The Rehabilitation Institute

There exists a great need for more rehabilitation facilities in the greater Bangalore area. SJMCH has therefore decided to build a separate Rehabilitation Institute on the hospital grounds which will serve as a teaching institution and provide higher quality care to a larger number of patients.

Vision

To prevent unnecessary suffering and restore the dignity of people with disabilities in India

Mission

To promote the field of rehabilitation in India by training and inspiring young doctors and paramedical workers
To provide the best possible rehabilitation care to a maximum number of patients. This care should be affordable by the poor yet of such good quality as to attract the richer patients.

Objectives

Short/ medium term

To construct a new and separate rehabilitation centre on the grounds of SJMCH

To increase the capacity
The combined capacity of the PMR department in the hospital and the new rehabilitation centre will be increased to be able to accommodate [X] in-patients and [Y] outpatients per year.
To improve the quality of care
Separating the rehab centre from the hospital will result in a more suitable environment for rehabilitation.

The new centre will offer certain services which are not currently offered, i.e.: hydrotherapy and an orthotic/ prosthetic workshop.
To increase the scope
The centre will expand from the current focus on spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, polio and amputation to include other causes of locomotor disability such as stroke
To found a teaching institution
The new set-up should fulfill all the requirements for a PMR teaching institution, and thus have the capacity to train doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

Longer term

Once it is well established, the scope of the centre can be further expanded in two ways:

To include other forms of disabilities
It can be argued that living with any kind of disability requires a process of learning and adaptation. The centre can use many of its existing facilities (e.g.: social worker, vocational counselling) to include rehabilitation of hearing, visual or speech impaired people. Viewed in this broader perspective, the centre should encourage all doctors in SJMCH to change their mindset from curing diseases to rehabilitating human beings.
To play a more important role in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Programmes
In line with St. John's mission to provide affordable healthcare to the medically underserved regions of India, the Rehabilitation Institute aims to play a pivotal role as a resource centre for CBR initiatives in the surrounding regions. A specific focus will be given to starting programmes at the regional health centers where St. John's Community Health Department is currently active such as in Mugalur.

Case presentations

Planning for the Rehabilitation Institute

Plan of the Rehabilitation Institute

The institute is planned for 60 beds and thus will be able to receive 400 inpatients per year. The cost of the entire project is estimated to be Rs.135,000,000. While the institute will be financially self-sufficient on an operational basis, outside funding is required for the initial investment. The Catholic Bishop's Conference of India which runs SJMCH have committed to donate the land worth Rs. 65,000,000. For the remaining Rs. 70,000,000 or USD 1,455,301 sponsors are being approached. Co-financing is envisaged.