Wipro to convert one of its Pune campuses to COVID-19 hospital
Wipro will repurpose one of its IT campuses in Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care COVID-19 hospital in four weeks and hand it over to the state government.
Wipro, one of the leading IT services company in India, will convert one of its facilities in Hinjewadi, Pune to a COVID-19 hospital for one year.
In a statement, the company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Maharashtra.
This states that Wipro will repurpose one of its information technology campuses in Hinjewadi, Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care COVID-19 hospital in four weeks and hand it over to the state government by May 30.
The hospital will be converted back to an IT facility after a year.
Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji
The 450-bed hospital, to be equipped to treat moderate cases, will include 12 beds to stabilise critical patients before shifting them to a tertiary care facility. According to Wipro, this is an independent, isolated COVID-19 dedicated complex that also includes 24 rooms to accommodate doctors and medical staff.
Wipro will provide the physical infrastructure, medical furniture, and equipment besides appointing an administrator and skeletal support staff to help operationalise the hospital quickly with the required medical professionals.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, said, “This humanitarian contribution by Wipro will further strengthen our medical infrastructure and benefit the medical fraternity who are at the forefront of our fight against the pandemic.”
“We are completely committed to supporting the country’s response to the pandemic and believe that we must all work together to deal with this crisis and minimise its human impact. We stand firmly with the Government of Maharashtra in its battle against COVID-19,” said Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited.
Early April, Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd, and Azim Premji Foundation, together committed Rs 1,125 crore towards tackling the health and humanitarian crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. These resources will help enable the dedicated medical and service fraternity in the frontline of the battle against the pandemic and in mitigating its wide-ranging human impact, particularly on the most disadvantaged of our society.
Wipro and Azim Premji Foundation are carrying out COVID-19 related humanitarian and healthcare relief work in Maharashtra across Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad-Waluj, Amalner, Ahmednagar, Akola, Beed, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The relief work has so far touched over 34 lakh beneficiaries across India.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta