Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi
Udupi June 13: The Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital, Udupi, will be flagging off its Centenary Year Celebrations with a formal inaugural function on Wednesday, June 15. The hospital will be stepping into its 100th year of existence as a premier institution, continuing to provide high-quality, affordable healthcare to the people of Udupi, said by Dr Susheel Jathanna, director, Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital, Udupi at press club here on Monday, June 13.
He was elaborating about the event to media personsof the same day, said that, ‘the inaugural function will include three events are Blood Donation Camp at 9 am, followed by that a Thanksgiving service at 3 pm and the inauguration of the New Block of the College of Nursing at 5pm. The Blood donation Camp will be inaugurated by Jayakar Shetty Indrali, general manager of Badagabettu Cooperative Society, Udupi. This event will be held led by Sr Sujatha, vice president, CSI Karnataka Southern Diocese, at 3 pm in the Mission Hospital Chapel.
The main function will be held at 5 pm, in the LMH premises. The new block of the Nursing.
The college will be inaugurated by Vinay Hegde, chancellor, Nitte Deemed to be University and chairman of Nitte Education Trust. The distinguished chief guests are Kurma Rao, IAS, deputy commissioner and District Magistrate of Udupi, and Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop of the Udupi Catholic Diocese.
The centenary year celebrations of Lombard Memorial Hospital will be marked with a series of activities throughout the year. They are prayer retreat, academic conferences and other activities like quiz and music competitions, a multicultural food festival, the inauguration of a Palliative Care Centre and new premises for the paramedical college. There will also be several cultural programmes during the year, culminating in the valedictory function on June 15, 2023, with the release of a new book on the history of the Mission Hospital and a grand finale.
Sr Deena Prabhavathi, administrative officer, Sujatha Karkada, the principal, CSI Lombard Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Udupi, Ganesh Kamath, senior medical superintendent and Rohi Rathnakar, PRO were present during the press meet.
About Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital
Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital found on June 15, 1923. It is one of the oldest hospitals in Coastal Karnataka, and perhaps the first Mother and Child focused unit in the region. It was founded by Dr Eva Lombard, a young Swiss missionary doctor, who wanted to serve the poor and downtrodden people of the region.
Beginning with just six beds, the hospital at present has a capacity of 120 beds with all major specialties and facilities like Casualty, Intensive Care Unit, Operation Theatre, Labour Theatre, Dialysis Unit, General Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anesthesia, Nephrology, Cardiology, ENT, Dental, Orthopedics, Ayurveda and Dermatology. With over one lakh square feet of built-up area, the hospital is served by a team of 170 staff, including dedicated doctors, trained and experienced nurses, and paramedical workers. Presently, the hospital is in the process of achieving NABH accreditation.
The hospital also runs five educational institutions offering courses in nursing and paramedical sciences and also a kindergarten school. Its community-based initiatives include Karunalaya, a geriatric nursing care centre, and Sahajeevana, an old age home.
Centenary Vision of Mission Hospital
Announcing the Centenary Vision, Dr Sushil Jathanna, director, Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital, has said that Mission Hospital is now embarking on a new journey of expansion and specialisation with three clear objectives. Firstly, to develop into a super specialty hospital. Secondly, to expand its educational base with more courses in nursing and allied health sciences with a view to establishing a medical college under its banner in Udupi in the near future. This will provide a new avenue for the youth of Udupi to pursue high quality medical education locally. And finally, to offer more community-based services like a Palliative Care Centre, Home Care Services and Outreach Clinics in the rural areas of Lidupi. The objective is to establish Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital as a super specialty hospital and a high-quality provider of education, and also a hospital without borders.
A brief history of the hospital
The Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital was established as a small six-bedded maternity and children's unit in the Bungalow in Mission Compound on June 15, 1923 by Dr Eva Lombard, a young Swiss missionary doctor. In those days, Udupi was a very conservative town with high infant mortality rates as women were not comfortable to be examined by male doctors and there were no qualified female doctors at that time. The arrival of a woman doctor was welcomed wholeheartedly by the local people, although there was some opposition from very conservative sections.
In a visionary initiative, the hospital started an outreach dispensary at Malpe in August, 1924 and it continued till 1967. The need for a separate ward for patients with contagious diseases was met when two dedicated rooms were built for the purpose. A maternity ward was added in 1925, along with a general ward for women. This helped to accommodate a great number of patients who needed hospitalized care.
A children's ward was started in 1932, wherein many motherless and malnourished children were treated. This ward was a real abode for such children and some destitute children too. In 1933, quarters for girls with an upstairs section for students were built. A diet kitchen was also built in the same year. In 1933, a special unit was set up to train young girls in all the necessary techniques needed in a hospital, from cooking and sewing to nursing care. In 1945, with the help of the Commonwealth Trust, a small X-Ray unit was installed. Soon after Independence, the hospital welcomed Dr M Pflugfelder, an eye specialist, who started an eye department in 1947. In 1950, a new clinic was started in Parpale, Karkala to treat rural patients. 1952 saw the opening of the New Bethesda ward for male patients. In the same year, a male ward for TB patients was started and a female ward was added in 1962.
Dr Eva Lombard continued to serve at the hospital until she retired in 1954. She was succeeded by Dr K A Salins as medical superintendent and several others subsequently.
The Mission Hospital, as it was called then and popularly known even now, grew from strength to strength with more beds, doctors and nurses, and better facilities. Most of the funds for the development came from its own income and from well-wishers and donors who were inspired by the work of the Mission Hospital. The hospital became so busy that at one time, there were not enough beds in the hospital and many patients had to be accommodated on mattresses on the floor. But the quality and dedication of the staff never wavered. Through the years, the Mission Hospital has been a beacon of hope to patients. Most of the current leading doctors in Udupi first gained experience at Mission Hospital. Many of the hospital's former doctors have flourished and continue to do well in Udupi, with some running their own hospitals.
Challenges faced by Mission Hospital from the year 2000
The Mission Hospital, despite its successes in the past, faced serious challenges in the mid-nineties and saw a gradual decline culminating in severe financial distress. It was a testing time when many staff, including consultants, left the hospital, the infrastructure started crumbling, and the hospital was unable to make any advances in replacing and upgrading equipment. New hospitals had sprung up in Udupi, providing a further challenge to the Mission Hospital. It was also a time when the hospital witnessed repeated changes in leadership, and despite the best efforts, it was not possible to arrest the decline.
The Revival of Mission Hospital from 2014
At this time of crisis, when the hospital was on the verge of closure, Dr Sushil Jathanna, a native of Mangaluru who had completed his MBBS from KMC-Mangaluru, was appointed as director in September 2014. Dr Sushil Jathanna previously worked as a RMO at Mission Hospital in 1982 before moving to the United Kingdom to further his education. He had vast experience in the fields of medicine and public health in the UK, where he worked for 32 years. He was the first Indian CEO of the National Health Service (NHS) in Cambridgeshire, and prior to that, was the managing director of the Healthcare Division of Care UK PLC.
The Mission Hospital, since 2014, has seen a huge agenda of modernization and transformation with the renovation of old buildings and wards; upgradation of facilities such as purchase of new equipment; the establishment of new services such as an ICU; the appointment of new staff, and the extension of community services. There has been the expansion of educational institutions with the establishment of College of Nursing, Paramedical College, Academy of Health Sciences and ABC School. Currently, there are over 350 students studying in the educational institutions, compared to nine in 2014. The Mission Hospital, which was once a beacon of hope to the people of Udupi, is once again shining brightly. It is now a hospital that has regained the trust of the people by delivering high quality care with compassion and dedication.