Lavasa Corporation has signed an agreement with the Apollo Hospitals Group to set up an integrated healthcare and wellness destination at the Lavasa Hill town near Pune. The services will be spread over 200 acres of land. Initially, the plan is to establish a multi specialty hospital with a capacity of 50 beds which will be ready by 2009. Eventually the services shall extend to wellness services, rejuvenation, long-term care, research and development and others.

The integrated hospital and wellness centre will have four major service verticals viz., as medical cluster, wellness cluster, long term care and education-R&D zone.

The medical cluster will have a higher secondary care hospital and medical and surgical ICUs for key specialties like cardiology, neurology, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics. Support services like radiology, imaging and a diagnostic laboratory will be set up alongside.

The wellness cluster will comprise facilities for complementary and alternative medicine, nutrition, preventive care, ambulatory care, a medical spa and a rejuvenation spa. Long term care will include rehabilitation services for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgeries, and those with neurological disorders. A retirement village is also being studied.

The education and research zone will have a medical convention centre, training for nurses and technicians, continuous medical education, stem cell, genomics research and clinical trials facilities.

Ajit Gulabchand, cairman of Lavasa Corporation, said, "Our vision is to develop Lavasa as a centre of excellence in major research and development fields and a preferred destination for both business and leisure. The medical expertise of Apollo will enable us to provide world-class healthcare facilities at Lavasa and improve the quality of life of its residents".

Shobana Kamineni, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "Apollo Hospitals has best-in-class clinical professionals, cutting-edge technology and partnerships with global leaders like IBM and John Hopkins International that enables us to stay abreast of new developments in healthcare. Combined with a cost advantage, this centre in an eco-friendly environment like Lavasa could draw a large number of international clientele".