Saloni Heart Center – Excellence in Children’s Heart Healthcare

Overview

The Saloni Heart Center (SHC) is envisioned as India’s largest standalone pediatric cardiac hospital, purpose-built to drastically reduce infant and child mortality from congenital heart disease.

Set within the SGPGIMS campus in Lucknow, this 200-bed, 450,000 sq. ft. facility will house:

• Modular Hybrid OTs
  
  
• Cath/EP Labs
  
  
• CV-MRI/CT Imaging Suites
  
  
• Family-Centered Recovery Zones

SHC will be supported by a global train-the-trainer program, with a target to upskill 1,500+ clinicians by 2028—establishing it as a national center of excellence in pediatric heart care.

BuiltX is the fundraising and capital structuring partner for this landmark ₹500 crore hospital, aligning global philanthropy, CSR, and state infrastructure into one unified, impact-driven platform.

The Project Owner

The Saloni Heart Foundation (SHF) is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Milli and Himanshu Seth after the passing of their daughter, Saloni, due to a congenital heart defect in 2018. The foundation honors her dream of becoming a pediatric cardiac surgeon by working to close India’s pediatric heart-care gap.

Since 2019, SHF has:

• Delivered 5,000+ expert second opinions
  
  
• Funded 70+ lifesaving surgeries
  
  
• Awarded medical scholarships to underprivileged students
  
  

It is now leading a landmark ₹500 crore ($60 million) public-private hospital project in partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh and SGPGIMS.

The MoU-backed project is clinically mentored by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s HeartLink, with capacity to perform 5,000 surgeries and 10,000 medical interventions annually.

The Challenges

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1. Closing a ₹500 Crore Gap with Blended Capital

BuiltX structured a unified capital stack combining:

• Philanthropic grants
  
  
• CSR funds
  
  
• Multilateral healthcare loans
  
  
• In-kind technology donations

Every rupee was mapped to clear impact outputs—beds, surgeries, or training seats.

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2. Translating Clinical Complexity into Donor-Ready Metrics

Over 400 pages of phased medical planning and 10-year OPEX were converted into outcome-driven donor messages like:

• “₹X enables one more pediatric surgery”
  
  
• “₹Y trains five cardiac intensivists”
  
  

3. Storytelling Amid Donor Fatigue

Post-COVID, donor focus had shifted. BuiltX reframed congenital heart disease as an under-reported pandemic, causing 28,000 infant deaths annually in India—reviving urgency and opening new CSR conversations.

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How we Approached It

1. Impact-Centric Structuring

Our DPR mapped each project phase to specific service outputs:

• Beds
  
  
• Surgeries
  
  
• Training capacity
  
  
• Equipment need
  
  

2. Visual-Driven Presentation

To simplify complex design, we used:

• High-resolution 3D renders
  
  
• Architectural massings
  
  
• Department-wise floor plates
  
  

3. International Benchmarking

Clinical and operational KPIs were aligned with global standards like:

• UCSF Benioff
  
  
• Boston Children’s
  
  
• IQIC (International Quality Improvement Collaborative)
  
  

4. Integrated Equipment & Phasing

Capital needs were embedded per rollout stage—allowing stage-wise donor alignment and transparency.

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5. Execution-Linked Milestones

Clear timeline breakdowns, risk buffers, and resource maps were developed to boost funder confidence and support on-ground feasibility.