Medical Care in India:

It takes about an hour to drive across the southern India district of Ramnad. In this small area, however, there are about 1.2 million people. The nearest fully functional hospital is in Madurai – a four hour drive away. In emergency cases, that is simply not an option, so the government attempted to establish a couple of local hospitals. These have proved to be unreliable at best: in reality they are a nightmare. The only ambulances that they operate are used exclusively for returning the lifeless bodies of deceased patients to their former homes. They have no sanitary system for the disposal of medical waste. Cockroaches, rats and scorpions wander the halls, seldom disturbed from their foraging through the piles of trash scattered throughout the facilities. Recently a 23-year-old woman was killed when she was given the wrong blood type. Many patients contract diseases because the medical staff reuses needles. Others simply get sick from constant exposure to germs and un-sanitized equipment.

There is one private clinic an hour away that will do consultation only – no surgery or serious medical procedures. Although this clinic seems to be competent, very few people in the area can afford their rates. This dooms them to admittance in the government run hospitals . . . very often an unnecessary death sentence.

Caring For the Poor:

Over the years several medical teams have volunteered to provide free medical assistance to the locals over the years. In April of 2008 the India ministry was able to work together with one of these teams from the US in providing the people with free medical services. The original plan was to provide checkups for about 800 people, checking primarily for malaria and general health problems. The medical camp began at 7 AM. At 10 PM they finally had to shut down the camp because they had run out of supplies. After a grueling day in the India heat, they found that they had helped care for over 1500 people!

We have also had several dental teams volunteer over the years. Last year one of these teams of dentists from Alaska, California, Oregon and Alabama went to the TC campus to provide free dental care to the people here. In the 10 days that they were serving there, over 2000 people received dental care.

The Vision is Born:

Back in 1998 a prophet gave word regarding the Training Center, which God has enabled us to complete through years of faithful and generous support. What he saw at that time was a road coming into the Training Center campus and splitting off. One side of it went to a separate area that contained a hospital, area for parking and housing for the staff. He said that we would be meeting physical needs first, and then spiritual needs. We have seen, and continue to see, people of all religions coming to us for help. All of these are exposed to the Gospel in the process, and many of them accept Christ as their savior. Right now we are limited in caring for the people that come to us for help by the size of the clinic on the TC campus. Our hope is to build a medical facility that will make healthy and sanitary care available to millions of people who would otherwise die on the street or be returned to their homes in a government “ambulance”.

Where Are the Plans Now?

In 1998 some Christians worked together to purchase ten acres of land adjacent to the Training Center to build a hospital on. During the construction of the Training Center other projects were put on hold temporarily. We are now in the process of having the design of the hospital building completed, however, and look forward with great anticipation to seeing this next endeavor realized.

If the funds become available, the hospital can be built, finished and operational in two to three years. Based on current construction costs the initial 100,000 sq. ft. building will cost around $1.5 million. This facility will accommodate 250 patients, with dining facilities, visitor accommodations. These costs also include the half-mile long road, parking and the necessary fencing. After the initial building is completed, we hope to expand as the need requires.

In the recent worldwide economic climate, construction costs have been increasing exponentially, at a rate of about 10% per year. In light of this fact, combined with the needs we see every day in India, our hope is to complete the initial facility as soon as possible.

What About After It Is Built?

Much of the medical equipment has already been donated and is awaiting shipping from the US. Some equipment will still need to be purchased, however, as will the regular supplies. We hope to have a focus on vaccinations for children, in order to reduce the cases of malaria, typhoid, cholera, chicken pox and diarrhea.

The staff will be either hired or on a volunteer basis, both from India and the US as opportunities present themselves. We hope to have some volunteer dentists, nurses, doctors and other staff on occasion.

The hospital will be funded in part by the patients. The payment structure has not been completed yet, and it may be on a case by case basis initially. With few exceptions, medicine will be provided at cost to those who can afford it and free to those who cannot. This will make it available to many who would not otherwise have access to it, and much cheaper for all the rest.

We also hope to have one or two ambulances initially. This would enable us to take severe or specialty cases directly up to the Madurai hospital, where they can be given the best medical attention possible. This also allows us to pick up patients who have no other way to get to the hospital.

We will keep you posted as plans and deadlines are formed for the progress of the hospital. We look forward to seeing this vision become a reality.