There was a time when falling ill in the villages around Dhamra often meant far more than a visit to the doctor. It meant arranging money for travel, spending hours on the road to distant hospitals and losing precious days of work. For many families, especially the elderly and daily wage earners, seeking medical care was often postponed until there was no other choice.

Today, that story has changed.

As the Adani Foundation marks 30 years of community development, one of its most meaningful transformations can be seen across the villages surrounding Dhamra Port in Odisha's Bhadrak district. What began as an effort to improve access to healthcare has evolved into a comprehensive community healthcare network that is bringing doctors, medicines, specialist consultations and rehabilitation services closer to people's homes—ensuring that quality healthcare is no longer determined by geography or affordability.

The change is visible not only in the numbers, but in the lives behind them. An elderly widow who no longer worries about travelling long distances for treatment. A daily wage worker who has returned to work after years of debilitating pain. Expectant mothers receiving regular antenatal care in their own communities. Children receiving timely treatment before minor illnesses become emergencies. Across nearly 200 villages, healthcare has become accessible, affordable and, above all, dependable.

Until a few years ago, however, the reality was very different. The local Primary Health Centre struggled with limited infrastructure and the absence of a regular MBBS doctor, while treatment for anything beyond routine ailments meant travelling to Chandbali, Bhadrak, Cuttack or even Bhubaneswar—journeys that were expensive, time-consuming and often beyond the reach of vulnerable families. Many delayed treatment because they simply could not afford the cost of travel, medicines and lost wages.

Recognising this need, the Adani Foundation began building a healthcare ecosystem that would ensure quality medical care reached people where they lived instead of expecting communities to travel long distances in search of it.

One of the many lives transformed by this initiative is that of 89-year-old Khulana Majhi from Chandinipal village.

A widow living with her son, Khulana had spent years battling arthritis and uncontrolled hypertension. Frequent headaches, dizziness and severe joint pain had gradually taken away her independence. Her family survived on a modest old-age pension, the Public Distribution System and her son's occasional daily wage earnings. With every rupee carefully budgeted for food and household expenses, regular medical treatment became a luxury they could not afford.

Although doctors had advised her to continue treatment, the recurring costs of medicines, consultations and transportation forced her to stop several times. Like many elderly people in rural India, she found herself caught between the need for healthcare and the inability to pay for it.

Everything changed when the Mobile Health Care Unit (MHCU), supported by the Adani Foundation and implemented by HelpAge India, began visiting her village.

During her first consultation, the medical team discovered that her blood pressure had reached a dangerous 170/100 mmHg. Treatment began immediately. Medicines were provided free of cost, regular follow-up visits ensured continuity of care, and healthcare workers counselled her on managing hypertension through medication, diet and simple lifestyle changes.

Most importantly, healthcare had finally arrived at her doorstep.

Over time, the headaches became less frequent, the dizziness subsided and her blood pressure came under control. Equally significant, her family no longer had to spend scarce resources on repeated hospital visits.

Looking back on her journey, Khulana says, "Earlier, I was suffering from severe joint pain and did not know that I had high blood pressure. After receiving treatment from the Mobile Health Unit, I feel much better. My pain has reduced, and I can walk properly. I am thankful to the MHU Team and Adani Foundation for providing free healthcare services for poor people like us."

Her story reflects a much larger transformation unfolding across the region.

Today, the Adani Foundation's healthcare network comprises three Mobile Health Care Units, the Dhamra Wellness Centre, a dedicated Physiotherapy Unit and regular specialist consultation camps. Every month, the Mobile Health Care Units provide doorstep consultations to around 5,700 patients, while the Wellness Centre's outpatient department serves nearly 1,800 patients. Around 450 patients receive physiotherapy every month, and specialist doctors from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar regularly conduct consultation camps, reducing the need for long and costly travel.

The network now reaches 197 villages across 40 Gram Panchayats and has served 5,99,065 patients since its inception.

Its impact extends well beyond treating illness.

Children receive timely treatment before minor ailments become serious. Expectant mothers have access to antenatal care closer to home. Regular screening programmes help detect diabetes, hypertension and other non-communicable diseases early, while follow-up consultations encourage better long-term health management. Free consultations, medicines, diagnostic screening and doorstep healthcare have significantly reduced the financial burden on households where even a single hospital visit once meant borrowing money.

For 36-year-old Babuli Sethi from Jagula village, the healthcare network restored something even more valuable than good health—it restored his livelihood.

A daily wage worker, Babuli had spent nearly two years living with severe lower back and leg pain caused by lumbar disc bulging. Walking became difficult. Standing for long hours was painful. Every working day became a struggle, and every missed day meant lost income for his family.

He sought treatment from multiple healthcare providers and spent a considerable amount on medicines and consultations. Despite his efforts, the pain persisted, and surgery was eventually recommended.

Then he attended a Specialist Health Camp organised through the Adani Foundation's healthcare initiative.

Following an orthopaedic consultation, he was referred to the Physiotherapy Unit at the Dhamra Wellness Centre, where specialists designed a structured 20-day rehabilitation programme combining therapeutic interventions, strengthening exercises and a guided home exercise plan.

The results were remarkable.

By the end of the programme, the stiffness and tightness that had restricted his movement had reduced by nearly 60–70 per cent. The severe pain that had once dominated his daily life had almost disappeared. More importantly, he was able to return to work with renewed confidence.