Mumbai: A multispeciality hospital will soon start functioning in Palghar, a tribal district plagued by poor medical infrastructure. It will be run by the World Memon Organisation’s WMO Memon Hospital. Spread over 1.75 acres, the 116-bed hospital located on Saatpati Road is one of the few multi-speciality hospitals in Palghar. Founded with the munificence of the Memons, the rich business community known for their philanthropic works, this hospital fulfils a long-standing need of the district. “Between Vapi and Mira Road, there is not a single multi-speciality hospital. In emergencies, many serious patients die by the time they reach a good hospital in Gujarat or Mumbai,” says Haseen Aghadi, president, WMO (India chapter). “Now, our hospital gives the locals new hope.” This past week, Aghadi, along with a team of other WMO office-bearers, visited the hospital as the facility received its final touches. It is also a dream come true for the late Iqbal Dhanan, a member of the Palghar Memon Jamat. Dhanan donated a parcel of land but died before his dream of seeing a good hospital could be realised.Four years ago, the land was transferred to WMO, which decided to build a hospital, its first and biggest in a rural area. The Memons have made several hospitals in the country, but they are confined to urban areas.With its state-of-the-art infrastructure, including cardiac care, cath lab, MRI, pathology, operation theatres, and ambulance service, the hospital will also use many govt schemes to keep the treatment affordable for the financially weak, while the trust will compensate for free treatment for the abject poor. Poor tribals are going to be the biggest beneficiaries, according to Aghadi.Run by a charitable trust, the hospital, unlike other private hospitals, is a non-commercial venture. To be run on a no-profit-no-loss basis, the cost of treatment for very poor patients will be covered by the trust, Aghadi said. The hospital in Palghar, says WMO’s Mumbai chairman Mudassar Patel, is guided by the same spirit of service to humanity. At a time when private hospitals in cities are money-minting projects, the Memons thought of setting up this multi-speciality hospital in Palghar, one of the most impoverished districts in the state.
