Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital

Vellore is a city of 3.5 million, located in the southern province of Tamilnadu, India. Vellore is an ancient agricultural and trading center, surrounded by hills. Today, it is a modern city by Indian standards, with rough and occasionally paved roads, many busses and bicycles, many temples, grocery stores, and many little shops selling fabrics, paper supplies, and jewelry. Smells are strong at times. Agriculture is the main occupation and source of income in this area of Tamilnadu. Most of the wetland agriculture is accomplished using human and animal power.

Vellore is a conservative city, and also known for religious tolerance due in part to the influence of the Vellore Christian Medical College & Hospital (VCMCH) in this predominately Hindu community. Seasons are similar to the southern United States, and the summers that last from April through October are very hot. Many Indians do not recommend visitors come during the oppressive heat of summer time.

Become familiar with India’s culture, history and economy by reviewing the Wikipedia India Page Profile. Rich resources for India health information include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation IHME India Country Profile and the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory India Data.

People come to VCMCH from all over India, though the majority are from the local area, and make a living through agriculture or small businesses. Many are very poor, and most do not speak either of the national languages, Hindi and English. Majority of the patients still live in villages, in brick or mud houses with thatch roof.

All staff at VCMCH speak English. Translation assistance is available for communicating effectively with non-English speaking patients.

Vellore Christian Medical College & Hospital is a full-service, state of the art medical care facility. Its services include surgical subspecialties, neonatology, in vitro fertilization, invasive cardiology, bone marrow and kidney transplant, CT and MRI, in addition to mainstream internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics. In 2002, 40,000 inpatients were served, as were some 600,000 outpatients. VCMCH also has a network of smaller hospitals in the area that provide more basic primary and secondary care medical services. Separate facilities around Vellore also specialize in eye care, rehabilitation, leprosy and other specialty care.

The staff includes 500 physicians and 1500 nurses. VCMCH has a strong commitment to education, and 60 new medical students are enrolled each year. Graduate and Ph.D. degree programs are also offered in an active research environment. Additionally, VCMCH trains nurses, therapists, pharmacists, laboratory specialists, and other health professionals.

VCMCH enjoys an amazing history. One eventful night in the late 1800s, Ida Scudder, the young granddaughter of William Carey, was asked to help three young women struggling in difficult childbirth. Without training at that time, she could do nothing. Ida was shocked to learn the next morning that all three women had died. She accepted this as a calling set before her by God to ministry to the health needs of India people. She returned to America and became one of the first women to graduate from Cornell Medical School. Ida started VCMCH in 1900 as a one-bed dispensary, which has now grown to 2000 beds in several campuses.

Dr. Ida S. Scudder founded VCMCH with the motto, “Not to be ministered unto but to minister.” She also embraced a leadership approach that has inspired the institution for the last one hundred years. Scudder wrote, “For CMC Vellore to survive in the long run, it has to be Indian owned, Indian managed, able to meet most of its budget from local funds and be relevant for the changing needs of India”.

The teaching staff at VCMCH tends to be younger in age. They represent all major medical specialties, and many are nationally and internationally recognized authorities in their respective fields. Many of the staff spends about one-third of their time in patient care, one-third in teaching, and one-third in research activities.

The Vellore CMC Rural Health Centre was established in 1954, providing outreach services to 5 villages. Over the years, it has expanded services to the entire geographic region of Kaniyambadi and today includes community-wide efforts to increase literacy, training of community health volunteers, Traditional Birth Attendants and provision of basic preventive and curative services at the village level.

On the forefront of these public health interventions, include efforts to prevent water-borne infections through sanitation and provision of potable water, control dissemination of TB through prompt diagnosis and DOTS treatment, development of micro enterprises for women and provision of rehabilitative care for those suffering from leprosy complications. Students of public health are actively encouraged to participate in the range of interventions, depending upon their particular interests.

The Community Health Nursing department of the College of Nursing offers Community Outreach activities in urban, rural and tribal areas.

Pharmacy services offered are state-of-the-art for India and also synchronous with the standards of care for many wealthier nations. Pharmacy professionals at Vellore Christian Medical College & Hospital take their responsibilities well beyond medication acquisition and dispensing. They take a leading role in active surveillance to improve hospital adverse drug event monitoring and are well published in this field.

The College provides formal training in pharmaceutical care leading to an M.D. Pharmacology degree. Visiting students are invited to participate in the full range of services provided, including the particular learning to meet the challenges of providing safe, appropriate care for very low-income individuals and families. Students may also participate in clinical care in the hospital setting as well as in rural clinics and public health initiatives.

The housing complex has dialup Internet access. If a laptop computer is brought, wireless Internet access can occasionally be found.

INMED invites all participants to consider raising extra funds to financially support this facility. While such efforts are not required, they provide opportunity for INMED personnel to become involved in this important aspect of international healthcare.

Vellore CMCH