In collaboration with Ashok Leyland and Trinity Care Foundation, Aster Volunteers Ashok Leyland Mobile Medical Services was launched by Aster RV Hospital today. Under this initiative, two mobile medical clinics are being introduced that will aim to provide quality healthcare services to people in need and those living in remote areas of Karnataka where medical facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. The initiative will also support the driver community who do not always have proper access to care, ASHA & health workers, Anganwadi teachers, and orphanages among others. The chief guest present at the event was the Honourable Medical Education Minister of Karnataka, Shri. K. Sudhakar along with Dr. Prashanth N, COO, Aster RV Hospital.
Under the Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical services, these are the 12th and 13th vehicles to be launched globally and the first in Karnataka. The vehicles will cover North and South of Karnataka; the North vehicle will also cater to the Kolhapur region of Maharashtra. By bringing free of cost primary screening services such as BMI, blood sugar testing , BP and general health check up to these communities, this program aims to check non-communicable diseases at an early stage and raise awareness on the importance of early detection and preventive screening.
The Aster Volunteers Ashok Leyland Mobile Medical Service vehicles will be accompanied by experienced doctors, nurses and a driver who will conduct regular medical camps in their respective regions on an ongoing basis with the support of Trinity Care Foundation.
Commenting on the occasion Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare said, “One of the missions of Aster Volunteers is to reach the doorsteps of people in need of medical services and who do not have access to it. The Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services shall try to bring accessibility to quality healthcare for the marginalised population based in remote locations and Karnataka is the fifth State in India that we have introduced this humanitarian service as part of our CSR initiatives in India. Aster Volunteers, with nearly 30,000 committed volunteers is operating in 8 countries and have touched the lives of nearly 2 million+ people so far. We are thankful to our strategic partners Ashok Leyland and Trinity Care Foundation for joining hands with us in this noble project. We also place on record appreciation for the support extended by the Honourable Medical Education Minister of Karnataka, Shri. K Sudhakar.”
N V Balachander, President – HR, Corporate Communications and CSR, Ashok Leyland Limited commenting on the occasion said, “At a time when the entire country and the world is going through a crisis, there can be no better time for Ashok Leyland to launch the Mobile Medical Unit partnering ASTER Group. At Ashok Leyland we believe that Education and Health play a vital role in development of community and therefore the initiative of Mobile Medical Unit is a step forward towards providing accessible and affordable health care to the under-resourced communities and we are pleased to be the partners in this initiative. Congratulations to the teams from ASTER and Ashok Leyland for making the collaboration possible and look forward to great success.”
Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are observed to be on a rise in rural communities and are contributing majorly to the mortality rate, which can be curtailed by creating awareness on the importance of health check-ups. As a part of the inaugural phase health camps will be conducted in Chikkaballapur where people can access this free medical service. Every week two camps will be conducted in different parts of rural Karnataka. Strict measures such as the use of PPE kits by the staff and regular sanitisation of the mobile medical vehicle will be conducted to tackle the Covid-19 menace.
Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services was launched in 2012 as a part of the group’s commitment to give back to the community to provide quality healthcare services to people living in areas where medical facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. Currently, the 11 Aster Volunteers Mobile Medical Services have their footprints in places like Delhi, Orissa, Jharkhand and Kerala in India, along with UAE, Oman and Ethiopia. So far, these services have benefitted more than 519,638 people globally.
