Imphal, Jan. 1: Dr Palin Khundongbam, chairman and managing director of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute here, has been named Indian healthcare ambassador of the year in recognition of his contribution to healthcare services.

Khundongbam received the award at the sixth Sigma Healthcare Excellence Awards held at Leela Ambience Hotel in Gurgaon on December 26.

The award ceremony was a part of the World Entrepreneurship Summit in Healthcare - The Leaders who Inspire Healthcare. The honour came in recognition of his achievements, diligence and sustained contribution to the healthcare delivery system in the region and the neighbouring country of Myanmar, a statement issued by the institute said today.

His work of transforming a small clinic to a 200-bed super-speciality hospital on the foothills of picturesque Langol on the outskirts here is well known among the country's healthcare providers.

Khundongbam dreams of making Manipur a health tourism destination, with a vision of changing the healthcare landscape of Southeast Asia. The award acknowledged his initiatives for Mission Myanmar, which was conducted in three phases.

Free cleft lip and palate, keyhole and cataract blindness operations were performed during the mission in the neighbouring country since 2013. The surgery camps were jointly organised by the government of Sagaing, government of Manipur, Indian consul-general, Mandalay, Smile Train Shija Cleft Project and Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India.

Shija Hospitals also conducted a three-month training on keyhole surgery and critical care for two surgeons and six nurses of Monywa general hospital, Myanmar, under Shija overseas training programme.

Shija has always been in the forefront in corporate social responsibility activities by providing free cleft lip and palate surgeries to over 3,500 patients, under Smile Train Inc, New York, and restoring sight to over 6,000 through free cataract surgeries.

Shija blood bank has the world's safest blood transfusion system. The blood bank has started receiving samples for nucleic acid test (NAT) from Cordlife India, Calcutta, for screening of HIV, hepatitis B and C.