MEDIcare launches its new building in Jalan Ipoh

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SINCE the inception of MAA-MEDIcare in 1994, Lily Chong has been receiving her dialysis treatment at the centre in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.

For three days a week, she would catch a bus from Subang Jaya to reach the centre around noon for her four-hour treatment.

Receiving treatment at MAA-MEDIcare centre has lifted a huge financial burden off the 52-year-old.

“Before that, I had to go for the treatment at the hospital and it was quite costly. But now, the Social Security Organisation (Socso) is funding my treatment at MEDIcare,” Chong said.

MEDIcare, the corporate social responsibility arm of MAA Assurance, is an independent, non-profit trust fund which depends on the generosity and support of the public, corporate and private sectors.

Royal visit: Tuanku Muhriz shaking hands with one of the patients at Wisma MAAMedicare in Jalan Ipoh.

Through the MAA-MEDIcare Kidney Charity Fund, the organisation provides heavily subsidised dialysis treatment to kidney patients and also assists them with medical subsidies and patient welfare.

From six hemodialysis machines for 15 patients, MEDIcare has grown to become the second largest kidney dialysis operator in the country (apart from the government) with 12 centres and more than 150 machines, keeping 700 patients alive.

On Tuesday, MEDIcare reached another milestone by having its own five-and-a-half storey building, Wisma MAA-MEDIcare in Jalan Ipoh.

It is equipped with 40 new machines, providing care and treatment for 72 patients currently.

MAA-MEDIcare Kidney Charity Fund chairman Datuk Tunku Ya’acob Tunku Abdullah said the new building has the potential to eventually expand to 240 machines for 1,400 patients in the next decade.

“The centre will then have the potential to become the largest hemodialysis centre in the South-East Asia,” he said.

The patron of the fund, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, accompanied by his consort Tunku Ampuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud, officiated at the opening ceremony.

“If not treated, kidney failure can cause death. With assistance from MAA-MEDIcare, the dream of kidney patients to lead a normal life and have a better and guaranteed future can become a reality for sure,” he said.

MEDIcare operates from 7am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday.

In conjunction with its 15th anniversary this December, MEDIcare will be having a charity carnival and bazaar to raise funds on Nov 22 at the Central Park in Bandar Utama from 9.30am to 6.30pm.