St.Marthas Hospital

Description

St Marthas Hospital is owned and managed by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd The hospital was started with just 50 beds in the land that was given by Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar X the then Maharaja of Mysore in the year 1884 In the year 1884 the Rt Revd Monsignor Bishop Charbonnaux MEP Archbishop of Bangalore invited the Sisters to the Archdiocese to establish and open schools and orphanages for young girls to be treated with kindness and dignity

The Congregation of the Good Shepherd Sisters was founded in 1829 by St Mary Euphrasia a youthful nun of 29 years who was appalled by the aftermath of the French Revolution A grave consequence of this bloody era in French history apart from decimating the population was the terrible disruption of family life Young girls were prematurely ejected into a cruel and uncaring society where lonely and lost they became the victims of the evils so common in such situations St M Euphrasia soon opened many homes where these young girls could find refuge and where they were prepared to meet with their own strength and conviction the evils which they would again encounter

St Mary Euphrasia was surely a Mother Teresa of the 19th Century though the modern media were not then in existence to make her impact felt as vividly and speedily Inspired by her ideals and by her motto one person is of more value than a world the 5000 sisters who joined her during the 30 years of her intense activity had dispersed far and wide One such little group arrived in Bangalore on the 15th August 1854

God always weeps with His suffering people He searches for hearts minds and hands willing to be used to bring them His comfort and love Sr Visitation Leusch Superior of the Good Shepherd Congregation at Bangalore was one such person It was to her that He revealed His concern for the sick and the suffering of the city and inspired her with the idea to open a hospital where they could find a haven in times of distress

During the decades of the nineteen thirties forties and fifties the Hospital continued and consolidated its services to the poor and needy Sisters with vision and commitment to build on the early foundation started a Nursing School in 1933 The hospital ever since has continued to retain its urge of loving concern for its patients has been recorded in various documents of the period Sir Mirza Ismail Dewan of Mysore on the occasion of the opening of the OPD in 1929 had this to say

This Hospital founded in 1886 is I believe the oldest in Bangalore and it remained the chief medical institution of the City till the opening of the Victoria Hospital in 1893 It is no exaggeration to say that Bangalore could not do without St Marthas It has been made popular by comfort and kindness and complete efficiency A patient is sure of sympathy and cheerful encouragement as well as expert care and when he or she goes out he or she is not only a cured person but a better person having breathed the tonic of quiet and complete self sacrifice

For over 120 years this deservedly wellreputed institution has given the people of Bangalore especially its less affluent and poorer sections compassionate medical and nursing care of a truly professional standard in a spirit of service and at reasonable rates which is widely appreciated The philosophy of its foundress St Mary Euphrasia of loving compassion for the poor and the suffering animate the hospitals functioning It seeks to provide competent medical care in a spirit of service without distinction of caste creed or race at reasonable rates free from a motive of profit to the people It has 550 beds for inpatients care and treats about 800 outpatients cases a day

Through its Community Health Department St Marthas Hospital has extended well beyond its walls the reach of its services to the sick and socially marginalized The Department now functions in five slums in and around Bangalore which have an aggregate population of roughly 10000 The Community Health Department also networks with other NGOs It runs the DOTS programme under the National Programme for T B Control at St Marthas