Software company Zoho to build community hospital near Chennai

Software developer Zoho is building a 250-bed community hospital in Kattankulathur on the outskirts of this metropolis which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The hospital, which will have a built-up area of 2.6 lakh square feet and an area to bed ratio of 1,000 square feet with self-contained facilities, will function as a centre from where complex healthcare will be provided in rural and non-urban areas using Haptic and similar technologies.

Being built at a cost of Rs 70 crore, the hospital, which will reflect a synergy between analogue clinical skills and digital tools, is expected to be completed in 12 to 16 months.

"Rapidly improving technology and network capabilities could change hospitals into healthcare back-offices. While the hospitals would continue to serve complex healthcare needs on-site, they would also reach with nimble arms, a home, or an office, be it in a rural or urban area, to handle healthcare issues at source,” Dr Balachander Govindarajan, Medical Director, Zoho, said.

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said smaller towns and rural areas do not have ample healthcare facilities that are common today in urban centres, while the quality and cost are also restrictive.

“With this initiative, we intend to reduce the rural/urban divide. We will train paramedics in technology and clinical skills so that they can provide healthcare outside urban areas as well. We at Zoho are determined to use all the tools at hand to make impactful healthcare, a pan-societal reality over time,” he said.

Though predominantly an allopathic facility, AYUSH treatment features would also be integral in this holistic wellness project, the company said, adding that it is also an investor in vTitan and MedicalMine Inc. Both vTitan and MedicalMine are helping in establishing the hospital.