A brief about St. Martha’s Hospital
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10
It was the year 1854, when the Good Shepherd Sisters (Religious of the congregation of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd) first reached the shores of India. The first religious women that dedicated their lives, not only to rescue neglected and vulnerable women and children, but to rehabilitate and empower them at a time when women hardly had any voice or rights in India! – giving Life to the full!
Then came the great famine and plague that crippled the country in the late 1800s; and the Sisters, full of the fire of God’s love, rushed to the aid of those in need without hardly any medical background. Inspired by their heroic work and selfless sacrifice and service in dreadful conditions, the then Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar X, granted the land that became St. Martha’s Hospital on 28th July 1886, the feast of St. Martha, the patron saint of hospitality and service, servants and cooks. Thus St. Martha’s was committed to serve with love from its inception!
Sir Mirza Ismail, Dewan of Mysore, on the occasion of the opening of the O.P.D. [St. Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore] 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. Martha’s. 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 goes out; he is not only a cured man, but a better man, having breathed the tonic air of quiet and complete self-sacrifice. An Institution managed by such devoted workers deserves all sympathy… Clearly, the poor are their best patients… God pays for them …”
Health is your right, serving is our ideology
St. Martha’s Hospital (SMH) is a charitable hospital and is owned and managed by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. It was one of the first to start laparoscopic surgery in Bangalore and many more path-breakers due to the hard work, self-sacrifice and generosity of our committed team of doctors and staff. Since 1886, whether through the Great famine, the plague (1880s), the Spanish flu (1918) or the current COVID-19 Pandemic (2019), battling through three pandemics, St. Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore (SMH) has relentlessly served the people of Bangalore and beyond and stood the test of time with its great dedication and compassion in the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. All are respected as precious children of one universal God. In the philosophy of St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, foundress – the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (Good Shepherd Sisters), which is: ‘A person is of more value than the whole world.’
Our experience of the past drives the spirit of our purpose
COVID-19 has highlighted the relevance of SMH even to this day, as a much needed sanctum for those who have nowhere to go to receive healthcare and wellness.
The onset of Covid-19 set forth many challenges for the Hospital but by God’s grace we were able to overcome it by assuring quality care adhering to protocols set by the Government as a result of the teamwork of dedicated Sisters, doctors, nurses, paramedical and support staff. The dedication with which the patients were served by the Hospital staff during the difficult period of the first wave from June 2020 onwards is highly appreciated. The second wave hit us badly as the cases started to rise drastically, long queue of patients outside the Emergency, packed ICUs and the entire hospital was almost allotted for covid patient care. Also, there was a constant 24/7 tension about shortage of oxygen, which we always took for granted, but thankfully got the supply in the nick of time. However, nothing deterred the spirit of the Hospital staff who continued their service with courage and commitment.
Would you consider being the hand of God?
Get Better with SMH
Making someone a better person entails an unwavering zeal to bring life to the full, by the restoration and rehabilitation of every person to their human right of Good Health & Wellness. St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, the foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (also known as Sisters of the Good Shepherd (RGS), who manage St. Martha’s Hospital, drives a philosophy that ‘A person is of more value than the whole world!’. Every person is unique and must be respected and treated as such. A simple vision, but it amazingly draws parallel to the current-day expectation of customized and holistic healthcare system.
Cure, Care, Comfort …
SMH redefines HealthCare as it is meant to be, through its foundations of expert technical skill, passion for excellence & innovation, and zeal for service as divine duty to humanity.
- Cure: Dedicated healing with integrity
- Care: Healthcare delivery with a Christian soul and sanctity
- Comfort: Support and honouring of all life, holistically, from womb to tomb.
What is missing from healthcare today is a genuine outreach to the whole person and his/her support system. Healthcare cannot be delivered in bits and pieces, in the name of specialties and super-specialties without grounding in ethics & values, and networking. SMH gives you the whole spectrum of optimal technical expertise with a therapeutic touch of our inspired vision and mission.
Come Home to St. Martha’s…
We are proud to dispense our services at our:
- Sprawling lush green city-sized campus
- Specialized blocks for medical, surgical, mother and child care, patient suites etc.
- State-of-the-art critical care and cardiology units
- Premium Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation building
- Maternity and Woman’s Health Unit
- Neonatal & Childcare
- Comprehensive medical and intensive care management
- Minimally invasive surgeries and post-surgical care
- Interactive Patient Support System
- Orthopaedic and sport injury management & surgeries
- Dental and Oral surgical Services
- Mental health and wellness services
- Skin Care and Plastic Surgery
- 24/7 Diagnostic Lab and Pharma
- 24/7 Ambulance services
- Accident & Emergency Services
- Ophthalmology and ENT consultation and surgery
- Oncology
- Neurology and Neuro-Surgery
- Nephrology and Dialysis
- Community outreach services
- Corporate and Insurance Services.
Our Outreaches:
- TB DOTS Centre: SMH
- Perpetual Health Centre – Uttarahalli
- Bosco Mane Boys – Chamrajpet
- Bosco Boys Home Yuvodaya – Gandhinagar
- Bosco Rainbow Home for Girls – Wilson Garden
- Bosco VatsalyaBhavan Girls Home – Chamrajpet
- YWCA – Lalbagh
- Residential Home – Uttarhalli
- Juvenile Justice (ECHO Project)
- Urban Slum Projects in association with – Bosco, Sngama/Karnataka Jana Shakthi NGOs
- Action Aid Projects
- Comprehensive health camps for Ragpickers(vulnerable groups of society)
- Support to the Homeless population under BBMP supported Inns (CURDS- Bangalore & ICDSS – Bangalore)
SMH Rural Health Mission: St. Martha’s Hospital provides health care assistance through the Good Shepherd Sisters in six villages namely Sandanapalaya, Manvi, Madalur in Karnataka and Wayanad, Vizhinjam, Kannara in Kerala.
Vision 2030:
SMH marches on into the next decade with eyes set on a glorious future, spirited by our foundation vision and mission. We look forward in partnering with generous patrons for many of our actions plans for the future like:
- Accessible women’s health and mother-child care for all.
- Better healing suites for all patients.
- Free hospital food for all general ward patients
- Comfortable Accommodation for attenders of Patients coming from out of the city.
- Intermittent stay for bedridden patients (Stroke, spinal injuries, Oncology etc), till they are able to find a place suited for their needs in Bangalore.
- Enhanced patient support and outreach.
- Extended pastoral and emotional support for patients and their support system.
- Support system for Special care cases, particularly those that are financially and socially challenged.
- Adopted care of various vulnerable and assisted-living patients around the hospital.
- Extended outreach camps and regular healthcare patronage for colonies that are below the poverty line.
- Enhancing outreach through digital consultation and networking.
- Upgrading the hospital campus for long-term healing and care-giving regimes.
- State-of-the art 24/7 diagnostic block
- Affordable oncology for all.
- Making SMH a totally ‘Green Hospital’
- And many more innovative plans …
