Dr. Raja Amarnath: Transforming Rural Critical Care On Par With Cities
Dr. Raja Amarnath
MD
From a humble beginning of middle class background to a doctor in critical care and an entrepreneur with a mission of setting up drop-in ICUs in Rural areas & Suburbs, Dr. Raja’s journey inspires many. CEO Insights is happy to interview this maven and deduce his leadership journey. Kindly peruse the valuable nuggets from Dr. Raja.
What drove you towards the healthcare sector? Why did you choose critical care as your specialty to serve?
My family, especially my mother always wanted to see me as a doctor. As a person who loves challenges, even I felt that medical science is something that I want to pursue. However, I was not sure of what niche subject should I choose in my further studies. As told earlier, I love challengesand wanted a dynamic profession; frankly, I’m not a big fan of passive work. With that said, I understood that critical care/ICU is the most dynamic option because it deals with emergencies and life death situations.
Before pursuing my Doctorate of
Medicine in critical care, I completed MD in pulmonary medicine. It’s undeniable that the lungs are a crucial organ; Covid-19 has proved it already. However, I ventured into pulmonary critical care because it is a field that keeps doctors always on their toes.
How would you define CIPACA as a healthcare institution and the values it stands by?
We initially launched the company as Chennai Interventional Pulmonology and Critical Care Associates, the acronym as CIPACA. With time, we realized that critical care is an essential yet unavailable facility in rural areas and providing 24/7 ICU services in rural areas became our priority. CIPACA, as a word, became popular and slowly emerged as a synonym for ‘Standardized Rural Critical Care’. Our services are designed to empower hospitals with ICU operational intelligence, business excellence & award winning Patient care with highest survival rates.
Tell us about the unique traits of your leadership.
I would not say that I'm a great leader, but I'm definitely striving to be one. My biggest strength in my opinion is treating my colleagues, associates, subordinates, and everyone in the office as ‘family members’. The dexterous troop of professionals we gathered is extremely capable of delivering excellence. It’s because I think they are family, I treat them with love and patience while giving them opportunities to rectify mistakes.
I believe that eliciting loyalty and trust is very important. I build a close association with each of the members and make them comfortable. When their own interest of the organization, they will
Having a strong foothold in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, CIPACA looks forward to launching quality ICU services in three more states in 2022
How would you define CIPACA as a healthcare institution and the values it stands by?
We initially launched the company as Chennai Interventional Pulmonology and Critical Care Associates, the acronym as CIPACA. With time, we realized that critical care is an essential yet unavailable facility in rural areas and providing 24/7 ICU services in rural areas became our priority. CIPACA, as a word, became popular and slowly emerged as a synonym for ‘Standardized Rural Critical Care’. Our services are designed to empower hospitals with ICU operational intelligence, business excellence & award winning Patient care with highest survival rates.
Tell us about the unique traits of your leadership.
I would not say that I'm a great leader, but I'm definitely striving to be one. My biggest strength in my opinion is treating my colleagues, associates, subordinates, and everyone in the office as ‘family members’. The dexterous troop of professionals we gathered is extremely capable of delivering excellence. It’s because I think they are family, I treat them with love and patience while giving them opportunities to rectify mistakes.
I believe that eliciting loyalty and trust is very important. I build a close association with each of the members and make them comfortable. When their own interest of the organization, they will
stay with us and remain loyal. When there is loyalty and trust, rest every thing will fall in place.
What is the impact you have been making through your strategies and solutions?
Considering the scenario of India, except for the metropolitan cities, ICU care is not much available. The sad part is, even many district headquarters lack these facilities, let alone the Taluks and remote areas. At large, 70 percent of the Indian population who reside in very rural areas don't have timely access to quality ICU care.
People say that it is not easy to establish ICUs in such areas. It could be daunting but not impossible at all. Today, we have created an infrastructure that allows to drop-in ICUs within 30-days’ time with our unique model. I’m sure that this is one of the major impacts that we could foster on the whole rural healthcare sector.
Speaking of ICUs, we don’t just mean arranging a space and buying equipment. We at CIPACA, focus on the processes, protocols, providing the manpower, and then operating the ICU. Proudly, we have been the largest rural ICU care provider in the country. Having 300+ ICU & emergency beds across several states, offering all under one roof and saving over 1.5 lakh lives through our services is our greatest achievement.
How has been your response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Of course, healthcare was the industry that had to act fast to save lives. The first and foremost challenge was to match the manpower with a load of patients wanting ICU care. Our teams had to take care of more patients. The manpower mismatch happened when our own doctors and nurses began to fall sick. The available team members rolled up their sleeves to serve extra and ensure all are safe.
Dr. Raja Amarnath, MD, CIPACA
Under Dr. Raja’s leadership, CIPACA strives to provide the best ICU services in rural areas.
What is the impact you have been making through your strategies and solutions?
Considering the scenario of India, except for the metropolitan cities, ICU care is not much available. The sad part is, even many district headquarters lack these facilities, let alone the Taluks and remote areas. At large, 70 percent of the Indian population who reside in very rural areas don't have timely access to quality ICU care.
People say that it is not easy to establish ICUs in such areas. It could be daunting but not impossible at all. Today, we have created an infrastructure that allows to drop-in ICUs within 30-days’ time with our unique model. I’m sure that this is one of the major impacts that we could foster on the whole rural healthcare sector.
Speaking of ICUs, we don’t just mean arranging a space and buying equipment. We at CIPACA, focus on the processes, protocols, providing the manpower, and then operating the ICU. Proudly, we have been the largest rural ICU care provider in the country. Having 300+ ICU & emergency beds across several states, offering all under one roof and saving over 1.5 lakh lives through our services is our greatest achievement.
How has been your response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Of course, healthcare was the industry that had to act fast to save lives. The first and foremost challenge was to match the manpower with a load of patients wanting ICU care. Our teams had to take care of more patients. The manpower mismatch happened when our own doctors and nurses began to fall sick. The available team members rolled up their sleeves to serve extra and ensure all are safe.
Dr. Raja Amarnath, MD, CIPACA
Under Dr. Raja’s leadership, CIPACA strives to provide the best ICU services in rural areas.