Relics of Doctors For You History in Bihar
"Discovering Past in the light of Present and Future"
Written by Pushplata Bhardwaj
A part of Doctors For You history is oral. You will find them in living relics on traveling to different centers of their origin. One of them is Vistex Hospitals in Masarhi, popularly known as “Baba Hospital or Masarhi Hospital” among localities.
Masarhi is a village known for its inhabitant's community which hunts rats for food and to make livings. The level of poverty is very stark.
In the month of March 2022, I visited Bihar for process documentation of WASH project and on the sideline happened to visit Vistex hospital for another work. On the way from Patna to Masarhi covering on Bihta - Sarmera Highway after covering almost 25 Km, a small, name plate-like direction board indicated to travel a 1-2 km interior from the main road to reach the Vistex hospital. Down the road is a feebly-lit lane, there were fields on one side and houses on the other. It was late evening, almost 6 P.M when I reached there. Upfront was an under-construction, white-painted hospital with wooden bamboo sticks barricading. The door was opened by a tough-looking guard, who was accompanied by a dog.
Inside, I met some extraordinary people from Doctors For You. The prime pillar Mr. Raghuvansh Singh, who donated his land for the noble cause over a vision of his Son Dr. Ravikant Singh, and the administrative staff Mr. Kundan and Mr. Ajit, who were glowing in the dim light of the bulb, while narrating the story of DFY work in Masarhi Village. Honestly, my heart floated a number of times while listening to them. It was transcendence and a spiritual feeling like a kaleidoscope of events was alive in front of me.
It was 7 PM, we moved inside the village at a site where the roots of DFY Bihar interventions were grounded. The responsibility of the maternal & child health clinic was shouldered by Dr. Taru Jindal, After school, free education program run in an open green field shaded by a canopy of trees, tailoring & dance classes for women was uptaken by Mr. Jacob, Hygiene Technician training and employment generation intervention were driven by Mr. Shandeepan G, the first barbershop to give hair & nail cut to children was sponsored by Dr. Rajat Jain, Cleanliness drive, Community Development programs and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices were all together managed by the stalwarts of Doctors For You team in a small village of Masarhi. In fact, prior to the COVID-19 situation, international students came for internships with DFY at Masarhi village.
Comprehensive programs of DFY roped in new life among the villagers. It opened new opportunities of quality health care services, education and livelihood.
It has been 3 hours. Kundan Ji and Ajit Ji were flawless. Not even for a minute, they went out of breath. So passionate. Intricacies of their commitment to DFY cause was felt in every word they spoke while describing the details of the program. They reiterated on hardships of establishing a system from scratch. Most common phenomena is flood situations, safety and waterlogging issues encountered while sending a patient in an ambulance at night, making a residential arrangement for the medical team, setting up a kitchen and buying rations from the long distances, procuring and maintaining supplies of required medicines, struggle over mobilizing people on health and hygiene measures, addressing malnutrition issues among children and pregnant women.
On the way returning from the village to Vistex hospital, Ajit Ji signaled towards a tractor which has been a reliable 24*7 emergency services means of transport till date. With ongoing talks, we returned from the village to Vistex hospital around 10 P.M.
In a further brief discussion, I learnt that Vistex (Masarhi) Hospital was established in Nov 2015 and named NMBT health center Masarhi. It was started with 3 rooms, 1 OPD, IPD with 3 beds, and one labor room. Centre also had a lab with minimum equipment and basic Pharmacy facilities. Maternal health and malnutrition cases were largely addressed in the General OPD and IPD. During the initial phase, a number of activities like Ghod Bharai, Holi sammelan , Kitchen gardening, etc to connect with the community at large. In the malnutrition program, Hyderbad mix , Kichidi , boiled egg were given to the malnourished children. In June 2018, the NMBT health centre was upgraded to 5 bedded hospital and in 2019 Nov, 2019 Vistex hospital was inaugurated.
Next Morning sunshine uncovered the glory of 100 bedded hospital. Dr. Rahul took me on a hospital tour, peeking from an ambulance parking area, we walked to an area in round, leading to the emergency care or casualty section, I.C.U, O.T, Surgery, Labour room, Inpatient Wards, Dental Care, Physiotherapy, Diagnostics - CT Scan and Radiology units on the ground floor. Stairs opposite to the physiotherapy unit took us to the basement sections. The basement was well demarcated into Training hall, zones of various OPDs (specialized and primary health care services), Patient registration counter, Immunisation Room, Lab and sample collection unit, Pharmacy, Nutrition Rehabilitation - CMAM unit. The other top floors are still under construction. Adjacent to the main hospital building is a residential block for Doctors, Nursing, and other Medical Staff and a well-maintained Canteen Block.
Being located in rural settings, Vistex hospital has played a major role in vaccininating people against COVID-19 and also dedicated a separate COVID-19 ward to admit and treat COVID-19 patients of rural regions. In addition, an oxygen generation plant is also installed in the facility to support COVID-19 patimets in need of oxygen. .
Ms. Nivedita Ji informed that the hospital is attending to an average 40-50 OPDs & IPDs in a day at a nominal charge of Rs.5/per patient. Special OPDs are run on weekdays for Gynae care, Cardiology, etc. Institutional deliveries happen under all hygienic conditions. Malnutrition is rampant in this region, so screening of children 0-5 age and pregnant women for malnutrition is a regular activity. Community outreach programs are also conducted on a regular basis to disseminate awareness on Menstrual Health & Hygiene among adolescents and school children, Antenatal check-ups for pregnant women, and Post Natal Check-Ups for Lactating women, and fever clinics are prominent initiatives under Mobile Medical Unit. The hospital being close to the main road also present a unique opportunity to admit and treat any roadside accident and trauma cases. Approx. 20 staff is engaged in diverse roles from patient care, logistic arrangements, and administrative management services.
On closer look, a sustainable ecosystem on roll is see. Apart from the hospital blocks, there is a herbal garden. In between, the blocks sets of solar panels are installed. Some of the energy demand of the hospital is met through solare enrgy. There is also a small pond. A family of few ducklings, especially in the early morning can be seen roaming around the garden or the canteen area.
The 14 hours stay and visit at Vistex hospital left me wondering with a quest “How many of us actually give back or do something for the place/village we were born at” and inspiration to contribute to the development of a small village in Haryana, I was born at. Overall, the hospital manifests the vision of Dr. Ravikant, the experience of Senior Citizens overlooking the management work, the energy of youngsters working there, and the satisfaction over the received health services registered by the patients.