“There are hospitals with costly equipment and expert doctors, huge buildings and spick-and-span interiors, but they indulge more in profiteering than affording relief. Their services are for those who can pay large sums of money. Villagers are not welcome there, who in turn do not feel at ease to approach them. Therefore this hospital is being started amidst the villages so that expert advice and treatment can be rendered, to them in a loving atmosphere of devotion.”
The above words of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai clearly explain his unconditional love for the poor and needy people across the globe. With comprehensible agenda to bring world class medical and healthcare facilities to all kinds of people, and for free, Bhagwan decided to establish this hospital at Prashanti Nilayam.
The seed that was planted by Bhagawan in 1956, has grown today into the large Sri Sathya Sai Healthcare wing, with establishment of Super Speciality Hospitals, Mobile Medical services, Nationwide healthcare service programs including free medical camps as well as International Medicare Projects. In these days when medicine has become a business and rural healthcare is abysmally inadequate, Bhagawan’s free Medicare in rural India, which this hospital represents, stands as a beacon of light for others to emulate.
All the services in the hospital are offered completely free of cost to all the patients based on the facilities available. However, it is practically not possible to cater to the needs of everyone who visits. Therefore, the Hospital primarily focuses on the needs of the residents of Sri Sathya Sai Taluka, which includes Bukkapatnam, Kothacheruvu and Puttaparthi mandals. Other patients presenting with simple general illnesses or those landing up in the emergency with acute conditions are served depending upon the manageability within the setup. The hospital does not provide general medical checkups or treatment for chronic ailments for such patients.
History
The saga of Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital starts in the 1950s when the tiny hamlet of Puttaparthi lacked even the basic amenities of health, education and potable water. Moved by the plight of the villagers including pregnant women who had to trudge long distances to receive medical care, the compassionate mother Eshwaramma pleaded with her son, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to provide facilities for health, education and water to the villagers. In response to The Mother’s plea, His universal mission of mercy took a distinctive turn through establishment of institutions of service that stand today as tall testimonies of Divine love and compassion.
The foundation stone of this hospital was laid down on the most auspicious day of the birthday of Bhagawan Baba on 23rd November in 1954. The original Hospital building which was inaugurated on 4th October in 1956 was constructed on the hill south of Prasanthi Nilayam. The original building had only one floor and consisted of a large central room flanked on either side by two smaller rooms. There was a verandah skirting the building. The center room had a screen in the middle to divide the male and female OPDs. Adjacent to the female OPD was a small room for deliveries. Next to this was the female ward with four beds for in-patients. Similarly, adjacent to the male OPD was a pharmacy with a window facing outwards and there was a male ward next to it.
Baba’s mission of mercy for the sick and the poor was not confined to starting the hospital. Swami gave the hospital a van, in which the doctors and paramedical staff would go on every Thursday and Sunday to nearby villages to reach those who could not come all the way to the hospital. This mobile medical service also served to create health awareness among the villagers of neighbouring villages of Kammavarupalli, Kovilaguttapalli, Amagondapalyam etc.
Facilities
Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital is on par with any corporate hospital that is in any major city of the country. Operation theatres, labour wards, an ante-natal and a post-natal wards; dental department; Obstetricians; General surgical facilities; Well-organized Medical and Surgical Departments; Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit; etc. The Hospital houses the departments of General medicine with Casualty, Emergency ward, Inpatient wards, Dental, Ophthalmology, ENT and Gastroenterology OPD, X-Ray, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Laboratory, Administration and Library. It also has a state of the art seminar hall for academic and cultural purposes.
It is by the Divine benevolence and grace alone, such a stupendous task of 60 years of free medical service is being made available to all. It also stands as an example of the spirit of oneness, where the suffering of one is the suffering of all.
Obstetrics and Gynaecology is the oldest and largest department established right since the inception of the hospital in 1956.. The department caters to the maternity and Gynaecological needs of women from Puttaparthi and three other mandals within a radius of 35 kilometers: Bukkapatnam, Kothacheruvu and Nallamada.
The Department of Pediatrics caters to the needs of new born and children typically from Puttaparthi and surrounding villages for whom this is the only centre for Pediatric care.
The Department of General Medicine is the backbone of the hospital, which has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 1956.
The hospital has an Operation Theatre complex with two OTs where major and minor surgeries are carried out by in house and visiting surgeons from India and abroad. Some of the surgeries commonly undertaken are hernia, hydrocele, appendix, intestinal perforation, wound debridment, etc
The department caters to the basic dental needs of patients from Sri Sathya Sai taluka.
Regular and vising specialists provide basic ENT out-patient services to people from Sri Sathya Sai taluka.
The department was established to provide basic Ophthalmology services which are available to patients in the precincts of Puttaparthi. Those patients who require specialized treatment are referred to the Ophthalmology dept of SSSIHMS Prasanthigram (Super-Specialty hospital).
Become a Volunteer
‘Seva’ (volunteering), the most paying form of austerity, the most satisfying, and the most pleasurable!
Our pool of regular doctors is augmented by experts and specialists from India and abroad who volunteer their services for a short duration (7 days to 2 months). What draws them is the joy and satisfaction of selflessly serving the most needy and the opportunity to participate in the holy mission.
You can become a volunteer, get into Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital website and apply with your details to become a volunteer.
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