Thiruvananthapuram : Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, met the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan today and promised the Group’s continuing commitment in the development of healthcare field in the state. He also met Hon’ble Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Ms. K. K. Shylaja, and Hon’ble Minister for Co-operation and Tourism, Mr. A. C. Moideen.
Speaking after the meeting with the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Dr. Moopen said, ‘The LDF government’s election manifesto envisioned a major thrust to health. Looking at the investor-friendly attitude of the government, we are pleased to announce multiple investments of around 600 crore in Kerala in various projects in 3 years. The flagship investment will be in a greenfield 500 bed super-speciality hospital in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.’
The group had last month announced two new projects, a 250 bed multi-specialty hospital in Kannur and a 300-bed super-specialty in hospital Kozhikode. Taking the proposed expansion at Aster MIMS Calicut into account, the various projects will add over 1000 beds to the group’s existing capacity of 2000 beds in the state.
Dr. Azad Moopen further added, ‘The Aster DM Healthcare group is the largest employer in the healthcare sector in Kerala. Across the four hospitals of the Group in the state, we provide employment to 8000 people with around 725 doctors, 2600 nurses and 1000 paramedical staff with around Rs 300 crore being spent on annual salary by the Group in the state. The three new projects are expected to add about 4000 more additional jobs which will benefit the employment prospects in the state.’
Environment friendly operations across all units have ensured the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) Award to Aster MIMS 10 years in a row. Aster Medcity Kochi, Aster MIMS Kottakkal and WIMS Wayanad also received KSPCB awards in their respective categories this year. The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH) accreditation received by all the four hospitals of the Group in Kerala and the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation received by Aster Medcity bear testimony to the quality of healthcare provided at the various DM Healthcare hospitals.
Concluding, Dr. Moopen said, ‘Health is a basic human necessity and with growing investment in the healthcare sector, an increasingly important part of Kerala’s economic growth story. The achievement of the goal of ‘Health for All’ requires development of an integrated health care system with a strong government funded primary health service complementing a well developed private health sector. At Aster DM Healthcare, our vision is to deliver high quality healthcare at an affordable cost to the people. We look forward to further this vision with the assistance of the new government.’
