A hospital that promotes CSR thru' poverty alleviation
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Raihan M Chowdhury
Rahman Knit Garments Ltd has streamlined its corporate philanthropic efforts by providing state-of-the-art medical facilities at low cost to thousands of poor and needy patients of a number of remote villages in Brahmanbaria district.
The 65-bed 'Mahbubur Rahman Memorial Hospital,' a sister concern of Rahman Knit Garments Ltd, at Rupasdi under Banchharampur Thana in the district vows to be a catalyst in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) through poverty alleviation.
On February 19, Rahman Knit Garments Ltd bagged the Standard Chartered-Financial Express Corporate Social Responsibility Award, 2008 in a special category. The Award is the top recognition in the country's CSR arena.
Established with an investment of Tk 85 million in August of 2006, the hospital has already earned a reputation for providing quality medicare to the poor patients of villages in and around Banchharampur thana in Brahmanbaria district.
On an average, some 80 to 90 patients get treatment daily in the hospital.
The modern three storied-hospital has set a rare example of poverty alleviation also as many poor patients are getting quality services at an affordable cost.
A Caesarean section costs only Tk 4000 here, which is much higher in district or upazila health complexes.
"So a patient is not only saving money by availing our services, we are also contributing to poverty alleviation," Md Atiqur Rahman, the managing director of Rahman Knit Garments Ltd explained.
"By providing modern and sophisticated medical healthcare to poor patients, this hospital has changed the overall complexion of a remote village, 90 kilometer away from Dhaka city," Md Atiqur Rahman said.
Completion of link roads, small bridges and other infrastructure development has made the village attractive and familiar to many others in the district just because of the hospital.
He said the company's CSR activities would play a stronger role to alleviate poverty when it will be able to establish a 'nursing institute' adjacent to the hospital in the near future.
"Lot of poor girl students get married only after passing the SSC examinations due to lack of any institution to give them technical training, so the proposed nursing institution will help revolutionlise their lives," Atiq said.
"We have established this modern hospital just to serve the poor people, help end their poverty, but not to make any financial profit," said Md Safiqur Rahman, another director of the hospital.
He said the company gives subsidy worth Tk 2.0 million every month to run the hospital.
"Yet we are happy that poor patients are getting extra-ordinary medical facilities from our hospital and this has earned us a prestigious recognition from Standard Chartered-Financial Express Corporate Social Responsibility Award Trust," Atiqur, also the highest taxpayer of Narayangonj district in 2008, said.
The hospital offers low charges to patients but very high compensation packages to the doctors, nurses and other professionals.
"For example, I pay Tk 0.12 million as monthly salary to a full-time doctor of the hospital," Atiq said adding otherwise, no qualified doctor will stay in such a nondescript village.
There are six full-time doctors, 13 staff nurses and a number of lab technicians in the hospital.
Rahman Knit Garments Ltd has streamlined its corporate philanthropic efforts by providing state-of-the-art medical facilities at low cost to thousands of poor and needy patients of a number of remote villages in Brahmanbaria district.
The 65-bed 'Mahbubur Rahman Memorial Hospital,' a sister concern of Rahman Knit Garments Ltd, at Rupasdi under Banchharampur Thana in the district vows to be a catalyst in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) through poverty alleviation.
On February 19, Rahman Knit Garments Ltd bagged the Standard Chartered-Financial Express Corporate Social Responsibility Award, 2008 in a special category. The Award is the top recognition in the country's CSR arena.
Established with an investment of Tk 85 million in August of 2006, the hospital has already earned a reputation for providing quality medicare to the poor patients of villages in and around Banchharampur thana in Brahmanbaria district.
On an average, some 80 to 90 patients get treatment daily in the hospital.
The modern three storied-hospital has set a rare example of poverty alleviation also as many poor patients are getting quality services at an affordable cost.
A Caesarean section costs only Tk 4000 here, which is much higher in district or upazila health complexes.
"So a patient is not only saving money by availing our services, we are also contributing to poverty alleviation," Md Atiqur Rahman, the managing director of Rahman Knit Garments Ltd explained.
"By providing modern and sophisticated medical healthcare to poor patients, this hospital has changed the overall complexion of a remote village, 90 kilometer away from Dhaka city," Md Atiqur Rahman said.
Completion of link roads, small bridges and other infrastructure development has made the village attractive and familiar to many others in the district just because of the hospital.
He said the company's CSR activities would play a stronger role to alleviate poverty when it will be able to establish a 'nursing institute' adjacent to the hospital in the near future.
"Lot of poor girl students get married only after passing the SSC examinations due to lack of any institution to give them technical training, so the proposed nursing institution will help revolutionlise their lives," Atiq said.
"We have established this modern hospital just to serve the poor people, help end their poverty, but not to make any financial profit," said Md Safiqur Rahman, another director of the hospital.
He said the company gives subsidy worth Tk 2.0 million every month to run the hospital.
"Yet we are happy that poor patients are getting extra-ordinary medical facilities from our hospital and this has earned us a prestigious recognition from Standard Chartered-Financial Express Corporate Social Responsibility Award Trust," Atiqur, also the highest taxpayer of Narayangonj district in 2008, said.
The hospital offers low charges to patients but very high compensation packages to the doctors, nurses and other professionals.
"For example, I pay Tk 0.12 million as monthly salary to a full-time doctor of the hospital," Atiq said adding otherwise, no qualified doctor will stay in such a nondescript village.
There are six full-time doctors, 13 staff nurses and a number of lab technicians in the hospital.