Narayana sets up hi-tech hospital in Caribbean

India's leading corporate healthcare entity Narayana Hospital has extended its footprint beyond the shores by setting up a tertiary care multi-specialty hospital at Grand Cayman in the Caribbean.

Cayman Premier Alden McLaughlin will unveil the first phase of Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) Tuesday in the presence of Narayana founder chairman Devi Shetty and US-based Ascension Health Alliance chief executive Anthony R. Tersigni.

To be built in phases over the next 15 years at a cost of $2 billion (Rs.1,24,108 crore) on a 200-acre land in the island's East End, the 104-bed tertiary-care hospital will provide a range of medical services, including open-heart/bypass surgery, angioplasty, heart-valve replacement, paediatrics and orthopaedics.

"As our mission is to make world-class healthcare affordable to all, our new hospital at Cayman is part of that vision to serve the people of the region," Shetty said in a statement Monday.

As one of the largest healthcare networks in North America, the non-profit Ascension will provide latest technology, processes and protocols to the new hospital.

With a population of about 40 million, Cayman Island is strategically located in North America with a well-developed infrastructure and stable economy to serve the region.

"Our tertiary care hospital will demonstrate how our high-quality, low-cost healthcare model can be successful and impactful even in a western environment," Narayana chief executive Ashutosh Raghuvansi said.

The hospital has roped in about 140 professionals, including physicians, nurses and paramedics from India, Britain and the US, besides support and administrative staff from the Caribbean region.

The Cayman government also pitched in for the hospital by reducing regulatory barriers and providing incentives to expand the island's economic base beyond tourism and financial services to healthcare and wellness.

The Narayana group has 23 hospitals in 14 cities across the country with a total of 6,300 beds, with a health city in the southern suburb of Bangalore, which hosts the largest bone marrow transplant unit and dialysis unit.

The group has also one of the largest tele-medicine networks and performed the highest number of heart surgeries in the world.