Media Release
Mangaluru, Jul 3: In its 140th celebratory year, the Father Muller Charitable Institutions (FMCI) has embarked on a journey to be at the pinnacle of medical and allied health care to the people of the region and afar. The inaugural and blessing were held on Friday July 3. The Father Muller Medical College Hospital (FMMCH), one of its units has been succour to a many during the past century and more. The current casualty and out-patient reception area was constructed in the year 1972 and has served the unending lines of patients for 50 years. It has been a part of the FMCI history and has been the facade where one recognises the hospital with.
Nevertheless, with the untiring efforts of the governing board to upkeep the hospital, a plan was set into motion to refurbish the hospital keeping in mind the aesthetics and intricacies of the new era. The refurbishment was the need of the hour to enhance the rate of patient footfall and the need to provide advanced optimum care with dignity.
The entrance of the hospital speaks volumes of the quality of services it provides. Hence the Patient Waiting Area and the Medical Records Department, Department of Radiology along with the Billing and Casualty has been medically condign for.
The Patient Reception Area cum Waiting Area has been given a pleasing yet modern outlook with wood finish aluminium decor and false ceilings with energy-saving lights and fans. The brightness of the hall has opened it up making it look bigger and spacious. The reception desk has been ergonomically designed for the benefit of the staff and the patients. The entrance has been widened with sliding toughened glass doors with protective steel gates to facilitate easy movement of personnel and patients alike.
The Medical Records Department has been refurbished with the latest technology and a glass facade. Patients and bystanders can now interact with the staff in a more responsive manner making it convenient for the staff as well. The medical records department has seen a complete overhaul with the digitization of records and thus help in the paperless processing. Files of yesteryears have been scanned and saved so that patients can access them when they come on later dates. Original files of MLC’s, psychiatry and oncology patients throughout the years have been preserved just in case.
The Billing section for out-patients and in-patients: Now have more windows with a separate counter for private/corporate rooms numbering seven in total. This will help ease the queue at the windows and fasten the billing process.
Emergency Medicine and Casualty: There was a need felt for a separate well-equipped Department of Emergency Medicine to help in faster triage and care of critically ill patients. Hence, the casualty has been refurbished with the latest in modern emergency medicine unit with a fully centralised air-conditioned casualty, operation theatre, critical care room with five beds, triage area, with over 30 beds. The department has been rewired to provide continuous oxygen supply, energy-saving electrical fittings, tiled flooring and walls for easy sanitization. There are rooms for the CMO, separate male and female faculty, pgs and intern duty rooms.
The Department of Radiology has been given a facelift resulting in a wide and spacious feel with a modern staff counter and private ultrasound rooms with attached changing facilities giving the patients a sense of security and privacy.
The new centralized reporting hub with the latest gadgets in computing and reporting has been added to fasten the delivery of reports to doctors and patients. The seating area has been made comfortable with pleasing aesthetics. The new 128 slice CT machine has been added to the equipment in the department.
The Sample Collection Laboratory: A section of the hospital building where many health enthusiasts come for their regular check has been modernized with spacious seating, blood collection cubicles, reporting counters and pneumatic chute system to carry samples to the centralized lab. The area also has attached toilets for male, female and differently-abled patients which have been retrofitted with the latest bath fittings.
Secretariat of the Medical Superintendent: Keeping in mind the importance of the office of the Medical Superintendent the management decided to overhaul the entire section, now having its own secretariat and the private office of the Medical Superintendent.
The makeover has brought even more decorum to the office, having an exclusive waiting area.
With the necessity to maintain social distancing the hospital has erected a massive roof covering the erstwhile car park in front of the OPD, which will help patients and bystanders by providing enough space to maintain optimum distancing and protection from the weather too.
The whole ground floor section has been illuminated and redecorated keeping in mind the patient's needs and the daily disinfection/cleaning needs. Signage are put up in the state language and in English to help patients commute through the different sections. With the pandemic in mind, social distancing in the queue and seating have been marked. The list of doctors has been redesigned and displayed in the reception area, code of ethics and the hospital scope of services and patient’s rights and responsibilities are displayed on a LED TV and electronic standees.
In today's competitive healthcare environment, organizations must educate and engage their stakeholders — patients, doctors, staff, volunteers and the community. A hospital's strategic plan, consisting of both short and long-range versions, should do just that by establishing several strategies that focus resources to better achieve goals that support the organization's mission and vision. Renovation can be a cost-effective and appealing option, but it also is the most complicated one.
The efforts put in by Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa, administrator of the hospital, and Fr Nelson Dheeraj Pais, assistant administrator of the hospital, has seen the change anew of these departments and areas of the hospital. Their meticulous and hawk-eye approach has seen that the refurbishment completes well on budget and time. Fr Rudolph has gone beyond his call of duty so far as even supervising all the works even through nights resulting in the work being completed beyond the stipulated time. The efforts put in by Fr Ajith B Menezes to provide statutory guidance according to the National Medical Commission has also borne fruit.
The director FMCI, Fr Richard A Coelho has been the backbone to all the progress that goes in the institutions. His belief in inclusivity for all dimensions of patients in healthcare and the community approach has seen the conceptualization and implementation of the facelift.
The management extended their gratitude to Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangaluru and the president of FMCI, for his continued guidance and entrusting the works of the renovation into able hands. The Governing Board members are always at the helm of affairs to motivate and climb the ladder of progress with modern amenities.
Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, bishop of Mangalore diocese, in his presidential address echoed the sentiments of the people that the Father Muller Hospital is of the people, pro-poor and treats with empathy and care. The entirety of the hospital can be seen at the entrance, and that is what showcases the nature in which the patient will be cared for.
Every renovation had skilled craftsmen who honed their skills to help this refurbishment. Joy and team of Brite Aluminium, Alwyn of Florine Iron Works, Maxim and team of Melina Electricals, Sandeep and team of Sri Nidhi Enterprises, Noel 'Asha Deep' and team for civil works, Vincent Pinto for the sanitary and plumbing, Ganesh Baliga 'Vaishnavi Associates' for gas pipelines, Suraj 'Active System' for the fire safety works, Leslia Rego of Home Shop, Regi and team for the painting and Micheal Periera and Ronald Crasta for constantly supervising the work.
The Father Muller Medical College Hospital stands tall in the health care sector with reaccreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the Bureau Veritas certifications. OPD is open between 9 am to 4:30 pm throughout the week with speciality and super specialty branches. The hospital has 24-hour casualty, emergency medicine, ICU’s (BICU, ICCU, MICU, NICU, PICU, SICU, RICU), burns unit, blood bank, IP’s, haemodialysis, radiology (X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound), laboratory services, pharmacy, ambulance and mortuary.
The Father Muller health card and Father Muller health check-up schemes are provided at subsidised rates until August 31 for all those wanting to keep their bodies in check.
The Father Muller Medical College has over 1,250 beds with over 850 free beds providing care to the suffering with the motto of 'Heal and Comfort'. What began under a banyan tree has now grown in compassion with inclusivity irrespective of caste, creed or religion and continues to serve humanity with care.
Fr Richard Coelho welcomed the Bishop and conveyed the auspiciousness of the day to the gathering, the day being, the Feast of St Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus to India and the day when the current Bishops name (Bishop to be) was announced simultaneously in both in Rome and Mangaluru two years ago. Fr Rudolph D’Sa called on the workers in a facelift to be honoured by the Bishop and Fr Ajith proposed the vote of thanks. The ceremony was compered by Fr Nelson Pais. The formal blessing ceremony was looked over by Fr Felix, Chaplain of the hospital.
On this occasion Fr Roshan Crasta administrator of Father Muller Homeopathic Medical College Hospital, Deralakatte; Fr Vincent Sylvester Lobo administrator of Father Muller Hospital Thumbay; Fr Felix and Fr George, Chaplains, dean of the Medical College, dean of College of Allied Health Sciences, the medical superintendent and chief nursing officer along with the faculty and staff were present.