The Respiratory Centre of Excellence at the Krishna Medical Centre Hospital (KMC) provides integrated healthcare services to the underserved population in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. With support from the SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Finance Facility, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IPE Global, Krishna Medical Centre has set up the Center of Excellence to strengthen respiratory health in the region. This center, which will serve as a single referral center for all pulmonological cases in the region with a primary emphasis on COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, is equipped with a 12-bed intensive care unit (ICU) and an 8-bed high-dependency unit (HDU), along with highly specialized state-of-the-art equipment, such as a multi-slice CT scan and video bronchoscopy.

With USAID and SAMRIDH’s support, Samarpan Society, a non-profit arm of KMC, is implementing the innovative hub and spoke model in the region, where facilities that have extensive experience serve as “hub” and disseminate their knowledge, practice, and experience to “spoke” facilities that have less experience. As part of this initiative, five satellite centers have been established in the remote areas of the state to treat patients through tele-health consultations with specialist doctors positioned at KMC (the hub). Six mobile medical units and one cancer screening mobile unit, equipped with AI-supported cancer screening tools, have also been deployed in the remote terrains of Chakrata in the Garhwal region to hold regular medical clinics providing door-step delivery of basic healthcare services.

Sangita Patel, USAID Health Officer Director said, “For 70 years, USAID has worked in partnership with the Indian Government to improve the health of India’s most vulnerable communities and the well-being of its people. We are happy that our support to the Krishna Medical Centre Hospital’s integrated healthcare solution, under the SAMRIDH program, is ensuring undisrupted, comprehensive, and affordable healthcare services to people living in remote Uttarakhand.”

Speaking about the partnership, Himanshu Sikka, Project Director, SAMRIDH and Chief Strategy and Diversification Officer, IPE Global, said, “At SAMRIDH, we are committed to support innovative market solutions that focus on improving the health and well-being of vulnerable communities. Through our partnership with Krishna Medical Centre Hospital, we aim to provide respiratory healthcare facilities to the people living in the remote hilly regions. We truly believe that the integrated medical model and the center of excellence from Krishna Medical Centre can be a game changer in the Garhwal region and provide a solution to the long-standing issue of last mile delivery of healthcare services.”

Dr Geeta Kumar, Medical Director, Krishna Medical Centre Hospital, said, “The HUB and SPOKE model, created through the collaboration with USAID-supported SAMRIDH initiative, will serve as a sustainable model for continued healthcare services focused on COVID-19. We strongly believe that the horrors of the pandemic witnessed by the entire state in the recent past and challenges of respiratory illnesses, like COPD tuberculosis, would be mitigated in the near future. Our project will be propelled further by the extremely successful Atal Ayushman Scheme of the Uttarakhand Government. The patients will be treated free of cost at the respiratory center of excellence through the funds allocated under the SAMRIDH support and continuum of the treatment will be ensured through the government panel support.”