New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) In a village in Andhra Pradesh, access to advanced knee replacement surgery no longer necessarily means travelling to a big city. A 50-bed hospital in Aragonda has completed 1,000 total knee replacement procedures, offering a glimpse into how specialised healthcare can reach rural communities.
Established in 2000, the hospital in Chittoor district has treated more than 1.67 lakh patients and performed over 12,000 surgeries in the past 26 years, according to Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. Its knee replacement programme has grown from 100 procedures in 2019 to 500 in 2022, and now 1,000, the statement said. Apollo Hospitals Group’s Founder Chairman Prathap C Reddy established the hospital in his native village, driven by the belief that quality medical care should not remain confined to urban centres, it added.
But the healthcare initiative in Aragonda has gradually expanded beyond hospital-based treatment to address factors that influence people's health, including nutrition, education, sanitation, drinking water and livelihood opportunities.
This broader approach took shape through Total Health, a CSR initiative of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd launched by Apollo Foundation in Aragonda in 2013.
The initiative seeks to bring healthcare and community development together with the aim of improving overall wellbeing rather than limiting interventions to treating illnesses.
"Aragonda has shown that lasting health outcomes are created beyond the walls of a hospital," said Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Vice Chairperson-CSR and Director-Projects, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.
She said the transformation demonstrated how integrated, community-led healthcare models could create sustainable change and serve as a blueprint for other states and underserved regions.
Commenting on the journey, Reddy said, “It has always strengthened my belief that quality, affordable healthcare must reach every Indian, regardless of where they live. The true promise of healthcare lies beyond treating disease in creating conditions for people to flourish. Medicine can save lives, but to change the health of a generation, we must also change the conditions in which life is lived. I believe Aragonda will stand for an idea larger than itself: that a healthier India will be built not only in its great cities, but in its smallest villages.” According to the statement, Total Health has expanded to more than 23 geographical locations and impacted over 483 million people.
It has also conducted more than two lakh yoga training sessions and served over 10.89 lakh meals through its nutritious meal programme over the past 13 years.
Women's economic empowerment is another component of the initiative. Through textile and jute production units in Aragonda, Amrabad and Chevella, it has supported rural employment for women.
Around 300 women working through these units produced nearly 2.9 lakh jute bags and over 1.25 lakh pieces of clothing in the past year alone, the statement said. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, said the hospital had improved health outcomes while also enabling women to access livelihoods, strengthening families and helping communities take ownership of their wellbeing.
Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, said the next healthcare revolution should be measured not by the number of hospitals built but by the illnesses prevented and healthy years added to people's lives.
Aragonda's experience, she said, offered a model in which technology, preventive healthcare and community empowerment could come together to make specialised medical care more accessible.
