Media Release

Mangaluru, Oct 31: The Father Muller Medical College Hospital (FMMCH) and Father Muller Hospital Thumbay (FMH-T) units of the Father Muller Charitable Institutions units inked an agreement through a memorandum of understanding with the Society of Saint Vicent De Paul (SSVP) on October 31, 2019.

The Father Muller Brand in its self is an epitome of quality in healthcare and ever-evolving in its approach through the latest technology and advancements providing affordable medical treatments to those who suffer and need care. The Father Muller Medical College Hospital and the Father Muller Hospital at Thumbay have become a beacon of service in the health care sector. The upkeep through the remodelling of the hospital with time and the increase in doctors and staff has also helped in providing care. The director of FMCI, Fr Richard A Coelho, thus concluded by saying, that the SSVP has grown in strength and their efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poorest of the poor has been witnessed by him.

The president of the SSVP Mangalore Central Council, Herald Monteiro, gave a brief introduction of the working of the SSVP, which currently has 113 conferences in Mangaluru Diocese. The secret collections of the donors and benefactors had helped them take care of the marginalised poor, to whom they provide health care, food and education. He mentioned that of late a girl had completed her Chartered Accountancy from one of the adopted families and donated her first salary to the SSVP. Proud moments were also felt when a priest was ordained from one of these families. With the rising cost in healthcare, they approached Father Mullers for help in the same, to which they were elated with the FMCI management’s favourable response. They sought the continued support of the FMCI and hoped the same would continue years beyond.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul is an international Christian lay voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing practical assistance to those in need – irrespective of ideology, faith, ethnicity, age or gender. The vision of SSVP is to be a global catholic charity organization providing aid, development and hope to the poor and the marginalized. Founded in 1833, to help impoverished people living in the slums of Paris, France. Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the society was a French lawyer, author, and professor in the Sorbonne. He was only 20 years old when he founded the society. Frederic Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997. The society is an accredited UN NGO and has a presence in New York, Geneva and UNESCO in Paris.

Father Muller Charitable Institutions [FMCI] is a registered society owned by the Diocese of Mangaluru and has a history of over 139 years. FMCI was started by Fr Augustus Muller in 1880, by dispensing
homoeopathic medicines in Mangalore, a South Indian town in the state of Karnataka. Even in the early years of the institution, the dictum, 'Heal and Comfort' had become operational and treating patients with
love and compassion was a Divine decree.  

FMCI is primarily involved in medical education and health care delivery for the last several years and provides yeoman services to the public at large. FMCI focuses its attention on charity work by providing
healthcare benefits to people who cannot afford expensive medical care. Currently, over 2500 doctors, nurses, technical staff paramedical and other health care providers are working for FMCI. FMCI runs the following medical educational institutions: Medical College, College of Nursing, School of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences, College of Speech and Hearing and a Physiotherapy College providing both undergraduate and postgraduate training which are supportive systems to the healthcare fraternity. 

The signatories to the MoU were, Fr Richard A Coelho, director, FMCI and Herald Monteiro, president, Mangalore Central Council of SSVP. The witnesses for the same were Dr Uday Kumar, medical superintendent (FMMCH) and Gilbert Pinto, senior advisor of the Central Council of SSVP. The MoU was done by the SSVP to commemorate the 'Diamond Jubilee celebration Project'.

The administrator of Father Muller Medical College Hospital (FMMCH), Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa, asst administrator, Fr Nelson Pais, chief nursing officer, Sr Janet D’Souza, HRM-FMCI, Jyothi Pinto, Preetha Lobo, treasurer of SSVP Bendur unit and liaison officer FMCI, Dr Kelvin Pais were present.