Miraj Medical Center

Miraj, India

Wanless Hospital, Miraj Medical Center, Miraj, India, was begun in 1894 as a one room dispensary in the Miraj Market. Named for its founder, Presbyterian missionary physician Dr. William Wanless, the hospital now has 550 beds, 93 buildings, a 42 acre campus, and is planning phase III of its building program. The aim of Dr. A. J. Phansopkar, hospital director, and that of his colleagues is to provide quality medical care at low cost to a population of nearly 10 million people. At the same time they seek to conserve and restore human dignity and values, to demonstrate and make known in all their work the reality of Jesus Christ and to bring people to a saving relationship with Him.

At present, the Miraj Medical Center, affiliated with the Church of North India, is the only fully comprehensive health care entity in a 150 mile radius, providing both the training and delivery of a full range of services from health promotion and prevention to sophisticated treatment to all, irrespective of race, caste, creed or ability to pay. Each month, over 1,000 persons are admitted to the hospital. Approximately 7,500 are seen as outpatients and an additional 500 are seen outside the medical center complex.

Dr. Wanless saw a need to provide medical training and began a medical school. Today Miraj Medical Center is a teaching facility for the state government medical school providing clinical experience in practically all medical specialties. Miraj also provides education programs for nurses, midwives, lab technicians, X-Ray technicians, pharmacists and primary health care trainers.

Community health is also a major concern. Besides training personnel, Miraj Medical Center conducts school health clinics, immunization programs, maternal-child health clinics, nutrition/feeding programs and family planning programs.

Miraj Medical Center is the only hospital in the area with facilities for such specialized services as neurosurgery, hemodialysis and kidney transplantation and heart surgery. The new Miraj Heart Institute, financed by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development and funds from the Bicentennial Fund of the Presbyterian Church, provides upgraded facilities for cardiology and cardiac surgery. The PC(USA) assists this project through ECO Acct# 862401. The Medical Benevolence Foundation is also assisting this project with supplies and equipment.

The hospital annually receives a number of Presbyterian volunteers from a variety of health disciplines. Work at the hospital is supported in part by grants from the PC(USA) Extra Commitment Opportunity Acct. # 862303. The Medical Benevolence Foundation raises funds to help upgrade the facilities and to purchase medical equipment.

1/98

Click here to donate to this project.