Arundathi Hospital in Dundigal: Son makes mother proud; sets up super-specialty facility, offers free treatment

Hyderabad: When Marri Rajasekhar Reddy wanted to do some service for the people, he decided to set up a hospital in the name of his mother.

His mother told him that he could have the hospital in her name, only if it did not have a provision for billing patients. In other words, treatment should be free of cost.

Three years on, Rajasekhar kept his words given to his mother. He is spending Rs 1.5 crore per month to maintain a 450-bed super-specialty health institute without taking any donations or financial help from anyone else.

The family runs the KMR Educational Society, which has engineering, management, and pharmacy institutes and the funds generated from these institutes help in running the ArundathiInstitute of Medical Sciences and Hospital in Dundigal in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district of Telangana.

The inspiration

“Arundathi Hospital is the only individual-run private hospital not only in the Telangana state but perhaps in the entire country where treatment, diagnostics, and medicines are offered free of cost to everyone, irrespective of financial status, class, or caste. I was inspired by Mother Teresa’s service-oriented approach and our minister K T Rama Rao’s ‘Gift a Smile’ initiative. I have seen many broken families due to unaffordable health care, as an entrepreneur who believed in making quality products and services affordable, I made a promise to my mother to build a hospital that will last generations, where every family can gain access to quality healthcare. It is indeed a blessing and a huge satisfaction to be able to do some service that can help save lives of people, especially when medical treatment is so costly,” said Rajasekhar.

The specialties and services offered

As one enters the hospital premises and proceeds to the reception hall, it is impossible to escape the huge crowd of outpatients even at midday. According to the hospital staff and doctors, around 1,000 to 1,200 patients turn up for the various outpatient departments (OPD) daily. From dentistry to psychiatry, ophthalmology to physiotherapy, plastic surgery to high-end orthopedic procedures such as knee and hip replacement, name any specialty, the hospital has it.

The other departments include general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, ENT, dermatology, and pulmonology besides the seven super-specialties such as cardiology and cardiothoracic surgeries, neurology and neurosurgery, gastroenterology and gastro-surgeries, burns and plastic surgery, nephrology and urology.

Other diagnostics and research-related services offered are radiology (MRI, CT, ultrasonography, mammography, digital X-ray, EEG, EMG), ICMR-approved NABH-accredited pathology, microbiology and biochemistry, virus research laboratories, dialysis unit, minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopy, endoscopy and colonoscopy, cath lab, emergency trauma care and various types of intensive care units for neonatal, children and adults. There is also an ambulance service, a blood bank, and an official thalassemia center, where over 100 plus thalassemia patients requiring blood transfusion turn up.

Health services in facts and figures

Recognized by the National Medical Commission, Arundathi Hospital is affiliated with KNR University of Health Sciences, Telangana, and spans over 25 acres. While patients come from not only the peripheral areas of Telangana but also from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, the hospital is equipped with modern infrastructure, qualified and experienced doctors, and high-end imported diagnostic and surgical equipment. Some of the latest equipment include a legion phaco unit, ENT microscope, neuro microscope, thulium laser, orthoscopy, a heart-lung machine with homeotherm, intra aortic balloon pump, C-Arm, etc. To generate local employment, most of the class IV and supporting staff are employed from among the local populace, living in the vicinity of the hospital in Dundigal.

Since its inception in 2020, the hospital has done consultations for over 2.14 lakh outpatients, conducted around 8,500 surgeries of which around 3,000 have been major surgeries, undertaken nearly 600 deliveries, conducted 194 health camps and more than 11,200 emergency services. The hospital has around 150 doctors, 251 nurses, 100 staff like ward boys, cleaning staff, etc., 150 lab technicians, front office, and clerical staff. It has 15 minor and nine major operation theatres and 33 emergency response beds.

Patients’ satisfaction a priority

“At our hospital, we believe that healthcare is a fundamental human right and we ensure that every patient who comes to us should receive the best possible care, regardless of their financial circumstances. We never advertise but patients find out about our services through word-of-mouth,” said Rajasekhar.

A patient, A Kondaiah, aged 45 years, had undergone surgery for a spinal problem. When asked about his treatment, Kondaiah said, “I am happy that I came here at my relative’s suggestion. From tests, treatment, and food to medicines, everything is free of cost and I have been here for about a week, without facing any problem

Another patient Sai Kiran from the city, who had fractured his right leg following a scooter accident, also concurred with Kondaiah, A cousin of mine told me about the hospital and its facilities. I have made a good decision in taking admission here instead of going to other costly corporate hospitals. I am very happy with the treatment and recovery,” he said.

Future plans

“We have plans to extend the bed strength from 450 to 1000. Very soon, we will add a full-fledged medical and surgical oncology block and organ transplant surgeries. In the future, setting up an infertility clinic is also in the anvil,” informed Dr N Uday Kumar, medical director of the hospital, and added, “We have bagged some central government projects for research works in biochemistry and genetics.”

(Contact numbers of Arundathi Hospital: 8055667888 and 8055778999)