Holy Family Hospital in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, was founded in 1948 by the Medical Mission Sisters, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

religious order for women based in

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, USA. This was at a time when very few health care facilities existed in Pakistan. The founder of the Medical Mission Sisters, Doctor Anna Dengel arrived in 1920 in Rawalpindi to work as a mission doctor at the 16-bed St. Catherine's Hospital. The hospital evolved into the Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi and continued to operate under the auspices of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (Lat: ''Dioecesis Islamabadensis-Ravalpindensis'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan. There is anecdotal evidence that St. Thomas the Apostle passed through Ta ...

until 1977. In that year the diocese was no longer able to bear the financial burden of running the hospital and handed it over to the Government of Punjab. The Medical Mission Sisters went to work and focus exclusively at the Holy Family Hospital, Karachi. Three of these Sisters worked together from 1967 to 2009 at the Hospital. Sister Elona Stanchak served as Administrator of the 225-bed hospital; Sister Celine Bernier was Directress of Nursing Services; and Sister Helen Marie McGrath taught at the hospital's nursing school. In 2009, they left Pakistan to return to the US. From 2005 to 2009, Sister Celine was on the board of the St. Vincent's Home for the Aged. What will happen to the Holy Family Hospital, Karachi in times to come is an important question; the institution is a national heritage and a prized possession of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese ...

right in the heart of a bustling city and must be governed and administered professionally. Currently Dr Alfred Charles is officiating as Administrator. Nearly 100 students are enrolled at the Holy Family Hospital nursing school. The students spend 3 years in basic nursing, and a 4th year in midwifery training. The school is registered with the Pakistan Nursing Council.

Recognition

This hospital is accredited with the

College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan ( ur, , abbreviated as CPSP) is a regulatory college established in 1962 by a special act of the Parliament of Pakistan to oversee the postgraduate medical education and professional development. ...

to train doctors for specialization in medicine, surgery and obstetrics. The hospital also has a large facility, the Holy Family Hospital auditorium, which is used for events such as the launch of Agahi, the first Urdu-language Catholic weekly in Pakistan launched in November 2006. In September 2004, the Health department had identified some private hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital, Karachi as having the facilities where trauma patients could be treated. This is recognition of the high quality care provided and the important role played by the hospital over the years. By 2018, it was considered one of the major hospitals of the city.Poor management: Closure of MA Jinnah Road leads to traffic mess
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 7 October 2018, Retrieved 28 April 2021

References

{{Karachi Catholic Church in Pakistan Hospital buildings completed in 1948 Hospitals in Karachi Hospitals established in 1948 1948 establishments in Pakistan Catholic hospitals in Asia Teaching hospitals in Pakistan