Udupi hospital to flag off centenary year celebrations

UDUPI: The Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital will be flagging off its centenary year celebrations on Wednesday.
Dr Sushil Jathanna, director of the hospital told reporters on Monday that the inaugural function will include a blood donation camp at 9am, a Thanksgiving Service at 3pm and the inauguration of the new block of the College of Nursing at 5pm.
Jayakar Shetty, general manager of Badagabettu Cooperative Society, will inaugurate the blood donation camp. Rev Sr Sujatha, vice president, CSI Karnataka Southern Diocese will lead the Thanksgiving Service in the Mission Hospital Chapel. Vinay Hegde, chancellor, Nitte Deemed to be University will inaugurate the new block of the Nursing College in the presence of Kurma Rao, Udupi deputy commissioner and the Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of the Udupi Catholic Diocese.
The centenary year celebrations of the hospital will be marked with a series of activities throughout the year, culminating in the valedictory function on June 15, 2023, when a new book on the history of the Mission Hospital will be released. The year-long activities will include academic meets, cultural programmes, the inauguration of a Palliative Care Centre and new premises for the Paramedical College, Dr Jathanna added.
The 120-bedded Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital was founded by Dr Eva Lombard, a young Swiss missionary doctor on June 15, 1923. One of the oldest hospitals, it is perhaps the first Mother and Child focused unit in the region. 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.
Announcing the centenary vision, Dr Jathanna, said the Mission Hospital has three clear objectives: to develop into a super-speciality hospital, to expand its educational base with more courses in nursing and allied health sciences with a view to establishing a new medical college in Udupi in the future and to offer more community-based services like a palliative care centre, home care services and outreach clinics in the rural areas of Udupi.