Advancing Healthcare Quality by Installing Digital X-ray Machine


It was a dream come true when an X-ray machine with digital capabilities was inaugurated at the Maya Devi Charitable Hospital on a bright sunny day in December, 2018.

Attended by dozens of Rotarians from Canada and India, local Rotary district dignitaries, hospital administration and staff, and the local community, the inauguration of the X-ray machine turned into a festive event in the village. The event included lots of Indian food dishes and chai made and donated by the local community.

Of course, the first patient who needed a chest X-ray had to wait only minutes to get services rather than days and weeks.

The purchase of X-ray machine was made possible by a Global Grant from The Rotary Foundation. The grant was initiated and led by the Rotary Club of Calgary Centennial, Rotary Club of Calgary, and Rotary Club of Calgary West. The Rotary District 5360 and the Government of Alberta also supported the project through matching contributions.

The Rotary Club of Muzaffarnagar Midtown (India) implemented the project with the help of CHILD Foundation based in Calgary and MOTHER Foundation based in Delhi.

“We are thrilled that a high quality X-ray machine is now available at our hospital”, commented Dr. Pragya Saroha. “The machine provides us an advanced tool for diagnosing complex medical conditions which used to go undetected before.”

When the project was planned in 2015, the hospital had been operating for over four years and had logged over 80,000 patient visits. Analysis of health data had revealed that an X-ray machine will dramatically improve the diagnostic capability of the hospital and the quality of care. More than 80% of patients who were prescribed to get an X-ray (to be done in a city clinic) used to ignore it due to cost and poor infrastructure. As such doctors were forced to diagnose the disease on the basis of symptoms alone.

“Access to an X-ray machine is taken for granted in the modern world; but rural communities have no access to such diagnostic tools. Installation of an X-ray machine is another building block in enhancing the quality of healthcare at this village hospital”, commented Dr. Anil Jain, Executive Director of CHILD Foundation.