The customary “About Us” is one thing that has constantly boggled us here at Dr. NMB Baruah Nursing Home ever since we have consciously tried to obtain an answer to it. This is interesting, because prima facie, it reflects lack of clarity about who we are. Yet, the answer is never as straightforward, primarily because, healthcare has never been static enough, to allow us develop a definite identity for ourselves. In the last one decade, we have seen almost a revolution in nursing care, both in terms of challenges as well as the solutions. Accordingly we have been realigning ourselves to the latest best practices. Nonetheless, we have observed that in all this, certain principles of healthcare and ethics remain universal, or at best quasi static. And over the years, we have either deliberately or sub consciously laid down our foundation on the pillars of these principles
To elucidate on the principles, we have to trace the institutional underpinnings, the evolution of which dates back to 1945. Dr. Nripendra Malla Buzar Baruah, established the “Hemchandra Pharmacy” in order to conceive his longstanding vision of healthcare service at Nalbari, a domain that was largely in its formative phase, with a handful of doctors to serve a disproportionately large population with an overwhelmingly poor standard of life. Rampant epidemic, lack of communication, low disposable income, poor health awareness and deeply rooted superstition complicated the system further. And while overcoming these challenges, Dr. Nripendra Malla Buzar Baruah, laid down some of the founding pillars of our institution.
The first among them is the pillar of competence. Competence is the ability to resolve a problem efficiently and successfully.From our experience, we have realized that challenges are integral to our profession.
And in all this, we have a very tiny margin of error to operate on. A single overdose of anaesthesia drug may be as fatal today as it was in 1950s.
While the progress in medical science has enhanced reliability, the need for competency is perpetually on the upswing. We understand this and therefore we are careful to keep ourselves competent. We believe in the powerful words of Dr. Nripendra Malla Buzar Baruah, “Unlike a chemist in a laboratory, a doctor in his clinic ought not to experiment, but to cure.” This is possible only when we keep ourselves abreast with the latest developments and then integrate it to our years of unique experience. This in short is the pillar of competence.
Second is the pillar of service. Private health care is a peculiar hybrid of business & service where there is an intricate interplay between factors of free market, profit,
competition on one hand, and a sense of humanity, charity and compassion on the other.The scope of profit is circumscribed by the demand for justice, fairness & life. At the same time, profit is indispensable, if we are to bring in cutting edge technology & management, barring which the first pillar of competence stands broken. We understand this inherent contradiction in our profession & thus make a sincere endeavour to strike a delicate balance in order to manage a profitable yet affordable healthcare.
In 1981, Dr. Pranab Malla Baruah upgraded the erstwhile Baruah Pharmacy into Baruah Nursing Home, which was a remarkable structural change by the standards of the time.The heady days of economic reforms in India had not yet arrived. Nevertheless, with the vision of Dr. Pranab Malla Baruah, with the support of Dr. Jayanti Baruah, a considerable overhaul was underway within our temple of nursing.
With specialist doctors starting the formative phase of specialized healthcare & medicine. Beginning with ENT & Ophthalmology, today we have expanded into most of the domains of specialty. Hospital strength has slowly reached a crescendo & advanced medical equipment has become a reality. Herein lies our 3rd pillar – the pillar of staying in tune with the latest developments. Recently, we are joined by Dr. Rohan Malla Baruah, who has had the experience of medicine & healthcare in the other states of India. With this, we have started collaboration with the renowned doctors of the rest of our country. We are happy to inform that we are starting the system of guest visits by doctors from Delhi, Jaipur & Bangalore to give fillip to our existing expertise.
The 4th & the last pillar is simple yet taken for granted in even some of the best institutions we have seen. It is the pillar of doctor-patient bonding. A part of it is due to low doctor- patient ratio. But an overwhelming part of it is due to lack of empathy. Healthcare & medicine is a professional practice. Yet it has a deep personal undercurrent. The concept of “placebo effect” is often talked about, but rarely applied in a scientific way. In the pursuit of a healthy doctor-patient bonding, we have therefore pledged a promise to ourselves and the promise stands thus “Since manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others, medicine sans manner is a travesty of moral justice. Private healthcare without morality is a monster. We are here to defeat this monster. It is a commitment by us, to us and for us.”
To ensure accessible and affordable quality healthcare by compassionate medical professionals to all. To be the centre of excellence for medical research and academics. To cultivate an environment of trust, honesty, mutual respect, equality and ethics.
Almost 70% of the resident Indians use private healthcare. As India enters the middle income group, the role of private health care is expected to burgeon even further. Nonetheless, there are serious issues with private healthcare system in India. Firstly, private healthcare at present is roughly 4 times costlier than the public counterpart. Secondly, there are reports of unethical and illegal medical practices, mostly coming from the private healthcare system. Last but not the least, there are issues of ineffectiveness and incompetence.
Out of this tripartite challenge of affordability, transparency and effectiveness, we have developed our mission which is to resolve this apparently impossible problem. Impossible because effectiveness and cost has a direct correlation. A reliable healthcare system demands for cutting edge technologies, professional workforce and enabling infrastructure. All these insist for significant investments which naturally warrants profit.
However, this profit, when goes unchecked, leads to the second problem of unethical practices. Hence, the solution lies at optimizing the profit and not maximizing it. This is an ideal business conundrum. But here comes the sense of service. Hospitality is not just a business, it is above all, a service to humanity. We, at Dr. NMB Baruah Nursing Home, harness this noble principle of what Swami Vivekananda postulated in his picturesque words, “Service to man is service to God”. Thus, we have thus far and forever, prioritize people over profit, although the latter is never ignored. In all this, we take recourse to use of modern technology and professional management. Technology has enabled us today not just to arrive at precision diagnostics and treatment, but also to cut down costs by substitution of manual work by mechanized work, essentially resolving the apparently impossible problem of affordability and effectiveness. Professional management helps cut down unwanted costs.
With this we present our case for what and why we envision. Henceforth, we are here to live up to our commitment, with your blessings and goodwill!