Nagpur: Free maternity care has helped Lloyds Kali Ammal Memorial Hospital (LKAMH) at Hedri cross a significant milestone, with the hospital recently delivering its 500th baby, offering a major boost to access to maternal healthcare for families in the remote and tribal belt of Gadchiroli.Established in 2023 to bring quality healthcare closer to underserved communities, LKAMH provides its services free of cost, seeking to ensure that neither financial constraints nor the long distances involved in travelling to healthcare centres prevent women from accessing institutional maternity care.“The 500 deliveries mark an important milestone for a healthcare facility serving a region where geographical isolation and limited access to specialised medical services can pose significant challenges for expectant mothers,” said doctors. For hundreds of families, the hospital has meant being able to access maternity care closer to home rather than undertaking long journeys for treatment.“These aren’t just 500 births; these are 500 families who didn’t have to leave home to get the care they needed,” said B Prabhakaran, managing director, Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd. He said this was the core idea behind establishing the hospital — ensuring people from remote and tribal areas did not have to travel long distances for medical care.“I am grateful to our doctors, nurses and paramedical staff for getting us here, and we’re committed to building a lifelong experience of providing the best facilities for our patients in the region,” he said.Kirthy Reddy, director, Lloyds Infinite Foundation, said, “This milestone is a testament to the selfless work our doctors and nurses have been doing to give the best services to patients. It is also a testimony of how hard the hospital staff is working to make sure a family’s address doesn’t decide the kind of care they get,” she said.The hospital’s capabilities have also been tested in complicated pregnancies. Recently, its medical team successfully managed a high-risk premature triplet pregnancy, with all three babies delivered through an emergency Caesarean section.With the 500th birth, LKAMH plans to further strengthen and expand its maternal and newborn-care services in the coming years. The milestone comes as an indicator of the growing demand for accessible healthcare in Gadchiroli and the importance of taking specialised services closer to communities that have traditionally faced barriers of distance and affordability.
