Asiri Hospitals gives Rs. 10 m for construction of Cancer patient Transit Home fund

The Asiri Group of Hospitals, best known for  comprehensive, ethical and high quality health care services,  funded a full ward in Phase I of the 140 bed  Cancer Care Transit Home built at the Maharagama Cancer Hospital by the CCC Foundation, epitomizing that  a giant health care business can also share   philanthropic traits.

Ashok Pathirage, Chairman of Asiri Hospitals PLC., announced that the Asiri Group made a generous contribution of Rs. 10 million towards the construction of the CCC House. The 140 bed transit home will enable the large number of patients who only need the treatment but do not have to be resident to receive treatment in a more effective manner.  Out of approximately 1000 patients who obtain treatment daily at the Maharagama Hospital, only a 850 enjoy the comfort of a bed, whilst the rest literally camp on the floor. Most of them have no access to accommodation nearby to the hospital, traveling from far corners of the island. The CCC House, once completed in mid 2012, will provide humane facilities to  over 170  less privileged patients who are already suffering with cancer.

 “Each year the numbers of patients seeking treatment at the NCI for various types of cancers keeps increasing. At present there are facilities for approximately 850 patients and 500 attend outpatient clinics daily. The bed strength of the hospital is insufficient to provide a bed for all resident patients,” stated Dr Kanishka Karunarathna, Director of the National Cancer Institute. “The CCC House will not only give a comfortable bed for these patients forced to sleep in corridors of the hospital (floor patients), but will also allow the medical staff to focus on the newly admitted and critically ill patients. This type of accommodation is ideal for patients undergoing radiotherapy and day chemotherapy. The CCC House will also improve the psycho-social environment for the outpatient as well as the carers, making recovery more ideal in a homely environment. A cancer patient’s immunity is highly suppressed, they are prone to infections. The floor is no place for them but lack of facilities forces this to happen,” he further added.

According to Pathirage, the Rs. 10 million donation was made in line with their vision to be a compassionate, efficient and dynamic private health service provider in the country. “We have understood that although the population of this country is on the increase, critical health care has not grown to meet this demand. The total bed strength in the health care sector is still minute. We as a private health care provider have been constantly investing in creating, greater and state of the art health care. But private health care is not accessible to all and the least we can do to help the masses of this country is to provide our resources to support projects like this that will provide solace to them. This will be a CSR initiative that is very compatible with our core values. We had no hesitation in supporting the CCC Foundation in this magnanimous project. With our contribution we will be able to fund a whole ward in the CCC House and bring benefits to many patients who require only day treatment but are staying with minimum facilities at the hospital as they have no other option.”

Courage, Compassion and Commitment is what CCC Stands for and it is what a patient needs when diagnosed with cancer. The CCC House with an estimated cost of Rs. 170 million once completed will accommodate 140 patients and 30 carers in a comfortable and hygienic manner. The donation from Asiri will be directed towards the construction of a ward, which will be named accordingly.  “Mr. Pathirage’s generous donation is an inspiration for all of us who have been raising funds to make this project a reality,” stated Suren Madanayake, Chairman, CCC Foundation Sri Lanka. “They are a shining example of community philanthropy at its finest. This should be an inspiration for people and organizations throughout our country and abroad. We appeal to companies, clubs and individuals in the community to humbly support our endeavor to make a difference to those afflicted with cancer. ”