Successful Model of Healthcare Cooperative Models: A Road Map – Abdur Razzaque Ansari Memorial (ARAM) Hospital by Handloom Weavers Jharkhand

Abstract

The Abdur Razzaque Ansari Memorial Weavers Hospital (ARAM) came into effect on 7 April 1996, and is dedicated to the people of Jharkhand and weavers. To deal with the issues of inequity in healthcare services, ARAM was founded for the extension of affordable healthcare services to the needy in and around the area of Jharkhand. Visualised by a great social worker and legend Abdur Razzaque Ansari, it has been successfully run by his eldest son Mr Sayeed Ahmad Ansari for 28 years. This research uses mainly a case-study approach through secondary data from the hospital website and other websites citing ARAM and its functions. Consent to use data for the study was obtained from Mr. Sayeed Ahmad Ansari. Primary information was collected through the patients who availed facilities from the hospital. They were interviewed through a semi-structured questionnaire each taking 30-40 minutes. Taken over by Medanta Group on 8 July 2015 (earlier being managed by Apollo Hospitals Group for 20 years), it is the first super speciality community hospital in Eastern India. Treating over 50,000 patients yearly with state-of-the-art medical equipment and providing discounts to lower-income groups, people from the weaver’s community, freedom fighters and members of ICSI have intrigued people from these sections for affordable treatment and facilities in and near Jharkhand. With a 200 bed-capacity, nine different disciplines and 12 departments spread across the city of Ranchi, the hospital caters to a massive population at a much-subsidised rate. Reaching out to rural villages through free medical camps and awareness campaigns, the hospital showcases how a successful model of healthcare cooperative can be replicated accordingly in similar developing and underdeveloped regions.

Citation

Singh, N. and Mishra, A. (2023), "Successful Model of Healthcare Cooperative Models: A Road Map – Abdur Razzaque Ansari Memorial (ARAM) Hospital by Handloom Weavers Jharkhand", Tripathy, K.K., Kumari, S., Venkatesh, V.G., Jayalakshmi, R. and Sukumaran Nair, M.P. (Ed.) World Healthcare Cooperatives: Challenges and Opportunities, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 119-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-774-720231006