Operation Eyesight investment to triple capacity
Little Flower Hospital and Research Centre
Angamaly, Kerala State
Nurse and patient at Little Flower Hospital Father Sebastian has ambitious plans for increasing eye care service at Little Flower Hospital – plans that Operation Eyesight supports. The hospital is run by the Catholic Church and, in the last four years, Operation Eyesight contributed funds for the construction of a new facility to house the eye department. The department will provide specialized services as well as training in sub-specialties for general ophthalmologists. Many who face the threat of permanent blindness will now be saved from a lifetime of anguish. The new eye department will also benefit many ophthalmologists from other states who will attend the quality training programs delivered in the department.
The hospital enjoys a significant public profile as it is located on the state's main highway. Named after its patron saint, St. Theresa or Little Flower as she is known, this is a high-level complex hospital – providing teaching, research and medical services. This individual facility provides care to a surrounding population of 32 million, roughly equivalent to that of Canada. Little Flower is one of three tertiary hospitals supported by Operation Eyesight in India.
Little Flower Hospital began in 1936 as a primary health centre in response to the health care needs of the community. In 1964, the Ophthalmology Department came into existence. The hospital has been in partnership with Operation Eyesight Universal since 1975 and is now a tertiary eye care centre – the only one in the entire State of Kerala.
Little Flower includes a satellite secondary hospital known as Koonammavu Annex. Koonammavu, an Operation Eyesight partner since 2002, is 30 kilometers away in the village of Paroor Taluk. The annex provides an outreach service diagnosing problems providing basic eye care services to those in the surrounding area. Patients requiring further examination and more sophisticated treatment are referred to Little Flower.
Of particular pride to Operation Eyesight donors is Little Flower's transition from a charitable recipient to a self-funding operation providing quality services to the community. The initial support of donors has resulted in an independent hospital and a rich legacy for the citizens of the district of Ernakulam.