Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

Since there are a large number of hospitals in rural districts that have very few or no ICU beds, we intend to create at least a minimum of 10 Bed ICU facility in as many districts/blocks as possible in order to provide coverage to the largest number of people. If there is a larger requirement in a bigger hospital and funds permitting, we will deploy a second 10-Bed-ICU infrastructure, to provide for the larger demand.

It costs Rs 40Lakhs or $53k to create a 10 Bed ICU Unit. This covers the cost of all the equipment for the 10 Bed ICU, it does not include the cost of the building or the staff costs - those are bourn by the State Govt. we are working with. The 10 Bed ICU Project donates the entire equipment to the State Government and the CARE software module along with the TeleICU software. The state provides space for the 10BedICU ward at an existing hospital along with necessary electrical, oxygen supply, AC etc and the medical staff and medical supplies to make the ICU ward fully functional.

The District Collector in conjunction with the health administration will make arrangements for qualified medical staff for the new 10-Bed-ICU setup in their respective districts. This program supplies the 10-Bed-ICU infrastructure and the capital expenditure needed for it. The State Government and the district administration will provide the medical and healthcare staff, as well as operate and maintain the facility.  There is an acute shortage of medical staff in the rural areas, as the cities suck up the resources due to huge caseload and hence demand. We are putting together Training Modules to supplant the existing medical staff.

There are other aspects of 10-Bed-ICU program such as the "Covid Management Technology Platform" that will make the operations and service delivery smoother. We are also looking to creating a "Doctor Connect" module that allows for outside expert doctors globally (such as pulmonologists, anesthesiologist etc) who assist our rural ICU bed patients using a telemedicine platform. 

The 10-Bed-ICU project is a PPP (Private-Public Partnership project), it relies on the scale and mandate of the government with the agility, financing and execution capability of the private entities to respond and deliver rapidly. A Project Management Unit will be setup in each state, consisting of senior officers of the state and 10-Bed-ICU team who will design, review and oversee the implementation of the project. The donors also play an important role in not only funding the specific hospitals, but also review and give feedback on the implementation and operations. All these aspects of the 10-Bed-ICU design and structuring provides for an 'Accountability Framework' towards project success and saving lives in this pandemic crisis.

The PMU based on the needs of the state identifies target district/blocks and specific hospitals to ensure maximum coverage and impact of the statewide rollout. But if you are a donor who wants to fund a specific district and/or a specific hospital, the project has the flexibility to discuss with the District Collector and other local administration and if suitable take up your specific hospital for the 10-Bed-ICU program.

Our NGO partner Nirmaan has offices in India and the United States. As such they are registered NGO with 80(g) license in India as well as 501(c) license in the United States and FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) clearance from the Govt. of India. With these appropriate licenses and approvals, donors both in India and the US can avail of tax refunds for their contributions.

The entire 100% of the donor's contribution towards the 10-Bed-ICU is used for infrastructure to the intended district/hospital. All the administrative costs and people expenses be it for the PMU, the partner organizations - will all be bourne by our partner organizations or by specific funding raised for this purpose. So the short answer is your money will 100% fund the 10-Bed-ICU infrastructure, 0% of your funds will go towards administrative overheads.