Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: One can take a Johnite out of St John’s but you can’t take John out of a Johnite!
That pretty much summed up the mood of the diamond jubilee celebrations of St. John’s Medical College in Bengauru on Saturday. St. John’s Medical College is celebrating its 60th year of existence this year.
The event was presided over by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Most Rev. Andrews Thazhath. The guests of honour included Mr Ramalinga Reddy, minister for transport and muzrai, and Mr K. J. George, minister for energy, Government of Karnataka.
The inaugural ceremony was preceded by a thanksgiving mass by the Archbishop of Bangalore Most Rev. Peter Machado.
As part of the celebrations, Mr. S. Rajendra Kumar, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle released an India Post special cover with insignia of St John’s and presented the same to all the dignitaries on the dais, along with National Flag of India as a part of Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan 2.0 Campaign.
As part of its growth plans, St. John’s Medical College Hospital will soon comprehensive geriatric and palliative care services. “To cater to the elderly and vulnerable population and promote healthy ageing, the hospital is setting up a comprehensive geriatric and palliative care centre. The unit will become functional next year,” said Rev Dr. Paul Parathazham, Director of St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences.
St. John’s will also begin two satellite centres – one at Kanakapura with 120 beds and another one at Devanahalli with 100 beds. “These centres are being set up in collaboration with the Brigade Foundation providing secondary care to the rural population,” he said.
“The Unit of Hope at the institution will offer free corrective surgery to deserving patients and the Department of Cardiology will offer 25 free angioplasties and 100 free angiograms, free dialysis, and transplants at subsidised rates to deserving patients. A Community Ophthalmology Unit for cataract surgeries is being set up. Free assistive devices for disabled and bed-bound patients would be provided both in hospital and community settings for the underprivileged,” he added.
Besides, an upgraded Department of Oncology, Nuclear Medicine Department and an Integrated Laboratory System was inaugurated by Ministers Ramalinga Reddy and K. J. George.
The Sr. Dr Mary Glowery 2023 award for dedicated service in rural and underprivileged areas of the country was given to Sr. Dr. Ceilia (cover picture) who is currently working at Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh for over 25 years.
The alumni of the first three MBBS batch of St John’s were then felicitated by the dignitaries.
In his presidential address, President of CBCI Most Rev. Andrews Thazhath spoke about the ethical principles that St. John’s has upheld through the years.
St. John’s was one of the few institutes which mandated rural service for its MBBS graduates, decades before it became a government policy. Over 50% of St. John’s medical graduates have served their two-year Rural Social Obligation Service which started in the 70s. Of these, over 600 are Sister Doctor Alumni who continue to serve in remote rural areas of the country.
Mr Ramalinga Reddy, minister for Transport and muzrai, mentioned that St. John’s Medical College was the first private medical college in Karnataka. He appreciated the quality of selfless service towards mankind undertaken by the institution and the tremendous progress the institute has made in keeping abreast with the latest technological developments in healthcare. He also highlighted the uniqueness of St John’s in admitting meritorious students from all over India without political influence or donation fees.
Mr. K. J. George, minister for energy, appreciated the institute for its humanitarian services towards education and health with special emphasis on motto of the institution to reach out to the unreached and the poorest of the poor. He extended his appreciation for the efforts taken by St. John’s during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also conveyed wishes from the Chief Minister, Sri Siddaramaiah who could not attend this function due to another event happening simultaneously.
Soon afterwards, the message of Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Siddaramaiah (in absentia), was read out conveying a congratulatory message to the institution and assuring support in various initiatives to be undertaken in the diamond jubilee year.
Dr. Prem Pais, alumnus from the batch of 1964 extended his heartfelt thanks and gratitude to his alma mater. He recollected fond memories of times spent by the alumni at St. John’s and expressed happiness regarding its significant achievements over the years.
The program ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. George D’Souza, Dean of St. John’s Medical College and a recitation of the National Anthem.
This ceremony was followed by the inauguration of the new Oncology Centre and the integrated laboratory services by Sri Ramalinga Reddy. The Oncology centre would be offering state of art services in cancer care. Nuclear medicine and PET scan facility that are newly introduced at St. John’s are also available as part of these cancer care services. The integrated laboratory services have number of special investigations in various fields such as mycology, hemato-oncology and histopathology.