Young at 85, this doctor’s heart beats for the poor

(I dont believe in tomorrows. Ive always wanted to do everything right now. My motto has always been to fulfill all my ambitions so that I dont have any regrets left. Dr Sita Bhateja | GYNAECOLOGIST)
(I dont believe in tomorrows. Ive always wanted to do everything right now. My motto has always been to fulfill all my ambitions so that I dont have any regrets left. Dr Sita Bhateja | GYNAECOLOGIST)

Bangalore :

At 85, Dr Sita Bhateja looks a sprightly 65 or so. Impeccably dressed, her bright eyes twinkle as she talks. In a career spanning over 60 years, she has helped deliver more than a lakh babies. And no, she’s not ready to remove those surgical gloves yet.

“I don’t believe in tomorrows. I’ve always wanted to do everything right now. I’m spiritual, but I don’t think I’m coming back, so my motto has always been to fulfill all my ambitions so that I don’t have any regrets left,” she says.

After a long career at Bangalore’s St Martha’s Hospital, where she started the obstetrics and gynecology department, she set up Sita Bhateja Speciality Hospital 40 years ago. Today it’s a flourishing institution that believes in extending world-class healthcare to every citizen irrespective of their financial background. With a robust philanthropic wing that treats the underprivileged practically for free,

The hospital is run as a non-profit one with the for-profit arm sustaining it. Till a few years ago, Dr Bhateja used to give up 50% of her own income towards its upkeep, but a charitable trust takes care of it now.

“There is no difference in the care given to paying and non-paying patients. The same doctors see them and they are given access to the same beds and facilities,” says Bhateja. The ratio of privileged patients to poor ones is about 50:50, while the trust also runs the Sri Jetha Nand Hospital for the Poor, a 20-bed facility on the same premises. As part of its activities, the trust conducts free clinics in OBG, medicine, orthopedics and neurosurgery every week. Patients have to prove their eligibility for treatment under the charitable wing by providing a green card (BPL card) or a family income certificate issued by the local taluk office.

Dr Bhateja’s day starts at about 8am and ends at 7pm – doing surgeries in the morning, seeing at least 50 patients daily and doing hospital rounds. At 85, where does she get all the energy from? “I’ve always been high on energy,” she says, smiling. “I don’t let my age bother me. If I did, I’d have to sit down. I don’t believe in rest and holidays,” she says, admitting that she’s taken all of two real ‘holidays’ in her life – once to Kashmir many years ago with her husband and three sons, and more recently, a holiday in Greece with her elder son. “I feel restless when I’m on holiday. I’m happiest while working,” she adds.

That doesn’t mean she has no other interests. A passionate philatelist, Dr Bhateja’s enviable collection of rare stamps has been internationally recognized and won her won several awards in global philately contests. One of the rarest and most valuable stamps in her collection is an Indian stamp from 1854 with an inverted head of Queen Victoria. “There are only three square-cut stamps from this batch, of which only one is a used cover – which means it was actually used – and that belongs to my collection. Yes, it is the only one of its kind in the world,” she says with some pride.

A home for kids too

Dr Bhateja also started the Child Foundation, which runs a home for poor and abandoned children, where they have been fed and educated for free for the past 30 years. The foundation, started 30 years ago, runs a Kannada medium high school in Padmanabhanagar. The school is supported by the state government, which pays teachers’ salaries.

Her prescription

I don’t use cooking oil in my house. Food is cooked by sprinkling water on non-stick pans. The taste is just as good. I don’t eat anything made of maida and I rarely have rice. I have a lot of salads every day and eat one chappati at night. I also eat one carrot, one gooseberry and lots of spinach. No junk food, obviously – I’ve tasted pizza twice in my life. I don’t take any sugar in tea or coffee though I use honey to sweeten tea sometimes. Besides walking, I go to the gym four times a week and exercise for 45 minutes, making sure all the joints and muscles are active and supple.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Charitable Trust / by Shrabonti Bagchi, TNN / August 12th, 2013

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