India Pharma Outlook Team | Monday, 02 March 2026
MGM Healthcare has launched Swayam, marking a major step forward in elder care as Chennai's first comprehensive, multidisciplinary geriatric programme.
The program delivers seamless, coordinated support for elderly patients and their families. It combines outpatient consultations, dedicated inpatient wards featuring senior-friendly ICUs, and hospital-to-home services.
These home-based options include direct visits, remote monitoring, and regular follow-ups for those at home or in assisted-living facilities. A dedicated senior helpline adds extra support, helping families access guidance quickly.
The launch event featured Col. K. Prabhakar Hebbar (Retd.), Joseph Marita, Branch Head, and Kirshnaveni. V from Dignity Foundation. They were joined by Dr. Senathi Nanda Kishore, Clinical Director & Senior Consultant and Clinical Lead – Anaesthesiology and Surgical ICU at MGM Healthcare, and Dr. P. Sivaraj, Senior Consultant in the Department of Internal Medicine, who leads Swayam.
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Dr. Senathi Nanda Kishore emphasized the need for better geriatric care in India: “India is ageing rapidly, yet structured geriatric medicine remains underdeveloped. Ageing is often normalized as decline - chronic pain, loneliness, reduced mobility, polypharmacy, and sensory deterioration are accepted as ‘natural’. Swayam challenges this narrative. We are not merely a treatment clinic; we represent a proactive, preventive, and restorative ecosystem for senior wellbeing. We are not managing old age - we are optimizing healthy ageing.”
Dr. P. Sivaraj pointed out shortcomings in current approaches: “Current geriatric care is often fragmented across specialties - reactive rather than preventive, with limited psychological and social assessment. Medication management is seldom well integrated, and follow-up rarely extends into structured home-based care.”
This new program addresses India's fast-aging population by shifting from reactive treatment to proactive, holistic care that prioritizes prevention and long-term well-being for seniors in Chennai.
