Programs & Projects

The Aravind Eye Care System (AECS), one of the most successful examples of sustainable healthcare in the world, is located in the city of Madurai in southern India. Starting with just 11 beds in 1976, the AECS comprises more than 4,000 beds today. The Aravind system consists of five tertiary hospitals with plans to open a sixth in Chennai, India in 2017. From April 2015 to March 2016, 4.7 million outpatients were treated and over 408,220 surgeries were performed at the AECS. Two-thirds of the outpatient visits and three-fourths of the surgeries were provided to the poor either free or at a highly subsidized rate.

WDI’s partnership with AECS spans over 15 years and includes the implementation of over 25 projects, ranging from human resource management and governance structure to expansion through partnerships in northern India.

In 2016, a University of Michigan Ross School Multidisciplinary Action Project (MAP) student team was engaged to adapt the Capability Maturity Model (designed for software development) to two AECS facilities. The model was applied at the facilities to develop an initial measurement of process performance. The model will also be used at the new hospital in Chennai to measure the performance of each unit.