Manju Sharma- Woman Healthcare Entrepreneur:
Where good care leads good health follows

Introduction of Manju Sharma

Name: Manju Sharma
Designation: Co-Chairperson and Managing Director
Organization: Eternal Hospital, Jaipur
Native Place: Jaipur
Current Residence: New York, USA
Status: Non-Resident Indian Entrepreneur

About Manju Sharma- 14 years of ‘Tapasya’
Manju Sharma is a woman of substance and through her principles of courage, confidence, commitment and consistency, in a short time has established herself as a leading name in the field of healthcare in the state of Rajasthan. As a Co-Chairperson and the Managing Director of Eternal Hospital - a unit of Eternal Heart Care Centre & Research Institute Pvt. Ltd. she set up one of the most advanced health care center in Jaipur. The doors of this hospital were opened in the year 2013 to cater to the needs of the people of not only Jaipur but the entire state of Rajasthan and various parts of northern India.

The Kashmir Connection and early life lessons-
Manju Sharma was born in a family of Kashmiri Pundits and her father, Nand Lal Kaul was a war veteran of World War II, and her mother Indira Kaul, a homemaker. Manju’s life as a child was privileged, but she also had her share of sacrifices and struggles. Her parents gave her all that they could afford, but at the same time taught her how to stand on her feet and grow as an independent individual, who could take up any challenge. It was Manju’s mother, who instilled discipline and taught her how to fight and combat all the situations. She taught her how to manage her affairs with meagreresources through skilfulhandling.

Manju’s father was a strict, but loving and disciplined person. Her father underwent various ordeals, but he stood by his ideals and the children followed him.

“As a child, I was a quick and sharp learner. I have seen good as well as bad times and always believed in the philosophy that good times were not everlasting, nor the bad times would last forever.” Manju recalls.

The Eternal Bond:
She completed her education in Jaipur and got married to Dr Samin Sharma, who did his MBBS and MD from the prestigious Sawai Man Singh Medical College of Jaipur with flying colours. Dr Samin got the first position in the Rajasthan University and received six gold medals and three honours in his MBBS.

Dr Samin Sharma wanted to excel as an interventional cardiologist and he moved to the United States and underwent training as an interventional cardiologist at the Mount Sinai Hospital for five years before becoming the Director of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in 1996, a position that he has held for 23 long years. Dr. Sharma is known globally for accepting complex cases other physicians decline to treat.

Dr Samin became a force to reckon with so much influence that in 2016 the Mount Sinai’s Cardiac Catheterization laboratory was named –Dr. Samin K Sharma Family Foundation Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

Dr Sharma did the first clinical studies on the Indian-made heart valve to treat older patients suffering from aortic stenosis and got it approved in India and Europe for clinical use.

Manju’s Rajasthan-
Manju loves the culture and enthusiasm of Rajasthan. However, she felt the need for quality healthcare at Rajasthan.

Inspired by the great success of Dr Sharma with his many clinical achievements, an Indian by core, Mrs Manju Sharma who lived in New York for over 25 years as a homemaker, envisioned a dream to build a healthcare set up in her native, Jaipur, a set up similar to Mount Sinai New York. Having no experience of articulating, designing, constructing and managing a hospital, she started this challenging journey in the year 2007 when VasundharaRaje, as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan visited New York.

In 2009, the Rajasthan government allotted land for a state-of-the-art healthcare centre that became an affiliate of the Mount Sinai Hospital.

Living in the US, she had numerous stories of women achievers, but Manju was a true woman of her own kind. The true women went on chasing a dream – the dream of setting up a dream hospital, more than 14,000 miles from New York. It means a lot of sacrifices, the prime one being living away from her own home. She was taking up a project about which she had no expertise and had no knowledge of running a hospital, leave apart building a hospital. Working on such a project has its own challenges and a lot of it was related to society’s mindset of treating women as the weaker gender.

Manju was not setting up an industry that rolls out products, but she was setting up a state-of-the-art hospital that has to earn trust first and then goodwill. Manju, the true woman was playing the role of a leader who was out to fulfil her dream of a better Rajasthan, a better India.

The land was allotted to the Sharma couple, but Dr Sharma was unable to leave his work in the US. The big question was who would take up the project and build the hospital which required relocation, Manju spearheaded the project leaving the comfort zone of New York to face several expected and unexpected challenges at Jaipur. Everyone was sceptical about her going to India being inexpert in the construction field but her dream had to come true.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – This is what Manju’s mother believed for her. Once she reached Jaipur, there was hope and nothing but hope and the support of the family also started coming.

“There was a lot of resistance that I had to face initially, more so because I was a woman and had not been living in India for long years. There were numerous occasions when people tried to negatively influence me as I was a woman, but I was determined to complete the dream project. The more people criticized and riled me the more resolute I became in building the hospital. Within me, I was giving my best and knew that God was with me.” said Manju

Unfortunately two years into the project, Manju lost her mother in an accident and she was left all alone and shell-shocked.

“I didn’t expect something like this to happen. It was the scariest moment of my life and I didn’t know how I would do this anymore”, she shares.

Manju’s persona:

• Astute – She has clever solutions to problems based on her sharp perception.
• Clear-sighted – She is perceptive and able to see decisions clearly.
• Creative – She comes up with ideas that others have not considered before.
• Decisive – She commits to a decision after properly weighing the consequences.

Manju’s Strength:

• Assertive – She is clear about what she wants without being aggressive.
• Courageous – She fights for what she believes in, no matter the cost.
• Diligent – She works hard toward a goal without giving up.
• Disciplined – She can’t be distracted from her steady work habits that lead toward her goal.
• Motivated – She has an applicable reason to pursue her goals.
• Tenacious – She takes chances and risks when trying to achieve her goals.

Inner Strength:

• Affectionate – She demonstrates kindness to others in a physical way.
• Devoted – She is loyal to the people and causes she loves.
• Doting – She takes care of others when they need her.
• Empathetic – She knows how others feel in a situation and acts accordingly.
• Trustworthy – She does not betray the trust of others and always does what she says she will do.

Gifted with the above inner strength, Manju took on the daunting task and there was a deadline to meet when people thought the project would be delayed, she kept the watch ticking close to her ears.

When the hospital was built, a lot of architects from Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, and Delhi visited the site. They were wondering whether we were building a hospital or a mall or an entertainment center. The idea of a transparent ceiling on the top of the lounge or reception area was beyond the comprehension of the architects. But when the project was completed, the same architects called it an architectural marvel.

“I completed the task in the most ethical way, despite contradictory inputs, and I was supported by my inner self. My parents taught me how to withstand the pressure and stand firmly on my principles”.

The dream became a reality: Eternal Hospital
The watchword was - the first and the best choice. A healthcare system that provided the highest quality of care that patients’ expect. It was built before the deadline, Eternal Heart Care Centre & Research Institute, a 225-bed heart hospital was born to provide the best care to the patients irrespective of their financial status. EHCC has reserved 10 per cent of inpatients beds for financially deprived people.

Through Eternal Hospital certain social commitments of Manju were achieved a well-

• Provided employment to about 2000 families as direct employment.
• About 10000 families benefitted in terms of indirect engagement through local shops, transport services, lodging facilities, courier services, hostel services etc.
• Started and built robust ‘Organ Transplantation’ Program- a gift of ‘life after life’
• Unique employee engagement initiatives- including offering loans at no interest, providing healthcare services at nominal charges, accommodation facilities, fun and entertainment sessions etc.
• Public awareness initiatives- through public campaigns at parks, community halls, remote healthcare centres, hoardings, print and digital media etc. lacs of people have been provided valuable health advice.
• Academics- to continue giving benefits of superlative healthcare, Manju has started several academic courses for doctors and nurses at Eternal Hospital
• Research- Developing and contributing to the development of newer therapies and insights is an essential responsibility undertaken by Manju through the research initiatives at Eternal Hospital.
• For the overall development of individuals, there are events organized to encourage participation in sports activities and cultural events

Centre of Excellence:
Manju Sharma strived hard to win the trust and confidence of the patients. She has enabled clinical excellence through patience centric services by hiring the best of specialists to achieve milestones backed by men and machines.

“Eternal pioneered in India for procedures and surgeries in the field of cardiology and ENT. The accent and emphasis were on “first”.

We were the first in India with MITRACLIP and also with –HOT-CRT-D. Eternal was the first in the country to do Mitral Valve replacement and then the first to do Transcatheter Double Valve Replacement in one single procedure. The next first was navigation-guided balloon sinuplasty.

With these firsts, Eternal has established itself as a centre of excellence.

EXCELLENCE IN-HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT DURING COVID-19
EHCC brings together the best of resources, expertise, and capabilities in all specialities to better meet the needs of the growing number of patients with various diseases. Eternal proved that it could excel beyond routine and lifestyle disease management to equip itself in a short spell of time to cope up with the worst pandemic ever faced by mankind.

Handling Infectious Disease patients while managing routine cases-
Infrastructure modification- The biggest challenge for Manju was to build two facilities within ‘one building complex’ for treatment of regular patients and Covid patients. Thus Infrastructure modification was done to provide acompletely separated facility for management of Covid patients, be it screening and isolation, patients in OPD, treatment and management of Covid positive patients in wards and ICUs etc.

Safe, up-to-date and evidence- based approach-
Under the guidance and the leadership of Manju Sharma and Dr Samin Sharma along with the team of Clinicians and Hospital Managers, Eternal Hospital soon developed the protocols and pathways for screening and safe management of Covid patients. These treatment pathways met NABH and JCI health care norms like the creation of separate dedicated corridor, ER, Day Care Centre, and Covid Care Team along with Covid Care Management Team.

Eternal Hospital in the Covid era has been working in close proximity to state health authorities and has implemented all patient care and billing policies in accordance with the directives issued by The Health Department, Govt. of Rajasthan at various points of time.

“Eternal Hospital is well known in the society for its patient care and with the huge demand of patients for Covid care, a brain-storming exercise to develop the treatment protocols for Covid patients and treating team of doctors and clinicians was formed as COVID warriors by the hospital management,.” says Manju Sharma.

To ensure a safe working environment for both health care workers and patients, regular study of developments on COVID 19 management (including vaccines, Intensive Care Management) was undertaken. Study of inflammatory markers in coronavirus diseases, study on new technologies like nucleic acid technologies, non-replicating viral vectors etc. was undertaken.

Special attention was paid to cleaning and disinfection, trainings on PPE donning and doffing and disposal of biomedical waste.

Protocols for safe elective and emergency services - emergency surgeries of suspected and Covid Positive patients are performed in dedicated OT with full PPE. All elective surgeries were performed in routine OT after complete screening.

Sound Initiatives:

• Clinical Care and Monitoring- With time and the latest clinical information, treatment protocols keep on evolving, Eternal Hospital till date has treated over 1700 Covid patients, having a mortality rate of 0.82 compared to the world’s death rate of around two to three per cent and India’s death of around one per cent.
• Training- Hospital augmented training on COVID-19 prevention information, upskilling frontline healthcare providers, professionals of in-house and associated hospitals and educating patients and their families via tele-training
• Community Connect- While protocols were shared with many smaller hospitals spread across smaller towns of Rajasthan, there were frequent outreach activities organized, through digital platforms, to spread awareness about the COVID pandemic.
• Vaccines- All healthcare providers at Eternal are vaccinated and the hospital has provided vaccines to more than 5500 people to date. The vaccination program will continue until all eligible citizens get vaccinated

Challenges as opportunities: Reaching Out

• Indians outside India- Nigeria- During June 2021, at the peak of the first wave of the Covid Pandemic, there was a call for help in Nigeria. For 350 Indian families and more than 20000 local Nigerians, a healthcare facility had to be made. Top officials from Eternal Hospital went to Nigeria and established this facility. Manju has been leading this ongoing project which has befitted the city of Port Harcourt Nigeria
• Setting Up Facility for Poor- Manju has set up an Intensive Care Facility at Jhalawar Rajasthan and donated it to Government. The facility caters to the healthcare needs of the locals.
• Partnering with the Government of Rajasthan- At the Government facility Jaipuria Hospital in Jaipur, Manju has set up a Diagnostic service that serves all patients with diagnostic modalities like MRI, CT Scan, ECHO etc. at government- defined nominal charges.

Stamp of Quality in Patient Care
Having achieved the Herculean task of setting up the Eternal Hospital, Manju did not rest on past laurels, but went on developing the facilities in the hospital. In 2019 Eternal hospital was granted the coveted accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI) for international healthcare quality standards for patient care and organizational management.

The hospital management worked day and night to equip the hospital with all that was needed to get the accreditation. Operations, clinical services, the doctors, statutory compliances in all about 600 points were to be assessed. Good planning teamwork and leadership quality worked wonders as the hospital got the JCI accreditation and that too in the first shot.

Mission:
Having achieved her dream of setting up an international class healthcare facility, her next mission is to provide healthcare facilities to the rural poor. The idea is to go to the rural area and reach out to those folks, who need healthcare. This would be the most wonderful legacy.

Philanthropy:
Manju along with Dr Samin Sharma has established a charitable endowment trust “The Eternal Care Foundation” that has already raised Rs 30 crore with the single goal of treating needy patients, who cannot afford costly life-saving treatment. Interest earned by the charitable endowment which is roughly INR 20 lakh per month is being spent through EHCC. This charitable work is to pursue the dream of Dr Samin Sharma to pursue the dream by discipline, honesty, and hard work.

Manju Sharma is pursuing her dream with discipline, honesty and hard work, and as a philanthropist, she is making an impact. Under her leadership, Eternal disbursed more than INR One Crore as Covid allowance to its employees. During Covid, Eternal disbursed oxygen concentrator and medical support to AjitVivek Museum, Khetri in Jhunjhunu district. Eternal shared knowledge with more than 50 hospitals in Rajasthan about protocols, patient flow mechanism and infection control management. Manju’s hospital also offers free RT-PCR Covid tests to all In-Patients.

While many organizations, due to a drop in earnings during the Covid pandemic, removed employees and reduced salaries to reduce financial burden, Manju instructed no such measures to be followed at Eternal. Treating all as one family was the motto. It was the ‘we’ mindset that made Manju tide over this crisis.

Manju Sharma integrated her interests and skills for the needs of others. During the peak Corona era, she was engaged with patients to provide emotional support. She worked closely with the women staff of the hospital to instill self-confidence and self-esteem.
Awards and accolades:
a) Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA)’s Leadership, Compassion and Creativity award
b) Rajasthan Shaksiyat Award for Outstanding Contribution in the medical field.
c) Business Ranker’s Women Achievers award for Best Business Women in Health and Wellness.
d) Times of India’s Icons of Health Award for Innovator and game-changer in the field of community service.
e) Economic Times award for Business Leader and Entrepreneurship in Healthcare.
f) Honoured as “Asiaone’sBhartiyaMahantamVikasPuraskar” for her leadership in the healthcare industry at
Asian Business and Social Forum, Pride of Asia Series Awards and Business Summit held in Bangkok.

Other Interest:
Manju takes time off to pursue her interest in yoga, meditation, and singing.

Purpose of Life:
Having been involved in building a hospital and knowing the pains and miseries of sick persons her philosophy of compassion changed. Manju soberly puts “I only expect my patients to give me accolades. My biggest feedback is when a sick person leaves happy and smiling from the eternal hospital, I think I achieved the purpose of my life. The almighty sent me to this earth to cater to the needs of the suffering masses and I only abide by his orders.”