Inspired by Sri Sathya Sai Baba and with the guidance and mentorship of its Founder, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Sai Prema Foundation embarked upon the largest project ever undertaken by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the history of Fiji and perhaps the South Pacific – the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital Fiji.
This is the first Super-Speciality Pediatric Cardiac Hospital in Fiji or the South Pacific and has changed the medical landscape of the entire region. The Hospital is in response to the prayers of thousands of mothers and families who, till now, have had very little hope to save the lives of their young and innocent children who are born with congenital heart disease (CHD).
The most beautiful and unique aspect of this world-class Hospital is that all services are rendered with a focus on treating the child not so much as a patient but rather as our own child, with love and completely free of cost. The very purpose of the hospital is to provide the highest quality of healthcare to all in Fiji and the South Pacific irrespective of religion, race or ethnicity while ensuring that no family will ever need to pay. It is an example of “One World, One Family” in action; a direct and practical illustration of “Love All, Serve All”.
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital is filling a large void which currently exists as there are no Pediatric Cardiac services available in Fiji or anywhere in the Pacific. This has resulted in families needing to take their children overseas which costs in excess of FJD$100,000. Most families do not have the financial means to pay for these costs resulting in a high mortality rate and families losing their children. The fact that families now have access to treatment at a facility without a billing counter is a beacon of light and a ray of hope for these children who otherwise have very little chance for survival.
The Pacific Island nations have a total population in excess of eleven million people, spread across a unique and diverse region made of hundreds of islands and scattered over an area equivalent to over 15% of the earth’s surface.
Whilst Fiji leads the way in both economic and socio-economic developments, the challenge facing the entire region includes limited natural resources, small-sized economies and geographical limitations of being far from industrialised and major market economies. These factors have affected growth and prosperity for many countries in the region.
All nations in the Pacific region have also shown intense vulnerability to the effects of climate change and natural disasters. Just like climate change, there are various aspects of development in the Pacific region which requires specific and focussed interest with expertise from regional and international Governments, development partners and organisations.
The foresight of Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai and the investment by Sai Prema Foundation Fiji is in response to the significantly deep impact of congenital heart disease (CHD) across Fiji and the Pacific.
Congenital Heart Disease or a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), is a heart abnormality present at birth. There are numerous types of congenital heart defects. They can range from simple conditions that don’t cause symptoms to complex problems that cause severe, life-threatening symptoms.
According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) is approximately 1% of all babies born per year. For the Pacific region, this translates to approximately two thousand five hundred babies born with congenital heart disease.
The foresight of Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai and the investment by Sai Prema Foundation Fiji is in response to the significantly deep impact of congenital heart disease (CHD) across Fiji and the Pacific.
Congenital Heart Disease or a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), is a heart abnormality present at birth. There are numerous types of congenital heart defects. They can range from simple conditions that don’t cause symptoms to complex problems that cause severe, life-threatening symptoms.
According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) is approximately 1% of all babies born per year. For the Pacific region, this translates to approximately two thousand five hundred babies born with congenital heart disease.
However, the data collected by Sai Prema Foundation through the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Screening Centre as well as through the multiple outreach efforts point to a significantly larger percentage of the population impacted by CHD.
Cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art infrastructure, compassionate Care – these have been incorporated into the Hospital to nurture a culture of innovation, ensure ongoing commitment to excellence, and deliver compassionate care with love.
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital is an iconic structure, an edifice of love and a beacon of light for the children of Fiji and the Pacific.
At the centrepiece of the Hospital is a giant red heart which perfectly describes all what the Hospital is about – all about the heart, both physically and metaphorically. On one hand, the hospital will mend little hearts suffering with heart disease; on the other, a representation of the values upon which this Hospital is built – pure love!
Sai Prema Foundation Fiji has been established with ‘Love All ~ Serve All’ as the governing principle at the very core of its existence. Love remains and will be the most sacred value – one that sustains us, enables growth, furthers progress and unifies the nations of the world. Love when manifested in action becomes Service.
The need today for the country and the world is this amalgamation of Love & Service. The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Fiji exemplifies these values in totality – there is no billing counter. All services at the Hospital including all surgeries and procedures are completely free of cost.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOSPITAL FOUNDER
Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai
When a child smiles after a successful surgery, it is love that shines through his/her smile. When a mother sheds happy tears for having her baby back in her arms, hale and hearty – it is love that shines through her tears. When a father walks into a hospital with a lot of worries and anxiety, and the burden of guilt that he could not do enough for his child, and is suddenly unburdened from that guilt – in his relief, it is love alone that shines through. Love alone shines again in the hearts, hands and heads of our staff, surgeons, doctors, medical practitioners and nurses. Our hospital is a labour of love, built painstakingly by the Sai Prema Foundation and supported out of love by people around the world.
MESSAGE FROM THE HOSPITAL CHAIRMAN
Mr. Sumeet Tappoo
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital Fiji is a miracle of the Divine and an edifice of love.
Could one ever imagine that Fiji would be the home to a Pediatric Cardiac Super-Speciality Hospital where the children of Fiji and the Pacific would receive life-saving heart surgeries, and that too, totally free of cost?
This is the power of goodness. This is the power of humanity. And this is what we can achieve when the core principle of our existence is based on a foundation of love. When there is love, nothing stands in its way. Love conquers all.
This expression of love has found its feet only because of our inspirational Founder Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai. His global vision and mission is awe-inspiring and one which will snowball into a universal all-encompassing phenomenon, capturing the hearts of humanity and giving them a purpose in life. His projects in the field of education, healthcare and nutrition are mind-boggling and its wide-spreading reach spans across the five continents and over thirty countries. Millions have been and will continue to be recipients of free education, free healthcare and free nutritional care.
In 2019, a promise was made to the people of Fiji for the development of this Hospital. Despite all odds (and the Covid-19 pandemic), this promise was delivered in April 2022.
In April 2022, upon the inauguration, a promise was made that the Hospital would serve the children of Fiji and the Pacific. This promise too was delivered when in a week before the first anniversary celebrations, not only were the children of Fiji operated on but also over a dozen children from Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
Truly speaking, this is only the beginning. Many more wondrous feats are yet to be achieved. A greater number of underprivileged and needy will be served. We aspire to wipe more tears, mend more hearts and restore hope and faith in the hearts and minds of parents who have endured countless sleepless nights and the very real fear of losing their own child.
Sai Sanjeevani was a big dream – a dream where our children, born with heart disease, are able to have a new Gift of Life and a beautiful future which they deserve. But this dream cannot be just lived by a few. It needs to gain momentum to bring together the entire Pacific community and the entire Pacific diaspora globally, in order to alleviate the suffering of this region. We need to all live the same dream where ‘no child is left behind’.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF DIVINE WILL FOUNDATION
Dr. David Cornsweet
What is the key to the ongoing success of the Sanjeevani System of Hospitals, especially that of the one in Fiji, is not simply that all services are rendered totally free of cost. It is also the ongoing miracle of true spirituality which is nothing less than Love in Action.
The concept of ‘Love All-Serve All’ as espoused by Sri Sathya Sai Baba and further expounded by Sri Madhusudan Sai has become a driving force of action that is now bearing fruit in the form of this hospital. Another teaching DWF follows is ‘Vasudaiva Katumbakam” (the belief that there is only one world and one family which includes all of creation). These words without action become only a hollow phrase; hollow until they are put into practice as is being done by the team involved with the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital Fiji. Every day, those involved in this effort embody these teachings by Serving with Love and Loving with Service. DWF sees that the real task of humanity is to Love All by Serving All, a miracle such as this hospital becomes not only possible but actually inevitable.
During the building of this hospital, all were a witness to what was miracle after miracle; needed supplies that simply were not available would suddenly and inexplicably ‘show up’, needed permissions that seemed impossible to get were given and funds came from many unexpected sources. The entire team involved in this effort was witness to this and it was a confirmation of the deepest belief that nothing can derail an effort made with these beliefs as the basis.
In practice, each child and each family is treated as the team’s very own. They are loved and cherished by all involved which then takes the tangible form of the best treatment possible, treatment which is given totally free of cost to the patients and there families. What would we charge our own child for treatment? And this cannot stop with the simple treatment, procedure or medicine required; it must extend to the direct perception of each and every one of ‘them’ being more than important to ‘us’….’they’ are ‘us’.
It is beyond an honor and pleasure to be part of this true masterpiece, this gem of the Pacific Region; this Love in Action of the Sai Prema Foundation.
FEATURES OF THE HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
- 3.6 Acre Land
- 21,000 square feet Hospital
- 54-bed development
- An exclusive state-of-the-art Pediatric Cardiac Operating Theatre fully equipped with Skytron Surgical Light & Pendant
- An exclusive state-of-the-art Pediatric Cardiac Catherization Lab with provision for future Hybrid expansion
- A state-of-the-art Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- Fully-scoped Pre-Operative and Post-Operative Wards fully equipped with support infrastructure
- Specialised Isolation Unit fully equipped with its own services
- State-of-the-art Radiology Room with Digital X-Ray
- Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD)
- State-of-the-art Hospital Laundry System
- Laboratory with future expansion capabilities to include research
- Commercial Hospital Kitchen facility
- Telemedicine and video-conferencing facility enabling international consultations and collaborations
- 20-seater specialised training and conference room with state-of-the-art
- Digital Smart Board capabilities
- Completely separate Administration wing to the clinical wing to achieve highest levels of infection control
- A designated outdoor children’s playground with quality equipment
FEATURES OF THE HOSPITAL SERVICES
- State-of-the-art Medical Gases system installed by Opritech New Zealand equipped with a computerised BMS system with remote management capabilities.
- State-of-the-art Air Conditioning system with room-by-room climate control system, pre-cooled filtered fresh air reticulation system, air-handling units with dedicated ducting in zoned areas to prevent contamination between zones and a highly specialised HEPA filtration system for the Operating Theatre, Catherisation Lab, Isolation unit and Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD).
- State-of-the-art hydraulics system, with a 20,000-litre water storage facility, water pump system with a UV and micro-particulate three-stage filteration process capable of consistent pressurized water supply for the entire hospital at full capacity. Hot & cold water for all taps & showers including an energy efficient heat recovery unit to pre-heat water and a Rheem electric hot water booster tank with all hot water pipes pre-insulated to minimize heat loss during transit.
- An intricate energy efficient electrical system with 3-phase power equipped with heavy duty electrical circuitry, breakers, switchgears and more. UPS power provisions for all critical and specialised equipment, high-quality LED lighting system with low-glare lighting feature installed in all wards as well as an all-weather encased and dedicated Tyree transformer from Australia.
- State-of-the-art encased all-weather 625kVa Kirloskar generator with Deep Sea control system & diesel day tank capable of powering the entire hospital at full capacity including fully automatic changeover system (ATS) and a digital remote monitoring system.
- An external 5000 Litre diesel fuel tank with fuel sensor to prevent overfilling
- High-speed fiber-optic internet has been installed allowing for the Hospital to be fully enabled for Tele-Medicine and Video-Conferencing.
THE HOSPITAL’S THREE-PRONGED APPROACH
- Preventive Medicine
- Predictive Medicine
- Precision Medicine
THE HOSPITAL’S FIVE-POINT PLAN
- To serve the children of Fiji and the Pacific with compassionate healthcare completely free of cost.
- To ultimately have a permanent team of Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses and Medical professionals based at the Hospital with the assistance of Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals India.
- To embark upon a program to prevent congenital issues through early intervention initiatives and screenings beginning with pregnant mothers as well as undertaking other preventative healthcare programs focussing on NCD’s.
- To implement genetic study and research as a part of this Hospital to ascertain the reasons for the alarmingly high rates of congenital heart disease (CHD) in the region.
- To roll out the provision of a multitude of other speciality services by engaging leading healthcare professionals from around the world.