Sri Gurudeva Charitable Trust’s hospital in Mangalampalem of Kothavalasa mandal of Vizianagaram district is a blessing for thousands of poor patients from remote and tribal areas of North Andhra region.
With little access to medical facilities, many patients from Kothavalasa, Vepada, Anantagiri, Araku and other mandals are being forced to travel either to Vizianagaram or Visakhapatnam for treatment. Although they get treatment free of cost at King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam and Maharaja Government Hospital in Vizianagaram, travelling to these places is often difficult. The attendants of patients who cannot get shelter within the hospital premises have to shell out money to stay at lodges.
Sri Gurudeva Charitable Trust, which has provided artificial limbs to over 35,000 physically challenged persons in the last 15 years, constructed a 50-bedded hospital in Mangalampalem in November 2021. Trust president Raparthi Jagadish Babu, who reportedly sold off some of his own properties to arrange money for the construction of the hospital, roped in the services of eminent doctors who extend treatment free of cost to poor patients. Many doctors from Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam regularly extend their service to patients by performing critical surgeries at the hospital free of cost.
“Medical expenses have become a big financial burden for the poor, which is why we decided to build this hospital. They need to pay only for medicines and the rest is taken care of by the hospital,” said Mr. Jagadish Babu. Thirty surgeries including deliveries were done at the hospital in the last three months. Around 80 outpatients get medical assistance from senior doctors including Chief Executive Officer V. Atchuta Ramayya and R. Sathyavati. “Recently, we conducted a laparotomy free of cost for a daily labourer named B. Lakshmi as she was unable to afford the fee of ₹1 lakh for the operation at private hospitals,” said Dr. Sathyavati.
