1. Health Care
Are you Creating these waves of love?
The rural and tribal population located in the sub-districts (talukas) of Dharampur and Kaprada in Valsad district, South Gujarat rank amongst the poorest in the state of Gujarat. As a result, they have very little to eat and suffer from severe malnutrition. The abject poverty coupled with the high level of illiteracy that is rife in these areas, make them highly vulnerable to various diseases and illnesses.
To alleviate the suffering and help reduce the misery and pain of these underprivileged people is the main purpose of the 'Health Care' initiative of the Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care Programme. The focus is to treat them with love and compassion, with quality medical care, at highly subdized rates, or totally free. Efforts are also on to increase health awareness throughout the community. Over 3 lakh patients have been treated till date in the hospital, the medical camps and the outreach programme.
Health Care is managed by Shrimad Rajchandra Medical Trust through the following avenues:
Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital, a charitable, multi-speciality hospital, opened its heart to the community with the Divine inspiration of Pujyashri Gurudev, in the year 2004. Situated in the heart of Dharampur town and encompassing an area of 13000 sq.ft., it aims at providing high quality medical care at a nominal rate, to the people of Dharampur-Kaprada and adjoining rural areas. It also aims at creating awareness on health related issues at all levels of society.
Services:
The hospital has charitable allopathic and homeopathic dispensaries which cater to the needs of the local population at a highly subsidized rate of Rs. 2/- per day. The hospital enjoys a bed capacity of 50.
SRH offers a wide range of services through its in-house departments and facilities, which include the following:
| Services |
| Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Paediatrics and Neonatology |
| General Surgery | Endoscopy and Laparoscopy |
| Medicine | Ophthalmology |
| Dentistry | Orthopaedics |
| Urology | Dermatology |
| ENT and Audiometry | Pathology |
| Radiology & Ultrasonography | Echocardiography (2-D Echo) and Colour Doppler |
| Physiotherapy | Two Operation Theatres |
| ICU with 4 beds | Neonatal Care Unit |
Separate General Wards
|
24-hours Emergency Service with
|
| 24-hours Ambulance Service | Homeopathy |
SRH's immediate challenge is, how to let underprivileged and unwell tribal people, living far away and with virtually nonexistent access to TV, radio or newspapers, know that a charitable hospital is built and available just to serve them.
To accomplish this, SRH networks continually with:
- Local NGOs like Bhansali Trust, Jasoda Narottam Public Charity Trust (JNPCT), BAIF, Nandigram Trust, Action Research Community Health (ARCH)
- More than 400 schools
- Almost 900 Aanganwadi staff
- Around 170 doctors, nurses and other staff of local Primary Health Centres
By partnering with these NGOs, SRH is effectively able to extend its reach in Dharampur and its surrounding areas for serving the underprivileged.
Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital (SRH) has been declared the First Referral Unit in Valsad district by the Gujarat Government due to the excellent facilities and finest treatment available here. There are several Public Health Centres (PHC) in the rural areas of Valsad where patients go for primary medical aid. If these PHCs need to refer the patients to a hospital, they will now refer them to SRH.
Making a difference:
SRH is the only hospital in the area of Dharampur and Kaprada that...
- Treats high-risk patients who test positive for Hepatitis B and/or HIV
- Treats spastic children, children with severe deformities and adults who are physically challenged
- Is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 52 weeks a year, even on Diwali and other holidays
It remains today, the best-equipped hospital in Dharampur and Kaprada.
Contribute
SRH has organised numerous free, large-scale multi-diagnostic and treatment camps. Medical Camps are one of the most well-attended efforts of SRH. These camps are organised numerous times in a year. Medical specialists from over 15 different disciplines like surgery, medicine, cardiology, diabetes, paediatrics, gastroenterology, gynaecology, ENT, dentistry, sonography, ophthalmology, physiotheraphy, pathology, speech therapy and homeopathy - have treated the local patients with great love and care, rendering services of the highest order.
Camps dedicated to the treatment of specific disorders have also been periodically conducted by medical specialists, at the hospital and at times, in the outreach areas. Additionally, the services of specialists and super-specialists from Mumbai, Surat and Vapi have also been made available at these free medical camps. Thus, these camps have provided an excellent platform to the rural population to benefit from expert medical guidance and treatment, free of cost.
Blood donation camps are organised annually at Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram, in which hundreds of participants donate blood enthusiastically. The Ashram was presented with an Award of Excellence on the occasion of World Blood Donor Day, 2008, for collecting the second-highest units of blood in Valsad and Dang districts during the period of 2005-2008.
Contribute
| Statistics of the Two Camps |
| Details | Nov 2004 | Dec 2005 |
| Calipers | 969 | 946 |
| Jaipur foot | 151 | 182 |
| Crutches | 572 | 279 |
| Tricycles | 444 | 470 |
| Wheel Chairs | 400 | 285 |
| Total No. of Beneficiaries | 2,536 | 2,162 |
As per the last census report, there are thousands of physically challenged individuals in the Valsad district.
Two, week-long medical camps for the physically challenged, were organised in November 2004 and December 2005. As a preparation for these medical camps, survey camps were held in Dharampur and surrounding areas. These camps helped identify those who required calipers, jaipur foot, crutches, tricycles and wheelchairs, which were provided free of charge to them.
With the aim of making this whole area Viklang-free, Shrimad Rajchandra Sarvamangal Trust has inaugurated on 4th Jan 2011, a full fledged Shrimad Rajchandra Viklang Centre in Dharampur. This centre has one of its kind Physiotherapy centre which is very useful for the physically challenged. It is a one-of-a-kind facility in the entire Valsad district. The centre treats physically challenged adults and children with surgery, prosthesis/orthosis, physiotherapy and a combination of these.
The Centre includes:- The Prosthetics and Orthotics Department:
Has workshops for manufacturing and fitting artificial limbs (jaipur foot etc.), crutches and supporting shoes etc. - The Physiotherapy Department:
With special emphasis on Paediatric Orthopaedic patients (Bal Viklang) - The Residential Physiotherapy Unit:
Many of the Paediatric Orthopaedic patients need a series of corrective surgeries followed by regular physiotherapy to improve the mobility and outcome of the operation. Some cerebral palsy children need regular physiotherapy to enable them to take care of their daily routines on their own. Therefore, the residential physiotherapy unit includes facilities to accommodate patients with their relatives. This is especially beneficial, since most of the patients taking advantage of this facility are underprivileged rural people from distant areas, who cannot afford to come to the therapy centre on a daily basis.
Treatment is offered at highly subsidised rates or, where necessary, free of cost.
Contribute
Health Awareness Drives assume special significance in a rural, underprivileged environment where according to superstitious beliefs, diseases in general are regarded as the wrath of a Goddess, compelling patients to visit witch doctors rather than a hospital, for treatment. Hapless patients, including children, are subjected to barbaric practices such as branding by fire-heated iron bars etc.. Horrific instances have been encountered, such as a village midwife jumping on the abdomen of a fully pregnant woman who is unable to deliver her baby in a normal way, resulting in severe pain and complications and even serious injury to the foetus.
Health Awareness Drives contribute considerably in enhancing the general health and well-being of people. They go a long way in minimizing many common health risks and the ensuing trauma faced by patients and their relatives. That is why Health Awareness Drives are conducted systematically and on a regular basis in far-flung remote areas in and around Dharampur.
Health Awareness of patients and their relatives is enhanced for the following topics:
- Pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, immunisation, nutrition, balanced diet, hygiene, healthy cooking practices etc.
- Prevention of water-borne diseases through purification of drinking water
- Malaria, TB and other communicable diseases
These topics are explained with the help of powerpoint presentations, posters, street plays etc..
Contribute
Trained health workers carry out door-to-door surveys to screen individuals aged 35 and above for measuring blood pressure and checking urine sugar, so as to identify and shortlist for care, those suspected to be suffering from diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma, to name a few. The shortlisted patients are referred to the nearest SRH outreach centre for diagnosis and treatment. The health workers further ensure that all shortlisted patients undergoing treatment continue to visit the outreach centre for follow-up treatment.
Contribute