CHANDIGARH,*04.05.2026*In a significant milestone reflecting its commitment to patient-centric innovation and compassionate care, *PGIMER, Chandigarh, will celebrate *“Sarathi Day”* tomorrow, i.e. Tuesday, May 5, 2026, marking two successful years of **SARATHI* (Students’ Alliance for Responsible Action to Transform Healthcare Institutes)—a pioneering volunteer-led initiative that has transformed patient facilitation and contributed towards humanising healthcare delivery at one of India’s busiest tertiary care institutions.

*Mr. Rajesh Prasad H, IAS, Chief Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, will grace the occasion as the **Chief Guest, while **Ms. Prerna Puri, IAS, Secretary Education, Chandigarh Administration, will add value to the event as as the **Guest of Honour*.

Conceptualised as an institutional response to the challenges faced by patients and attendants navigating complex hospital systems, SARATHI was launched on *5th May 2024* with the vision of integrating structured volunteerism into healthcare delivery through youth engagement, compassion-driven service, and community participation. What began as a pilot project has since evolved into a robust institutional model demonstrating the transformative potential of volunteer-led patient support in public healthcare settings.

Reflecting on the initiative’s journey, *Prof. Vivek Lal, *Director, PGIMER , said, “SARATHI represents PGIMER’s vision of combining institutional excellence with empathy, innovation, and community participation. By placing compassion at the centre of patient care systems, this initiative has demonstrated how healthcare institutions can become more accessible, responsive, and humane, while simultaneously nurturing socially responsible youth leadership.”

Over the past two years, SARATHI has engaged more than 2,000 student volunteers, contributed over 1,20,000 service hours*, directly assisted nearly 10 lakh patients, and impacted approximately 20 lakh beneficiaries, including attendants. The initiative has also led to measurable improvements in patient experience, with satisfaction levels reaching nearly 4.8 out of 5*.

Sharing the genesis of the initiative, *Mr. Pankaj Rai, IAS, *Deputy Director (Administration), PGIMER, stated, “SARATHI was born out of a simple but pressing need—to ensure that no patient or attendant feels lost, anxious, or unsupported within a complex healthcare ecosystem. Its growth over the last two years reaffirms that structured volunteerism, when institutionalised effectively, can become a powerful enabler of patient-centric healthcare transformation.”