, starting April 2021, was much more severe and challenged the public health system with extreme shortage of oxygen supplies resulting in unprecedented number of morbidities. To ensure future preparedness, there emerged a great need for augmentation of the healthcare system including hospital beds equipped with Ventilators, Oxygen Concentrators and other medical supplies to meet the current and future crises of this nature.
“The makeshift hospital will be very useful to the people of Doddaballapur and its surrounding areas during this pandemic and will continue to serve the people for almost 20 to 25 yrs. The government extends its gratitude to Lenovo India, Goldman Sachs, American Indian foundation for the CSR and UNDP for the technical support,” said Shri B.S. Yediyurappa, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka.
Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, said, “Strengthening our healthcare systems across the country has been intensified over the past few months. Government efforts are supplemented by the partnership with industry to refurbish existing hospital infrastructure to improve critical care. MediCAB facilities are being set up to aid state governments’ efforts to enhance the preparedness of their health systems. The support to extend hospitals in Doddaballapur, Bengaluru, is one such initiative to be launched in July. The goal is to keep this momentum and facilitate the ongoing efforts in other states too.”
The newly upgraded facility in Mother & Child Hospital includes triage and treatment centers, of which 62 beds are in isolation units and 08 are in the intensive care unit (ICU). The additional 70 new beds increase the hospital’s current 70 bed capacity, boosting its ability to treat and care for those affected by COVID-19. The modular portable bed units have 25-year durability and each unit can easily be deconstructed or repurposed as extra space for various community needs or disaster relief.
“Partnering with state governments to augment the health infrastructure is part of our core strategy for COVID-19 relief. We thank the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, The Government of Karnataka, GS and Lenovo India for providing us with an opportunity to serve the people in critical need of intervention through these rapidly deployable hospitals, intended to plug a major health infrastructure gap, especially in rural areas and smaller towns,” said Mathew Joseph, Country Director, AIF.
“Goldman Sachs supports India’s fight against COVID-19,” said Srivathsan P, head of Controllers and CFO of Goldman Sachs Services in India. “We hope that this portable hospital will help increase access to critical medical care, and help in India’s recovery.”
“Our main focus was to partner and collaborate with local organizations working closely with State Governments on the ground and help strengthen the health care systems. The need of the hour was for all stakeholders to come together and work in unison to ensure every possible support is extended to the most vulnerable who are affected by this pandemic. Project MediCab is one such initiative and Lenovo is proud to be a contributor in the installation of these hospital extension facilities to support those in need,” said Shailendra Katyal, Managing Director, Lenovo India.
Working assiduously to bring a critical covid relief, AIF has so far provided 5212 oxygen concentrators, 30,000 non-electric ventilators, 13000 monitors, 2600 portable hospital bed units across 35 cities and Oxygen Plants across 50 cities in India to help abate the public health infrastructure shortages. Providing relief to 1.32 million beneficiaries and 115000 medical personnel across 29 states, through 59000+ equipment, AIF aimed to bring immediate aid to the critically ill in its initial efforts.