ALVL Foundation has set up a Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Centre & Digital Radiography Centre at the 403 Field Hospital– popularly known as Siachen Hospital, to better equip the hospital in treating limb- and life-threatening conditions due to Hypoxia and Hypothermia. As the only hospital of the region in such a remote and extreme location, the Hospital serves not only the troops deployed at Siachen, but also the local civilians, tourists and ex-servicemen.
Siachen Glacier, located at an altitude of about 18,000 – 20,000 ft, is the world’s highest battlefield. Since 1984, Indian soldiers are deployed in the glacier defying the challenges of sub-zero temperatures that can drop to minus 70 degrees Celsius and oxygen level as low as 10% of that at sea level. Limb- and Life-threatening conditions due to Hypoxia, i.e., low oxygen content in the air, and Hypothermia, i.e., extremely cold temperatures, are commonly encountered in the Glacier.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, to speed up healing of tissues that are starved for oxygen. HBOT is delivered in a highly specialised Chamber – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber. Timely use of HBOT in high altitude and cold related injuries and conditions can be ‘limb and life saving’. The Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Centre & Digital Radiography Centre were inaugurated on 26th August, by (Hony) Brig Dr Arvind Lal, Padma Shri, Managing Trustee of ALVL Foundation and Executive Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs.
ALVL Foundation is a philanthropic initiative by (Hon) Brig Dr Arvind Lal and Dr Vandana Lal, primarily focusing on improving healthcare in remote and rural areas. The Foundation is also working with the Government in Uttarakhand to develop demonstration models of ‘Smart Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs)’ to transform primary healthcare for the all in the country.
