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Super Speciality Hospital at Prasanthi Nilayam      Super Speciality Hospital at Whitefield, Bangalore  Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, Prasanthinilayam  

Medical Institutions

"Health is an essential requisite for man; it is the very root for all endeavours in the four fields of human achievement: dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation"

-Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba and Health Care

It is a known fact that the cost of tertiary medical care is beyond the reach of the average person, not to mention the poor. The provision of such treatment has also become a commercial enterprise with all the attendant abuses. The guiding principle driving all the medical relief activities of the trust could be summed up as follows:

Medicine for all: Medical aid should be the right of every individual irrespective of caste, creed, nationality or colour.

To free Medicine from the stigma of Commercialisation: The act of healing should be restored to its pristine sanctity, which can only be done when it ceases to be a commodity bought and sold in the market.

Human Values in Medical Care: The human agents of delivery system of health care, be they Health Administrators, Doctors, Nurses or Technicians, should be perfectly "human"; in thought, word and deed. They should demonstrate the five Human Values . Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence in every act of theirs.

Spiritual Well Being As A Medical Concept: Present day medicine stops at laying down health practices and policies to provide physical, mental and psychological health of the individual. It makes little or no attempt at strengthening the SPIRIT of man - the divine force in him that energises his physical, mental or psychological systems. Modern medicine has lost its inherent and intrinsic proximity to spirituality. Unless that element is restored, Medicine or health care could never be holistic.

Much has been spoken about this integrated concept throughout the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) too has actively advocated it. This integration is being effectively implemented in a thorough and professional manner at Prasanthi Gram.

Primary Health Care

Medical camps are organised on a regular basis in rural areas where patients are given medicines free of cost. Hundreds of thousands of patients are treated for eye ailments and thousands of cataract operations are performed. Free medical dispensaries are being run at various places by Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations. Blood donation camps are organised. Medical teams from Sri Sathya Sai Organisations of various states visit Orphanages, Old Age Homes, Leprosy Homes etc. for medical checkup on a continuous basis.

Secondary Healthcare (The General Hospitals)

Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital at Prasanthi Nilayam and Sri Sathya Sai Hospital at Whitefield, Bangalore render free medical aid to the poor rural population. These Hospitals have made steady progress and blossomed as institutions offering a high quality service to the helpless villagers. These hospitals now offer up to date facilities. The dedicated and selfless service of the resident doctors and doctors who visit the hospitals from time to time have resulted in the phenomenal growth of these hospitals. Majority of the patients, who come for treatment to the General Hospitals and Super-speciality Hospital, are from socially and economically weaker sections of society. Mother Easwaramma had expressed her desire that there should be a hospital for all the poor people of Puttaparthi. Bhagawan had promised her that it would be done at the proper time. Accordingly, in 1956 Puttaparthi was blessed with its first hospital. What started as a small two-bed hospital has blossomed over the years to a full-fledged 100-bed hospital. Under the benign guidance of Bhagawan another hospital was opened at Whitefield, Bangalore. Being on the outskirts of a fast expanding city meant that the hospital had to grow at a great speed. Today that hospital too has become large enough to handle more than 1000 patients daily. Both hospitals today have speciality units. The various departments in the general hospitals are:

General Medicine Paediatrics General Surgery Orthopedic Surgery Plastic Surgery Urology ENT Surgery Ophthalmology Sri Sathya Sai Eye Bank Obstetrics and Gynecology

Tertiary Health Care (The Super-Speciality Hospitals)

The Super Speciality Hospital is the tertiary link in the chain of health care. Leading doctors specialising in the fields of Cardiology, Urology, Nephrology, Ophthalmology etc. come from different parts of the World on their own and render their services free of cost Most of the patients who come for treatment to the Super Speciality Hospital are from socially and economically weaker sections of society. The Hospital provides excellent patient care facilities to all free of cost. Even Heart Surgeries like CABG, Valve replacement and Kidney transplantation are done entirely free of cost in the hospital.

Swami's words on Sri Sathya Institute of Higher Medical Sciences: "When any educational or medical institute is established, the sole aim is to make a business of it. There are few who are ready to set up institutions to provide free facilities for the poor. Therefore, from the start we decided to set up a hundred-crore hospital near Prasanthi Nilayam. Even as higher education is free here, 'higher medicine' will also be free. People spend some lakhs to get heart surgery done in the U.S. What is the plight of the poor? Who looks after them? If they go to the cities, they will not get even basic medicine. Recognizing this fact, we have launched this big hospital project. Whether it is heart bypass operation, a kidney transplant, a lung operation, brain surgery or eye surgery, everything will be done free. This has been decided upon from the very start of the project. The hospital will be opened on November 22, 1991." Declaration on establishing the Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, 23 November 1990 .

New hospital at Puttaparthi for poor villagers

"With a view to setting an example to the authorities, to the community and to every individual, Swami is undertaking activities, small and big, in various spheres. This hamlet of Puttaparthi had a population of barely 800. To conceive of a University for such a village was a fantastic dream. Another amazing phenomenon is the construction of an aerodrome near such a village, when there are no aerodromes even at district headquarters. Puttaparthi has become the cynosure of all eyes in the world. Above all, you should enquire why a highly sophisticated and most modern hospital, which should be located in a well-developed metropolis, has been set up in this rural area. The wealthy can go anywhere and get medical relief with their abundant resources. But the rural poor cannot go far from their villages for treatment. It is for the sake of such poor folk that this Hospital has been established. I told our doctors to examine the heart ailments of the villagers around here. Today an auspicious announcement has to be made. Within fifteen minutes of the inauguration of the Hospital by our Prime Minister, the first operation was begun in the Hospital. Within three hours four operations were performed. One was a very complicated case. There was a hole in the heart of the patient. All the operations were performed successfully and all the patients are doing well. You should know how this Hospital came up. The firm of Larsen & Toubro are known for their big constructions in India and abroad. But nowhere else was such enthusiasm and zeal displayed by the workers engaged in the construction as in this Hospital. Even the smallest worker did the work of ten persons with zeal and joy. All workers performed their jobs with enthusiasm and devotion. Work on the Hospital began in May after my return from Kodaikanal. Within five months from May to November, work has been done which would have taken five years. This is a gigantic project. It is intended to benefit people for a thousand years. Our purpose is to provide for cardiac cases in the first phase. Then, it will be the lungs. The third wing will be concerned with kidneys. The fourth will be the neurology wing. This hospital has been set up to provide relief to villagers suffering from these four kinds of ailments. No distinction is made, however, between villages and cities. Diseases do not afflict only villagers. They make no territorial distinctions. Likewise, there will be no differentiation in providing relief our intention is to provide relief to all comers. For achieving anything in the world, a sound body is essential. The body is the primary requisite for the pursuit of Dharma (righteousness). The body has to be in good health. Even for the realisation of the four goals of human life-Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha sound health is essential. Having regard to the basic importance of health for all purposes, Swami had launched such medical institutions. But what is the purpose of having a healthy body? It should be utilised for healthy activities. Unfortunately, all over the world people are forgetting Dharma and Moksha and are immersed only in the pursuit of Artha and Kama. This is totally wrong. Men should pursue equally all the four goals and divinise their lives. Good health is essential for utilising the body for good deeds. Of what use is a body used for evil purposes?"