THE JIMMY S BILIMORIA FOUNDATION

THE JIMMY S BILIMORIA FOUNDATION  is a new charity set up in memory of Jimmy S Bilimoria, who passed away on May 3, 2013 after a prolonged battle with cancer. During his last few months, it became obvious to him and his family that patients like him are in dire need of palliative care at home, where they can be taken care of by trained medical personnel, and so that they are not left in pain and great discomfort if they decide to stay at home or otherwise strapped to a hospital bed, without loved ones around them.

While there are palliative care facilities across the country, their numbers are grossly inadequate to cater to the vast number of patients in need of such care, with the exception of Kerala, where too it is in the most part a community run service. In Mumbai, apart from Tata Memorial Centre and a handful of other institutes that have recently come into existence, palliative care is almost unheard of. CanSupport in Delhi is an exceptional home care service. Shanti Avedna in Mumbai, Karunashreya in Bangalore and Cipla Palliative Care in Pune are excellent facilities, but they are hospices – not home care services.

And given the rising incidence of cancer, a condition where the mortality rate in India is as high as 70% to 80%, the need to proliferate palliative care facilities across the country cannot be underscored sufficiently enough.

PALCARE from THE JIMMY S BILMORIA FOUNDATION has been set up with the prime purpose of addressing this urgent need – i.e. of delivering an ‘at-home’ service to those suffering from life limiting and debilitating conditions, such as cancer.

PALCARE caters to patients at any stage of their incapacitating illness, but it is more than likely that patients will only avail themselves of the service in the last months of their lives. PALCARE’s primary focus is cancer patients, but those with chronic illnesses such as kidney failure, lung conditions, strokes, etc. will also be looked after, at a later stage.

To begin with THE JIMMY S BILIMORIA FOUNDATION is concentrating its efforts in Mumbai before expanding to other parts of the country. It has the financial backing of the TATA TRUSTS, who have ensured PALCARE could get started, as also other highly respected foundations and individuals such as The Mahindra Foundation, The Reliance Foundation, the Hemendra Kothari Foundation, amongst others.

THE JIMMY S BILIMORIA FOUNDATION is privileged and deeply grateful
to have the support of towards our
palliative care services.