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The Chairman and the Directors of Ceylinco Life with doctors and nursing staff of the Kandy Teaching Hospital at the handing over of the High Dependency Unit (below) donated by the company
The Teaching Hospital Kandy, the second-largest medical institution in the country, has become the fifth government hospital to receive a fully-equipped and furnished High Dependency Unit (HDU) from Ceylinco Life under a corporate social responsibility initiative of the life insurance leader.
The HDU donated by the company will be used as a Surgical High Dependency Unit that provides intensive post-surgery care for recuperating patients before they are transferred to regular wards. The unit consists of four ICU beds, bedside lockers and over-bed tables, four monitors of which two include capnography for monitoring of the concentration or partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the respiratory gases; a central monitor, four syringe pumps, four infusion pumps, two patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps, a patient warmer, a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) pump, two suction apparatuses and two IV stands.
Constructed and equipped by Ceylinco Life at a cost of Rs. 11.5 million, the 500 square foot unit was donated by the company for the welfare of the people of Kandy and its suburbs as one of several initiatives of 2019 to celebrate 15 consecutive years of market leadership. “State hospitals provide an immeasurable service to the masses, but are constantly under pressure due to the unrelenting demand for facilities,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Thushara Ranasinghe observed. “As a company that is intrinsically involved in the lives of millions of Sri Lankans, Ceylinco Life considers it a duty to support these institutions with essential infrastructure and equipment.”
The handing over and formal opening of the HDU at the Kandy Teaching Hospital took place on 9 July, and was attended by Ceylinco Life Chairman R. Renganathan, members of Ceylinco Life’s Board of Directors and distinguished representatives of the local community.
Past donations of this nature by Ceylinco Life include a sophisticated High Dependency and Research Unit exclusively for the treatment of children afflicted by dengue to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) in 2012 in partnership with a group of well-wishers; an HDU to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in 2013; a Dengue High Dependency Unit in 2014 to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital; and an HDU to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila in 2018. These HDUs are also subsequently maintained by Ceylinco Life as part of the Company’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN for 2030; particularly goal number three pertaining to good health and wellbeing. Ceylinco Life has also made several donations of essential equipment to other hospitals, including the Trincomalee General Hospital.
Additionally, the company conducts a series of free health camps under its community program ‘Waidya Hamuwa’ which has benefitted over 142,000 people in the past 16 years. Held in towns and villages across the country, these camps provide free medical examinations by a team of travelling doctors and medical technicians, and offer necessary diagnostic tests such as random blood sugar, ECG and blood pressure. Attendees also receive optical checkups for free.