Vivekananda Memorial Hospital (VMH)

Started in 1998

Saragur, H D Kote

Building Human &
Social Capital

Family Centric
Approach

Employ local people to encourage ownership

Empathetic holistic health care that adheres to current & appropriate standards of care-modalities,resources, outcomes & satisfaction based on evidence. Focused on tribal, rural, marginalized & vulnerable

Health Care Services offered in 2021-22

Equitable, affordable, accessible & quality health care to all

297

Emergency care services to rural & tribal

315

Institutional deliveries
0 Maternal Deaths

347

Surgeries conducted

251

Rural-tribal patients treated at Covid Care Centre

110

Endoscopy & Colonoscopy
services performed

1,191

Ayurvedic procedures

2,411

Physiotherapy sessions
conducted

41,819

Indigenous Tribal & Rural population accessed care at VMH

Gender composition of patients

INR 89,39,737

waived off to ensure no one is denied health care at VMH in 2021-22

6370

Patients served with subsidized,
quality health care

3219

Non-Tribal
Patients served

3151

Tribal
Patients served

VMH recognized as COVID-19 Centre of Excellence

Vivekananda Memorial Hospital presented with Deccan Herald DH Healing Hands Centre for Excellence Recognition Award for its efforts to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic on rural and tribal communities. We dedicate this award to all our partners and well wishers joining hands with us against COVID-19 and timley responding to the community’s call.

IMPACT STORY

Ramesh with his family after his surgery & rehabilitation

Back on his feet!

The dichotomy of fate is evident as one visits a small tribal hamlet known as Naakuru shirangala Hadi in Somwarpet Taluk in Kodagu District. The road cuts through a short patch of forest and then curves along the backwaters with beautiful bungalows and resorts on one side, and shacks made of wood, straw and tattered tarpaulin on the other.

In one such shack, Ramesh & his wife live a life trying to make it to the next day as daily wagers. Ramesh was working for an estate when one day tragedy struck and he fell off a tree. He didn’t fall from a great height, but landed on one leg with his entire weight shattering the bone just below the knee.

Initially, his estate owner helped him by getting him admitted to a hospital in Mangalore, but later did not provide further support for treatment and rehabilitation. His wound turned worse and the deteriorating condition caught the attention of his two daughters and other community members.

Ramesh had to undergo surgery and rehabilitation for his fracture and the family stayed at VMH for over two months. During this time, one of the daughters cared for him by staying at the hospital and Ramesh’s wife took over the work he was doing.

Ramesh after two months was discharged and provided with a walker to help him improve his mobility. In the month of April 2022, SVYM team visited his house and found him sitting in front of his hut. On seeing us, he got up and walked to greet us without using his walker. It was encouraging to see him back on his feet again, even more to see his spirit.

The cost of the treatment was borne entirely by VMH’s Yogakshema Samithi (Patient Support Fund), a committee composed of rural & tribal community members & SVYM staff, dedicated towards supporting individuals from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds. The committee  as an evaluation process for selecting the deserving individuals who need financial support.

The patients are also encouraged to pay a small amount from their pocket to uphold their dignity and recognise them as not just beneficiaries but customers of a service, entitled to quality like any other patient. In some cases the entire amount is waived off.

 

Enhanced Access to COVID-19 Care

Scaling up Rural COVID-19 Care Infrastructure

Covid Care Facility at VMH

A step towards preparedness, SVYM’s Vivekananda Memorial Hospital’s (VMH) existing rural Covid Care Facility with 42 oxygen equipped beds gets further strengthened to serve the rural population in and around Saragur and nearby taluk.
The newly erected rural COVID-19 Care Facility with 19 oxygenated beds is isolated from the main hospital and ensures a safe health care environment for uninterrupted non-COVID medical services at VMH.

SVYM has done excellent work in H D Kote and Saragur and shown the way to others to replicate.
Dr. Ashwath Narayan C N, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka

VMH equipped with an inhouse Oxygen Plant to further augment the hospital’s ability to manage heavy COVID-19 caseload.

251 Individuals with COVID-19 from rural and tribal communities were served at VMH along with post-COVID care and follow up through tele-consultation.

Reimagining rural health care with ICU & Operation theatre at VMH

Towards preparedness and reimagining rural health care, SVYM was able to scale up and up-grade Secondary & Tertiary medical care services for rural and tribal population through newly constructed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) & renovated Operation Theatre (OT) in the rural Vivekananda Memorial Hospital.

This development in our health care initiative for the tribal & rural community was possible with the philanthropic support received from many institutions & the committed support from individual supporters.

The ICU has six beds with ventilator support, two of them are isolation wards constructed in the wake of COVID-19 and the tuberculosis patients from the high risk tribal belts. There are five High Dependency Units (HDU) attached within the ICU.

Academics, Training & Research

To build contextually relevant Human and Social Capital by providing recognized health care courses based on the health care needs of the community

Training

Key to transforming rural health care is building skilled local human resource in rural areas.

45 Rural students are pursuing General Duty Assistant Course at Vivekananda Memorial Hospital. SVYM is a recognized training partner with National Skill Development Corporation. The GDA Course is conducted in collaboration with SVYM’s Viveka Rural Livelihood Centre in Kenchanahalli

Kudos to all 22 students from batch 2 for excelling in General Duty Assistant Course with above 73%.

Participation in Academic Programs

MBBS Internship &
Medical Post
Graduation (PG)
JSS Medical College, Mysuru 142 Interns
Bengalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru 40 Interns
BAMS Internship & Ayurveda
Post Graduation
Sri Sri Ayurveda College & Hospital, Bengaluru 2 Kaumarbhritya
PG Students
Swasthavritta Course B.M. Kankanwadi Ayurvedic Mahavidyalaya, Belagavi 2 Students
Community Health Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal 1 Student

Research in Health Care

The zero-tier healthcare system

H D Kote Taluk Herbal Pharmacopeia Project Website launched. This pioneering project aims at  empowering thousands of rural & tribal communities with low cost, self help, health care solutions by promoting traditional medicine as zero-tier healthcare system

Early Interventions to Support Trajectories for Healthy Life in India (EINSTEIN)

A joint initiative of DBT Govt. of India, CIHR Canada, SA MRC & NSFC China

The aim of the research project is to reduce the long-term risk of Non-
Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through interventions targeting pre-conception,
conception, fetal life, infancy and early childhood.

EINSTEIN Project Timeline

July 2015

Project Conceptualization for Multi-faceted Intervention Based on DoHAD Principles

December 2016

Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) Strengthening Workshop at WHO HQs, Geneva

December 2017

EINSTEIN (HeLTI India) Project Approval from DBT, Govt of India

October 2018

Recruitment of Research Team & Induction Workshop

June 2019

Completed Enumeration Survey in 103 Villages and 2 Towns, Qualitative Work, Formative Work on measurements

August 2019

Staff Training for Intervention & Control Groups and Formative Work on Biospecimen Collection

December 2019

HeLTI Council & Research Committee Meeting

June 2019

Completed Enumeration Survey in 103 Villages and 2 Towns, Qualitative Work, Formative Work on measurements

March 2020

COVID-19 – Field Activities Temporarily Suspended

February 2021

HeLTI Protocol Paper Published

March 2021

Consenting by & Recruitment of First Study Participant

April 2021

Baseline Data Collection from First Participant

April 2021

COVID-19 Second Wave Lockdown

May 2021

Switched to Remote Data Collection & Audio Consenting

July 2021

Post COVID-19 Work Resumed

September 2021

Started Intervention Delivery to Participants

November 2021

Biosample Collection & Measurement for Preconception & Pregnant Women

January 2022

Remote Data Collection From Pregnant Participants

February 2022

Participants Started Receiving Multimicronutrient Supplementation