Shija Hospitals & Research Institute Pvt. Ltd. was honored at the inaugural North East Quality Conclave 2026, receiving recognition as the Torch Bearer of Quality Healthcare in North East India. This accolade was presented to Dr. Palin Khundongbam, the Chairman and Managing Director, and the Shija team on February 7 at the NEDFi Convention Centre in Guwahati. The conclave, organized by GNRC Hospitals in collaboration with the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO) and the Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) North East Chapter, also recognized other notable contributors to healthcare, including Dr. Narendra Nath Dutta from Downtown Hospital, Guwahati, Dr. Harsha Bhattacharjee from Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya, and Prof. (Dr.) Subhash Khanna from Swagat Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.
Shija Hospitals has built a reputation for its unwavering commitment to quality and patient safety, being the first hospital in the state to obtain ISO certification in 2006. It achieved the Pre-Entry NABH certificate in December 2016 and completed full NABH accreditation on July 13, 2023. Moreover, the Shija Blood Center holds NABH accreditation, and its laboratory has been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) since 2015.
In his address, Dr. Palin highlighted that prioritizing quality has effectively decreased avoidable medical errors, public complaints, and litigation, asserting that patient safety should be ingrained in organizational culture rather than merely treated as a task to check off. He urged for an expanded definition of care that includes environmental responsibility, positing that sustainable healthcare represents the next step in the quality journey. Furthermore, Dr. Palin is the North East Regional Lead for the Health and Environment Leadership Platform (HELP), where he champions environmentally sustainable healthcare practices. Shija Hospitals continues to invest in safe, ethical, and sustainable healthcare advancements in the region.