Philanthropist to donate Rs. 100 million hospital

by Surekha Galagoda

[email protected]

Health is wealth and in keeping with this popular maxim the Chairman of BAM Holdings B.A. Mahipala will hand over the buildings and equipment under Phase one of the Homagama Hospital on February 16,2009 built at a cost of Rs. 100 mln.

This marks the 61st anniversary of the original hospital opening which was built by the late B.A. Semaneris Appuhamy, father of B.A. Mahipala. The late Semaneris Appuhamy not only built the hospital but also donated the land on which the hospital was built.

As the number of patients patronising the hospital increased the Government through the Health Ministry constructed more buildings and infrastructure around the original hospital buildings to meet the demand while the hospital was upgraded to a base hospital.

As a result the hospital layout is sub optimal and does not fully support to provide an efficient and effective service to the people who visit it. In addition the Government is hard pressed for resources to upgrade the state run hospitals around the country.

Therefore, the descendants of the hospital founder led by his youngest son B.A. Mahipala formed the Bamunu Arachchi Foundation (BAF) to develop the hospital.

The expert services of Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) was sought to develop a master plan. On April 9, 2007 the Ran Mehewara Project was launched with the foundation stone being laid by the great grandchildren of B.A. Semaneris Appuhamy for a new Out Patients Department (OPD) clinic and diagnostic facility.

Mahipala said that though many people wanted to contribute he wanted to do this project on his own because they have a duty by the society they live in. He said that he could have bought some luxury vehicles but this would give us more self-satisfaction when patients can obtain their medicine in comfort. Seeing their innocent faces will make us happy for life, he said.

Master plan

He said that a carefully drawn up master plan was necessary for several reasons. There is limited land. Therefore, new developments have to blend with the old buildings and eventually the older buildings have to be replaced with new buildings. However, this has to be done systematically as the hospital has to continue working without any hindrance.

The master plan identified the critical needs which will be fulfilled on a priority basis.

Mahipala said that BAF spoke to the Hospital management and the hospital development committee who had already made a request for assistance to develop the hospital.They supported the idea and together with advice and guidance from the Regional Director of Health Services the services of the CECB were engaged to develop the master plan.

The master plan has a zoning layout which optimises the land of the hospital. The zones consist of OPD and administration, diagnostic and theatre, wards and services. Development is under three phases with clearly identified projects for each phase.

Entrepreneurs

The first phase of stage one will consist of a three-storied building of 25,000 sq.ft. which will house the OPD clinics and the diagnostics.

The ground floor will consist of patient examination rooms, injection room, dressing room, ECG and laboratory, dispensary, offices of the DMO, JMO and medical consultants in addition to the lobby and patient waiting areas.

The first floor will house several clinic rooms, dispensary, X-ray and endoscopy, radiology and related facilities. The hospital administration will be housed in the second floor.

This floor will have a fully equipped auditorium for staff training and health awareness programs.

Director of the Hospital Dr. S. Karunaratne said that 800-1,000 OPD patients visit the hospital daily apart from the patients who visit to the various specialised clinics.

There will be natural ventilation where possible to cut down on the energy costs and make it more pleasant.

He said that Mahipala comes every week to supervise the work on the project and it is amazing to see his dedication. He attends to every minute detail and is loved by all. It is rare to find people of this nature who are willing to donate their wealth for others.

Mahipala hopes that there would be more entrepreneurs who are willing to make donations for the common good of the people.

BAM Holdings started trading with the importation of vehicles to Sri Lanka in 1977.

BAM Holdings Ltd, launched its first apparel factory - Colombo Garments Ltd in 1980. The facility was expanded in 1982 with the incorporation of Miami Exports (Pvt) Ltd.

In 1985 the company embarked upon the manufacture of Printed Plastic Film with the formation of Thermo Plastics (Pvt) Ltd in 1988, Bastran Ltd and Bam Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd and also in the group.