Kerala Rebuilds Flood-Ravaged Hospital Into Country's Largest Family Health Centre

The center is fully funded by NRI entrepreneur Shamsheer Vayalil, who is from Kerala, and CMD of VPS Healthcare, a leading healthcare service provider in GCC countries and India.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan (Image Source: PTI)

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid reports of the highest Covid test positivity rate in the state, Kerala has opened the country's largest family health centre at Vazhakkad in Malappuram today (July 23). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the health centre online.

The centre is fully funded by NRI entrepreneur Shamsheer Vayalil, who is from NRI entrepreneur Shamsheer Vayalil, and CMD of VPS Healthcare, a leading healthcare service provider in GCC countries and India.

The family health centre sprawled in 15,000 sq. ft, has been reconstructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore. And it has an open gym and a play section for children and is disabled-friendly.

The initiation was taken to rebuild the original primary health centre which was destroyed in the 2018 massive floods.

Speaking on the initiation, Vijayan said it is the vision of his government to strengthen public health centers. "Developing and upgrading primary and family health centers is our priority," Vijayan told to IANS.

The family health center was reconstructed as part of the CSR initiative of UAE-based VPS Healthcare to cater to the medical needs of around 75,000 outpatients annually in the state.

Funder Vayalil informed that healthcare across the globe has been undergoing tremendous changes, especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Thanking people involved in the health center for their collective effort, the NRI entrepreneur said that the project will not have been a success without the support of the local population. Shamsheer Vayalil, who is the son-in-law of Lulu group’s Chairman M.A. Yusuf Ali, said that he proudly dedicates the family health center to the welfare of the Kerala people.

M.A. Yusuf Ali, who joined the function as the chief guest, said it is heartening to see that the Vazhakkad family health centre has now been upgraded to a modern health infrastructure with the capacity to meet the growing needs of the public.