Fortis Healthcare (India) Ltd. marked a decade since the first hospital (Mohali) started, and kicked off celebrations across the country starting this week. With humble beginnings out of Mohali in 2001, the company has grown aggressively into a truly world-class 56-hospital healthcare chain spanning the country and delivering high-end tertiary care to international standards. On its 10th Anniversary, Fortis reaffirms its dedication to its vision of creating a world-class integrated healthcare delivery system, respected for clinical excellence and distinctive patient care, while further strengthening its community outreach programmes for the underprivileged.

To mark the occasion, the company made several announcements which focused on the theme of ‘giving back to the community’. It is offering 10 free surgeries at each network hospital, which will add up to approximately 500 free surgeries during the year. It is also setting up a second brand of hospitals, dedicated to bringing  affordable, quality healthcare to the masses of semi-urban India, specifically for tier II & III towns, with a target of 25 hospitals in three years.

Fortis has decided to launch a nation-wide “Mother & Child” programme for the poor and economically-challenged sections of our society, under the aegis of the Fortis Foundation. This initiative will support Governmental efforts to improve infant and maternal mortality rates (IMR & MMR) and, specifically, increase societal awareness to alleviate the issues faced by the girl child, thereby contributing to an improvement in the overall girl child ratio.

Announcing ‘10 in 10’; the setting up 10 new hospitals and/or ventures in the next 10 weeks, thus celebrating the decade with a declaration of rapid growth in the coming weeks.

Speaking on the occasion, Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director, Fortis Healthcare (India) Ltd. said, “We started our journey in 2001 with one hospital in Mohali and the vision of creating high quality leadership in the healthcare delivery domain. We could not have imagined then that, 10 years along the line, Fortis would grow to become a pan India network, with over 50 hospitals and plans for several more. Today, we are acknowledged as the leaders in quality healthcare delivery with the largest number of “quality accredited” hospitals in India; recognised for our medical excellence and personalized patient care and known as the fastest growing healthcare delivery chain in Asia. Our success is testimony to the relentless dedication of our doctors, nurses and other employees - and the trust of our patients. All of us in Fortis take this opportunity to renew our commitment to the service of the communities within which we operate in a caring and compassionate manner.”

He further added, “We will continue to focus on making reliable and affordable healthcare accessible to all. As a leader in the healthcare delivery arena, we have succeeded in raising the bar on delivery standards and generated hope and expectation of continuous improvement in levels of clinical excellence. This imbues us with a greater sense of responsibility towards our patients. We will rise to meet this expectation as we aspire to become the best in what we do. The onus rests on us to lead the way as torchbearers and to command the respect and trust of our nation.  ‘Patient First’ is our credo and a fundamental value; our dedication to our patient remains paramount.”