CHENNAI: Apollo Hospitals Aragonda in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district has completed 1,000 total knee replacement surgeries, demonstrating how advanced medical care can be made accessible to the rural public.

The hospital was established in 2000 by Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy in his native village, Aragonda, and has recorded a milestone now.

The hospital, launched as a 50-bed facility, has treated over 1.67 lakh patients and performed more than 12,000 surgeries. In the case of knee replacement treatment, the hospital, which performed 100 procedures in 2019, has moved to 500 in 2022 and 1,000 in 2026. It also performed 19 knee replacement surgeries in a single day.

Speaking about the milestone and the Apollo Foundation's community initiatives, Dr Prathap C Reddy said Apollo Hospitals remained committed to providing healthcare services to people across all sections of society. He said the group would continue its efforts to make quality medical treatment accessible to rural communities.

He also emphasised the importance of preventive healthcare, saying Apollo was focusing on taking preventive health services to rural areas to help the people to identify and address health risks before they developed into serious illnesses. Highlighting that heart attacks are affecting youth extensively, he said prevention and early detection are crucial.

Apollo's Total Health, launched in Aragonda in 2013, is a corporate social responsibility initiative of Apollo Hospitals that integrates healthcare with education, nutrition, safe drinking water, skill development and livelihood opportunities.

The programme provides primary healthcare, diagnostics, telemedicine, mobile medical services and cancer screening, alongside specialised treatment and support for vulnerable communities.

According to Apollo Foundation, the programme has covered over 48.3 million people. It has delivered more than two lakh yoga training sessions and served over 10.89 lakh nutritious meals through integrated treatment.