Nawaloka Hospitals opens dedicated centre for the elderly

Nawaloka Hospitals Chairman Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa ceremoniously opening the Nawaloka Elders’ Holistic Healthcare facility

Reaffirming its commitment to providing holistic, compassionate care to senior citizens- leading hospital chain; Nawaloka Hospitals ceremoniously unveiled the ‘Nawaloka Elders’ Holistic Healthcare’. Nawaloka Hospitals first introduced high quality and dedicated elder care at its premises in 2016. With the opening of the new unit, the hospital is geared to provide exceptional care to senior citizens. The unit is well-equipped with a team of elderly care specialist doctors, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupation therapists, dieticians and speech therapists. This comprehensive facility comprise of four specialized units to cater to varying needs of senior citizens.

Each unit caters to a specific group, while separate multidisciplinary clinics targeting specialized areas offer complementary services. The four units include; ‘Holistic Elderly Health Programme’, ‘Active Aging Care Programme’, ‘Long Term care and Respite care programme’ and ‘Palliative Care’. 

The ‘Holistic Elderly Health Programme’ provides inpatient and outpatient services as well as rehabilitation care. Consultants and support staff at this unit excel at managing prevalent non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Senior citizens can seek help for aging related issues such as falls, frailty, complex dementia, Parkinson disease and walking issues at the Holistic Elderly Health unit. 

The ‘Active Aging Care Programme’ caters to those who are above 50 years of age. Expert consultants and support staff at the unit are to assist patients to maintain their physical, mental and emotional health at an optimal level through guidance to manage multiple diseases, responsible medical drug use and creating awareness about aging related issues and ways to overcome those. 

‘Long term care and respite care program provides care to elders who require long-term care. Patients can seek long-term or temporary care, depending on their and at home care givers’ needs. The ‘Palliative Care unit’ offers compassionate, professional care to those battling long-term illnesses to ensure high quality of life. A dedicated team of experts at the Palliative Care unit would provide treatment for terminal illnesses and help to manage distressful symptoms of certain illnesses. This unit also operates a dedicated helpline to allow senior citizens guidance and booking facilities whenever they require such assistance. 

Commenting on the vital services that the Nawaloka Elders’ Holistic Healthcare facility offers, Nawaloka Hospitals, Chairman, Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa remarked that the “Elderly population is growing at a steady rate in Sri Lanka. Given the social challenges that today’s society faces in terms of providing high quality care for elders, we saw this as a vital, timely and pragmatic requirement. Our dedicated centre provides specialized care to senior citizens to live a high quality life with dignity and surrounded by compassion.”

“Through a dedicated centre for the care of the elderly, we can provide the specialised care they need to gain an improved quality of life. Considering the fact that our country is experiencing a steady rise in its elderly population, we saw such a facility as a vital public requirement,” said the unit head, Dr. Chandana Kanakarathna, one of Sri Lanka’s highly experienced, specialized geriatric physicians.

Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Dharmadasa, Nawaloka Hospital has garnered considerable local and international recognition, pioneering numerous advanced clinical developments including the introduction of South Asia’s first 640 slice CT scanner. Over three decades, the group expanded from its primary institution in Colombo to a state-of-the-art healthcare facility in Negombo, a fully-equipped Medicare centre in Gampaha and an island-wide chain of medical diagnostic laboratories. 

Nawaloka Hospitals was the first private healthcare provider to introduce a specialized cardiac care unit, renowned today as the ‘Nawaloka Heart Centre’. The cardiac unit has successfully completed over 13,500 heart surgeries since its inception. Additionally, the hospital houses fully-equipped, specialised centres for digestive health, chest and sleep, rheumatology and pain management, radiology, Lasik surgery, physiotherapy, and skin care and cosmetics. Nawaloka also offers a 24-hour OPD centre, a state-of-the-art ETU facility, air and land medical evacuation services which include mobile ICUs, as well as a home nursing unit offering professional in-home care services. 

To support this extensive portfolio, the hospital houses 12 operating theatres. Geared with the latest technology and affordable healthcare solutions of international standards and driven by a passionate, professional team of only the best consultants and nurses, Nawaloka Hospitals is fully committed towards the principal vision of a building a healthier, stronger Sri Lanka. 

Unit number - 0766803003

The new facility