When the project was envisioned in early 2019, its primary goal was to:
- improve healthcare services in a rural community in Baghpat district by implementing centralized health record management at a charitable rural hospital, and
- secondly, extending the reach of the hospital to other remote rural communities.
Project execution was to start in late 2020 after approval of a Global Grant supported by Rotary Club of Calgary and Rotary Club of Calgary Sarcee.
In the meantime, COVID19 hit countries around the world in February 2020, and national lockdown / physical distancing became household names. In India, rural clinics and hospitals with no isolation rooms, ventilators and other facilities to treat covid19 patients were ordered to shutdown. Rural communities were left with no access to even basic healthcare.
Rotarians working in our district and collaborating organizations realized that this project was exactly what was needed, and it was needed now. Rotarians got down to work to find a solution to advance the project, even in the absence of Global Grant approval.
These efforts paid off. One of the basic elements of the project have been implemented and tele-medicine service is being initiated on May 11, 2020. Now the rural communities will have access to some level of healthcare even during covid19-related lockdown.
Rotarians are truly People of Action.