IT major Wipro said on Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Maharashtra under which it will repurpose one of its information technology campuses at Hinjewadi in Pune to a 450-bed intermediary care COVID-19 hospital in four weeks and hand it over the state government.
The hospital will be converted back to an IT facility after a year.
The hospital to be equipped to treat moderate cases will include 12 beds to stabilise critical patients before shifting them to a tertiary care facility. This is an independent, isolated COVID-19 dedicated complex that also includes 24 well-appointed 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.
"This humtarian 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," said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji said: "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."
Early April, Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation together committed Rs 1,125 crore towards tackling the unprecedented health and humtarian 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 humtarian 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, the company said in a statement.
( With inputs from ANI )