Sankara Eye Hospitals, which was started 40 years ago in Coimbatore, catering to ten million people over the past four decades performing over 1.75 million surgeries, aims at establishing its branches in every State of India. In pursuit of its goal, it has got its 10th branch ready for inauguration at Jaipur to serve the people of the State of Rajasthan.
The state of the art Hospital with a 70,000 square feet area has been earmarked for free services to the rural poor. Of the 225 beds available there, as many as 200 will be used for the poor and needy, while the remaining 25 beds are for those who can afford to pay.
The hospital runs on a unique 80:20 model, wherein 80% of the beneficiaries are the rural poor who will receive totally free eye care. The balance 20% of the patients are the rich and affluent sections of the society, who will pay for their treatment, thereby cross-subsidizing the free eye care services and making the Hospitals self-sustaining.
According to a release, 45 million Indians are visually handicapped and 12 million are totally blind, which means that one third of the world’s blind population is in India. 80% of the blindness in India is either preventable or curable with timely treatment, since the condition is totally avoidable, claims Sankara.
Sankara Eye Hospitals, a Unit of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical, has a 40 years track record in community eye care.
The next three replications of Sankara Eye Hospital are scheduled to be started in Indore for the State of Madhya Pradesh, in Panvel for Maharashtra and in Hyderabad for Telangana.
