Media Release

Mangaluru, Mar 13: The Father Muller Charitable Institution (FMCI) celebrated the 180th birth anniversary of its founder, Fr Augustus Muller on March 13 (Founder’s Day).

The bishop of the diocese and the president of FMCI Dr Peter Paul Saldanha was the main celebrant at the Eucharistic celebration. The thanksgiving Mass was attended by the priests of the management and the whole faculty, staff and students. The homily preached by the bishop focused on 'humility' being the virtue that one should possess both inwardly and as a garment. Narrating the vision of Jesus Christ to St Jerome (the translator of the Bible to Latin, the Vulgate), who was asked to gift his sins to the Lord as the precious gift that humans can give to the all-forgiving Lord. The bishop also asked the gathering to pray for the Pope, as it was the day he was elected 8 years ago (March 13, 2013) as the leader of the earthly church. The Carmel choir comprised of students of the institution sung praises in an angelic prayerful voice.

The newly renovated outpatient department of the Father Muller Medical College Hospital was blessed by the bishop following a ribbon cutting. The director of FMCI, Fr Richard Aloysius Coelho welcomed the gathering which was followed by blessing of the premise by the bishop. The OPD block built in 1970 catered to a number of patients who availed free OPD services at the Father Muller Medical College Hospital. The ground floor was renovated and blessed in 2020 housing the medical records section, billing section, reception area, spacious medical superintendent’s office and the central air-conditioned state-of-the art casualty and emergency trauma/medicine unit.

Renovated OPD

This year the management on many suggestions by patients and faculty took on the laborious task of renovating the first-floor OPD to be patient-friendly, bright and following the medical council guidelines under the stewardship of the administrator of the hospital Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa and assistant administrator Fr Nelson Pais. The task of the renovation was arduous and backbreaking and had required planning and scheduling to keep in mind the ever-increasing patient flow. The outpatient department has an average footfall of 1500 patients leaving aside bystanders post COVID. The pre-COVID patient footfall on average crossed the 2500 mark per day. Keeping patient comfort and satisfaction in mind the whole OPD bares a new look with bright lighting, well-ventilated corridors, swanky doctors consultation rooms, spacious seating areas, a new optical outlet corner. The super-specialty departments of cardiology, neurology, nephrology, endocrinology, along with the specialty departments of ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, medicine and the health check-up lounge are housed on the first floor.

The current vaccination drive for COVID-19 has been smoothly operating from this newly renovated floor with patients and visitors lauding the newly refurbished OPD along with the basic amenities provided like normal/cold/hot water facility and beautiful restrooms for men and women. There has been a change in the visitor’s expectation with the new instruments and new comfortable seating and paperless, contact-free services. The aseptic precautions arising out of the pandemic are strictly adhered to and the nursing department has taken the increasing charge under the leadership of Sr Janet, a chief nursing officer in providing smooth sailing through the OPD which has been much appreciated in the patient feedbacks.

Facility block

The blessing and inaugural of the new Facility Block too was held with a ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the plaque by the bishop. The need for a separate maintenance/engineering block was felt with the ever-expanding hospital needs to cater to best in practice patient care. The new facility block houses the generators in the basement with the ground floor having the Maintenance department, Fire and Safety Department, Civil Engineering Department, Biomedical Department and the Audio Visual department. The first floor houses the Central Sterile and Supply Department (CSSD) which will be the supply and receiving area for equipment and instruments. This floor houses state-of-the-art autoclaves and has a sterile area for preparation. This area supplies the needed sterile gloves, gowns, drapes, and cotton/dressings etc which are required to run the hospital care services. This puts another feather in the cap of the hospital; as such a massive area has been reserved for such procedures. The second-floor houses the in-patient medical records division, wherein the patient files are scanned and data entries are done to aid in paperless contact. Files that need longer preservation are kept in the secured lockers and file holders are disinfected after use.

Father Muller App

The day also witnessed the launch of the Father Muller App by the bishop for the in-house circulation of news and faculty/student-related intimations. The app developed under the guidance of Fr Ajith B Menezes seeks to promote paperless messaging and communication in the institution. The app can be downloaded through the Google play store, accessed through the secure network and code by the faculty and students and only the basic profile of the institutions by outsiders. The app is another initiative by the institution in garnering NAAC scores and above all in communicating among and between colleges run by FMCI.

Father Muller Charitable Institutions has grown in stature and has become a beacon to those in distress in poor health. The everlasting image of Fr Augustus Muller sitting under the banyan tree dispensing homeopathic medication 140 years ago has manifold itself into an institution par excellence in affordable healthcare, homeopathic, allopathic, nursing and allied health care academics and activities. Having five colleges under its banner with a multitude of courses, the institutions have flourished and have become a symbol of quality education the world over with its alumni in all reaches of the globe. The director, Fr Richard A Coelho has taken forward this yoke with renewed strength and zeal setting a benchmark in healthcare services and healthcare education.

It is a matter of great pride and joy for the diocese of Mangaluru to see the Charitable Institutions having its motto 'Heal and Comfort' carrying out the mandate of Jesus Christ, continuing the healing ministry.