Bangalore Baptist Hospital
A Hospital putting a significant percentage of their revenue behind concessional care for the poor
Palliative care is a healthcare specialty that is both a philosophy of care and an organized, highly structured system for delivering care to persons with life-threatening or debilitating illnesses, from diagnosis till death and then into bereavement care for the family. According to a 2009 report by Human Rights Watch, about 7 million people need palliative care in India every year, but only a small fraction of them receive it. There has been no national-level discussion here on the right to die with dignity, and within families with a loved one approaching death, it is often taboo to talk of just managing symptoms rather than continuing with futile therapeutic treatment.
Bangalore Baptist Hospital (BBH) was founded on the 15th of January 1973, as an 80-bedded hospital that has grown to a 300-bed tertiary-care, multi-specialty hospital providing compassionate, quality care.The hospital caters to 2.6 lakh outpatients and 20,000 in-patients annually through the untiring efforts of 1200 staff members. The hospital provides services in all broad specialties and 13 super specialties. 15% of their annual revenue is reserved for free or concessional care to the poor.
The Community Health Division (CHD) serves as the outreach service arm of BBH. The departmental mission is to initiate strategies and programs that would make a difference to the lives of the poor and marginalized groups living in the rural & urban areas of Bangalore.In the rural area, their work spreads across 900 villages of Bangalore Rural District, covering an estimated population of 1 million. Through their work this division has worked community based cardiovascular disease prevention and management program s,alcohol de-addiction and rehabilitation program s, rehabilitation programs for the differently-abled and programs for welfare of Senior Citizens.
BBH runs two teams of an initiative called “Reach Out” (one serving the city and the other rural villages in Devanahalli Taluk and beyond) that provide palliative care services to those suffering from end-of-life conditions. The team consists of multi-disciplinary teams comprising doctors, nurses, and counselors. The two teams serve patients at homes through planned visits, manage those having terminal cancer and incurable medical diseases, and attend to the elderly.
The rural team travels long distances averaging around 50 kms every day. Key features of the initiative are home-based care offering, symptom control, a 24-hour helpline, and comprehensive care (medical, psychological, social, spiritual). Further, the team seeks to empower caregivers and help provide counseling and bereavement support. BBH’s services reach out to 1600 people annually, providing a pain-free, peaceful, and dignified end to terminally ill patients.
Go2C has facilitated bringing in the CFO of Megaware, a Thailand-based MNC, to help BBH serve those in need. Over 829 persons (children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities) were touched and are leading transformed lives. Below we share all that this giving could help impact. Through this support, BBH is able to provide eggs daily to children attending 40 Anganwadi centres in Rural Bangalore. Over 12-16000 eggs are distributed each month across the 40 Anganwadi Centers as part of the early childhood care program. The distribution happens in Ward 40 of the DJ Halli Slum to little about 800 children at an average of around 20 eggs per center. The supplementary feeding provided has improved the nutritional and health status of children.BBH was also able to build custom toilets made for people with disabilities (PWD), care for elders through a dedicated eldercare center and provide financial assistance to disabled poeple to kickstart their livelihoods. empowering them.
