Thandalam, located in the Periya Palayam block of Tiruvallur District in Tamil Nadu, is the birthplace of Jagadguru Pujyasri Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Sankaracharya Swamigal of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Thandalam has not had a primary health center or medical facility nearby. In deference to the desire of the Acharya, a small rural clinic was started in Thandalam village in 2019 with a local doctor providing consultation two days a week and a nurse providing some support on other days.
Being an under-served area for health care, Sankara Rural Medical Centre was established in Thandalam to provide affordable healthcare to the needy population. With the help of a CSR grant from Canara Bank a building was constructed with facilities for a pharmacy, a clinical lab, doctor’s consultation room, a dental center, a vision center and four beds for ay emergency. The facility has a room on the first floor with an attached toilet for duty doctors staying overnight.
The Centre was inaugurated by the then Governor of Tamil Nadu, Sri Banwarilal Purohit, on 11th July, 2021. A Memorandum of Understanding with Chettinad Hospitals helps provide medical management of Sankara Rural Medical Centre.
Patients are charged a nominal Rs 10 towards consultation and medicines are provided at subsidized prices. Any emergency requirements needing hospitalization are transferred to Chettinad hospital in ambulances. The Management of Chettinad hospitals have generously offered to treat these patients at highly subsidized rates and where necessary, also provide services free of cost.