Healthcare for the future

 “Dream. Learn. Do. Become.” These words can describe Bomi Bhote, who dreams with conviction to make Ruby Hall Clinic a world-class leader in the healthcare industry, providing compassionate and personalised patient care. With enough energy to inspire not just himself but so many others; coupled with the desire to impart high-quality learning and his ability to bring out the best in others, as a CEO of the future, he not only transformed the face of this internationally acclaimed hospital, but also shaped it into one of the most sought after places to work at.

Charting the path
In 1997, Dr K B Grant asked Bhote to lead the 250-bed hospital, Ruby Hall Clinic, in Pune. In the last 22 years, since his role as the CEO of Pune’s largest and most prestigious healthcare facility, his initiatives have made the hospital a name to reckon with on the global healthcare map. However, the organisation Bhote has led, and the future he will lead it into, are very different from the scenario back then. And Bhote is a very different CEO—by design.

For a number of years, hospitals were run by doctors using the same time-worn strategies and protocols. But things have changed—CEOs are now professional and master a series of new skills. Bhote began a period of re-engineering and new beginnings for the institute. The hospital now has grown into a 750-bed multi-specialty medical centre, including a 130-bed unit at Wanowarie, an 80-bed unit at Hinjawadi with over 3,500 working employees under his leadership.

Achievements
• Ruby Hall Clinic has been conferred with a shield from the then Honourable President Late Dr A P J Abdul Kalam for setting up a state-of-the-art cancer centre.
• Former President Pratibha Patil also awarded the hospital the best medical tourism facility in India.
• At a ceremony organised by NOTTO, Health Minister JP Nadda presented the hospital with an award for being the ‘Best Organ Transplant Centre’ in the country.
• Ruby Hall Clinic is the only hospital in India to have nine separate NABH accreditations and certifications from Quality Council of India under its belt.

Challenges and Risks
Under Bhote’s leadership, one of the biggest risks Grant Medical Foundation took was the foundation of a branch at Pune’s southern-most area in 2013. Keeping in mind that medical tourism was a key development area and Ruby Hall Clinic had been receiving over a thousand patients per year from across the globe, he launched the Wanowarie unit in 2013.

His vision to establish a unique boutique hospital for high-net worth individuals (HNIs) and foreigners brought about the concept of ‘comfort with care’. The hospital is credited to be one of India’s first LEED certified gold-rated green medical facilities, satisfying ninety-percent of patients. In fact, it was one of the first in the country to acquire a Green OT certification with one of the highest pan India rankings.

Further, he pushed the medical facility to soar higher in 2016. Years of planning, construction and designing every minute detail came in to fruition in the form of Ruby Hall Clinic Hinjawadi. In the same year, he further strengthened the hospital’s presence in international waters placing Ruby Hall Clinic on the global map. As part of the Prime Minister’s contingent from India, Bhote visited Kenya, where he signed an MOU with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to launch a 400-bedded hospital in Nairobi. Setting an example for other hospitals in the city and country, Bomi Bhote remains committed to raising the bar of healthcare.

With healthcare financing being the ‘next big idea’ in the medical arena, the hospital has tied up with health financiers—a first in the city—to ensure that no patient in need of treatment is short of finances. In fact, loans are provided in as fast as 10 minutes. Bhote also remains passionate towards the cause of organ donation. Till date, the transplant statistics of the hospital stand at over 1,600 cornea, 300 bone marrow, 1,500 kidney, 89 liver and 18 heart along with the credit of innumerable national level awards and recognitions.

Life Lessons
Bhote’s story powerfully illustrates the grit and determination it takes to make an impact. He emphasises that not everyone needs to be born a leader to make a difference. Instead, he believes the traits that make an individual an exceptional leader can all be acquired from a combination of experience, formal leadership training and mentorship. He says, “While two decades ago, most hospitals appointed doctors at the management level, it was our late founder, Dr Grant's exemplary vision to use international management skills to transform Ruby Hall Clinic into one of the most sought-after institutes in the medical fraternity. In fact, at that time I was one of the first professional CEOs to have joined the hospital industry. While I don't believe there is an ‘ideal’ health system, all great systems share multiple common attributes. They commit to providing care in an integrated manner, to physician leadership at all levels of the organisation, to delivering services the way patients want and expect it, and to focusing on the whole needs of individuals. I believe patients, doctors and employees are the pillars on which the hospital stands strong. After all, you don’t build a hospital, you build people. And then people build the organisation.”

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