Considering the ever increasing number of patients from in and around Shirdi, Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi) and the management at that time decided to expand and establish a hospital on the lines of big hospitals in Pune and Mumbai. The main aim was to provide all medical facilities at minimal rates and to provide free medical facilities to paients belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and minimal rates for people from deprived classes of society. For this reason, a Super Speciality Hospital was established in the name of Shri Sai Baba. This Hospital was inaugurated on 15th May 2006 by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Late Shri.Vilas Rao Deshmukh. This hospital has been equipped with lates and high quality equipments, machines and built as per International Standards. It is a 200 bed hospital built at a cost of approximately Rs.50 Crore.

Even though it is a Charitable Hospital maintained by Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, there has been absolutely no compromise in quality in offering health services. The basic resources like men, material and machinery are of highest quality.

Since its inception till 2015, the hospital has treated over 8 lakh people for various ailments. Above 50,000 patients of Cardiac, Cath Lab procedures and 10,000 cardiac open heart surgeries, 3000 neuro surgeries, 1000 joint replacement surgeries and other general surgeries have been performed at minimal rates and some of these surgeries have been performed free of cost.

List of Equipments available at Shri Sai Baba General and Super Speciality Hospital:

The hospital has 17 well educated, experienced and expert DM who are full time and MCH Super Consultants have also been appointed. These doctors serve the hospital not desiring the lucrative salary-jobs, urban facilities like schools for their children, other luxuries of urban area and have settled in the village of Shirdi for serving the patients. The heart surgery department has also called eminent doctors from abroad to conduct complicated heart surgeries. Furthermore, health camps and workshops have been arranged on regular basis. Also, Joint Transplants, Eye and Neurosurgery Camps have also been organized on a regular basis.

In order to retain the expert consultants and to let the patients have the benefit of their expertise, the management of Shri Saibaba Hospital offers an attractive pay package per month. Thus, Super Consultants, doctors from different cities, well known surgeons are eager to serve this hospital. At present, each department has two Super Consultants who are available 24 hours. Apart from them, paramedical, nursing, technical and other staff who are well educated and experienced are also serving in this hospital.

Shri Saibaba Hospital administration has made available world class stents round the clock and almost 2000 Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PCTA) operations, 1400 Open Heart Surgeries, 500 Valvuloplasty Operations, 500 Valve Replacement Surgeries are being performed every year in this hospital. Around 350 patients with "hole" in the heart are treated with either Percutaneous Device Closure (sutureless) or Open Heart Surgery every year. For patients who have complete heart block or very low heart rate with syncope a permanent pacemaker is implanted and this procedure is done to around 200 patients every year. The Hospital is also conducting International Seminars, Workshops and Camps on a regular basis.

Apart from the above procedures, 2D Echo, TMT, TEE and Cathlab procedures are being performed even for children as young as 3 months (3 kgs) and elderly patients as old as 95 years of age with world class results.

Neurosurgery Department:

The Neurosurgery Department has till now performed over 2400 Neuro Surgeries successfully. These include simple to most complex brain & spine operations which were refused by the leading Medical Colleges in Metro Cities.

All Neuro Surgical emergencies are attended to round the clock. Very recently the Hospital has started Microvascular Neurosurgery in the form of clipping of Aneurysms, Microvascular Decompression of Trigemainal Nerve for Neuralgia.

In future, the Hospital is planning to start Minimal Invasive Neuro Spinal Surgery which include Neuro Spinal Endoscopy which will be of immense help to the poor and needy patients residing not only in and around Shirdi but also to patients of nearby districts.

The Orthopaedic Department has been performing general as well as special Orthopaedic Surgeries like Trauma, Spine Surgries, Joint Replacement Surgeries, Arthoscopic Surgeries. The Hospital is running a daily OPD for around 100 patients with minimum of 5 major surgeries per day.

The Hospital conducted a unique Orthopaedic Camp in 2011 and conducted 100 Knee and Hip Replacement Surgeries absolutely free of cost for poor patients.

In future, the Hospital is planning to conduct Joint Replacment Surgeries on a regular basis.

This Department is fully equipped with latest state of the art machineries and equipments. Facility for conducting various examinations like Angiography, whole body CT Scan, Dental Scan, MRI-Spine, Brain, Abdomen-Pelvis, MRCP, Venography, Mammography, Spectroscopy, Fistulography, Image guided FNAC, Biopsy & Taping are available. The department has a well informed & trained team of Radiologists.

The Saibaba Hospital's Laboratory is designed in such a way to support the hospital round the clock. The Hospital has sections for sample collection, Clinical Pathology, Biochemistry, Immunoassay, Haematology, Microbiology, Histopathology, Cytology. The Department is fully equipped with state of the art equipments to support Super Specialty OT's, CRU's, ICCU's working for 24 hours. The Hospital has tied up with CMC Vellore for both Internal and External Quality Control.

The Department has also facility for conducting Aerobic and Anaerobic Cultures of all the OT's, Wards, ICCU's of both Shri Saibaba and Shri Sainath Hospitals. The Department has fully automated Biochemistry, Haematology, Histopathology and Harmone Assay Instruments that can cater 250-300 patients on a daily basis.

Shri Saibaba Hospital is having an annual turnover of approximately Rs.150 crore.

The rates in the Hospital are structured in such a way that the services are available at lower rates to benefit the poor patients. The rates are nearly 20-30% lesser than the wellknown super specialty hospitals. Even for other patients, 20% to 50% off on the bill is given. In this way, around 35 to 40 lakh is endowed every month.

In addition, according to the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 and High Court suggestions, 10% of the patients below poverty line are treated free of cost and 10% of the deprived class are treated at reasonable rate.

Shri Saibaba Hospital is the highest beneficiary in the entire Maharashtra State for Government Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana for Cardiology & CVTS Departments. This scheme was implented in the year 2007 and till now (2015) 19170 heart surgeries have been conducted free of cost under this scheme.

The Rajiv Gandhi Jeevanadayi Aroya Yojana covers 30 Specialized Service Categories, 972 procedures and 121 follow up procedures. This scheme was implented in first stage from 14.02.2013 to 20.10.2013 in districts of Amaravati, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Nanded, Raigad, Solapur, Mumbai and its suburbs. In Second stage, which was started from 21.10.2013, the remaining 25 districts were covered and the scheme is now implemented in the entire state of Maharashtra. Under the supervision of Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana Society, the insurance companies National Insurance and Third Party Administration (TPA) companies are providing their services online. This has helped in faster and efficient execution of the scheme and is more work effective. The patient and his/her relatives need not run around various offices/departments to get their insurance approved. It takes hardly 2-3 hours for approval. Additionally, all diagnostic tests, treatments and operations are performed free of cost under this scheme.

Also, the patients after discharge, gets free follow-up medicines for the following 10 days. If the patient is not a local resident, the travel fare from the hospital to home and back are paid. Because of this, the patient as well as relatives are very happy with the scheme. The scheme has come as a big blessing for the needy patients and is very convenient even for the hospital administration.

A total of 6218 surgeries have been performed from 14.02.2013 to 30th November 2014 and an amount of Rs.38,33,18,811/- has been received.

Shri Saibaba Hospital has a successful occupancy rate of 95% with average lenght of stay of 6 days per patient. With the Grace of Shri Sai Baba, since 2006, the Hospital is steadily achieving a success rate of over 95% till now.

Considering the every increasing number of patients, the Saibaba Sansthan Trust has taken on contract basis a liquid oxygen plant which has the capacity of storing 13,000 litre. It is manufactured by M/s.Praxair Limited, Mumbai. It was commissioned at the hospital on 1st September 2012. Due to this facility, the operation theatres, Cardiac Recovery Units, Intensive Care Units, general wards, etc.. receive 99.80% pure oxygen.

Shri Saibaba Hospital has been registered in the Central Government scheme under the Prime Minister National Fund considering its medicinal facilities, infrastructure, highly educated and well experienced staff, and the privileges and financial help provied to the patients by Health & Family Welfare Ministry, Delhi. Under this Plan, the hospital receives 50% amount (maximum of Rs.1,00,000) for major surgeries and treatment of patients.

All the departments of Shri Saibaba Hospital have been computerized and CCTV system is installed all over the premies. The hospital also has internet facility and as per the New Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Jojna, a faster, independent 10 MBPS lease line has been installed in the Hospital. Additionally, the departments are linked and their e-tenders are filed. The functioning of the hospital is therefore more effective.

The hospital provides the patients with 24 hour ambulance service at an affordable rate and blook bank is open too. Separate, special ambulances for cardiac department are also made available. The link to Shri Sainath Blood Bank is as follows: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bPKWhgkKs4iPvDVu7

The Central Government's Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has granted recognition through Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Medical Aid Scheme 2004. Under this scheme, people belonging to Schedule Tribe and Schedule Caste get 50% of the total cost or maximum of Rs.1,00,000 concession on the treatment and operative procedures like heart, brain, kidney, cancer, joint replacement etc.

Shri Saibaba Super Speciality Hospital
Manmad-Ahmednagar Main Road,
Shirdi-423 109,
Rahata Taluk,
Ahmednagar District
Maharashtra,India.
Phone: 02423-258 666 / 02423-258 670 / 02423-258676/02423 - 258654

(Source:Shri Sai Leela Magazine, March-April 2015 & official website of Shri Saibaba Sansthan)