Illuminating the "Healing Ministry of Christ" through CMC
A PUBLICATION OF THE VELLORE CMC FOUNDATION
MISSION HOSPITALS DELIVER HOPE AND QUALITY OF CARE TO LMICS Written by Jachin Velavan, Associate Missions Director Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
EDITION SIX | DECEMBER 2023
IN THIS ISSUE: MISSION HOSPITALS DELIVER HOPE AND QUAILITY CARE IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES - 1 DEVOTIONAL - 1 A DIVINE APPOINTMENT AND DEDICATION TO A LIFE OF SERVICE - 3
A LASTING HERITAGE- 4 A COMMEMORATION OF AND TRIBUTE TO STEADFAST LIAISONS - 5
BECOMING AN INSTRUMENT OF PEACE Rev. Theodore Crass, President United Methodist Foundation of New England
I recently was asked by someone: ' Are Mission Hospitals relevant in this day and age? Pondering on that question made me take a walk down memory-lane. My first tryst with a mission hospital was when I was probably about 2 years old, when I was apparently treated compassionately and efficiently by the doctors and nurses in the mission hospital in my hometown. Later, I stepped into a mission hospital as a 15-year-old wide-eyed school girl, aspiring to do my medical studies in Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, to see what a mission hospital was all about. It amazed me to see what they could accomplish with limited resources and the commitment and contentment that was in the air. When doing my medical studies in CMC became a reality, I started visiting mission hospitals during my holidays and thus my mission hospital journey continued. Later, I have had the privilege of serving in 7 different mission hospitals across India. Coming back to CMC in 2009, I joined as faculty in the Distance Education Unit and had the privilege again of working with about 30 mission hospitals across India and in other LMICs such as Cambodia, Uganda, Egypt, Nigeria, Nepal and Pakistan. Students enrolling for various www.vellorecmc.org
“”The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 In the Christian faith, the weeks leading up to Christmas mark a time of waiting, both in anticipation of and in preparation for what God is doing in our world and in our lives. Jesus’s birth was amazing, but it was comprised of nine months of pregnancy and a normal infancy. He was fed from the breast, cried and gurgled, walked and ran. He studied, learned, experienced disease, and was tested as he grew up. He didn’t miraculously become an adult, nor did he skip any development. One day walking in my neighborhood, I passed a church with a sign that read: “Peace found here… some assembly required.” The arrival of the Prince of Peace moves us to reflect on our own development and creative opportunities to participate in God’s work. Christmas is an event that happens everywhere. It happened on a silent night in a humble stable in the small village of Bethlehem. Wherever people surrender to it, the birth and love of Christ breaks into our world. Through God’s grace, our compassion, skills, healing work, and reconciled lives help to make God’s love real. In this season and every day, let us make room for the reality of the Christ child come among us in our hearts, minds, and in our lives. In this way, we, too, can be made an instrument of God’s peace and point to the mending of the world. A very Merry Christmas and joyous holiday season to all! PASSAGES | Pg. 1
distance education courses would come for hands-on training to various Mission Hospitals which became ‘platforms for transformation’ as the students (who are doctors, nurses and other health professionals) were exposed to a completely different model with Christcentered whole-person care, as opposed to the default business models they see elsewhere.
More recently, as the Associate Director of CMC with Missions as my portfolio, my view of mission hospitals has expanded further as I engage with CMC’s network of 164 mission hospitals spread across India. And I see that mission hospitals have a four-fold importance: Quality: Mission hospitals offer quality in patient care; often people travel long distances to avail quality care at affordable cost. They also offer quality in training by functioning as training ground in professional expertise, interpersonal relationship, leadership, management and community living. Quantity: Mission hospitals handle large volumes of patients, especially in countries like India where the 1.4 billion population presents huge healthcare needs. Yet the staff offer personalized care. Their dedication is unmatched - be it constant monitoring of a patient with snakebite on a ventilator or sitting through the night with a sick premature baby, they do it with all their heart.
That said, the number of mission hospitals are dwindling by the day; in India, more than 1000 have closed down. Many mission hospitals, which when established were in rural and remote areas, are now part of a large town or a city with multiple posh corporate hospitals. Restrictive government regulations, availability of better government schemes and infrastructure, lack of personnel willing to commit to missions, lack of funding and governance are challenges. Innovations like telemedicine, protocols for resource-limited settings, electronic medical records, focused community engagement, public-private partnerships with the government have stood mission hospitals in good stead but haven’t been enough to sustain mission hospitals. Coming back to the question that someone asked me: ' Are Mission Hospitals relevant in this day and age? My answer: a resounding ‘yes’. But the fact remains that we cannot do missions like we did a hundred years ago. It is time to rethink relevance and repurpose mission hospitals. I do believe that the ESR model (Education Service, Research) CMC has followed for many years has great strengths. Developing a few mission hospitals as regional hubs and moving away from exclusive service-delivery to additional robust training and research components will not only help with sustenance but will greatly multiply the transformational impact of the hospital. These hubs can then help develop other mission hospitals in their regions in a contextually appropriate manner. Repurposing mission hospitals in LMICs to deliver need-based services (instead of the whole range of services) based on community needs assessment e.g. Palliative care, Geriatric care, Home-based care, School health education and care etc will help mission hospitals to continue to be agents of change. ‘Relevance is Excellence’
Distribution: Inequitable distribution of healthcare is a ‘given’ in most LMICs. Healthcare is often urban-centric and specialist driven. But in rural and remote areas of need, the mission hospital with its skeletal staff may be the only hospital offering round-the-clock affordable care. Values and Ethics: In most LMICs, lack of regulatory frameworks and corruption foster pharma-pushed prescribing by doctors and kickbacks from labs and imaging centres resulting in irrational prescription, polypharmacy, unnecessary investigations and excessive referrals. In a milieu where ‘service’ has been replaced by ‘commercialism’ mission hospitals still stand as beacons of hope showcasing Christian values and ethics. www.vellorecmc.org
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A DIVINE APPOINTMENT AND DEDICATION TO A LIFE OF SERVICE
"LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT THIS IMMINENT
By Rev A. Fransisca Rumokoy, Senior Pastor Reformed Church of Metuchen, New Jersey
SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
ln my life, I have experience a “call to serve others” quite similar to that of Ida Sophia Scudder, the founder of Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, South India. God persistently called me to travel a long distance from my hometown in Indonesia to shepherd a Church community in the United States. Like the prophet Jonah from the Bible, I was initially reticent but prayerfully accepted God’s call for my life. Little did I know that this imminent and crucial journey would ensue in some significant milestones in my life and the ability to save lives through connections with a prominent Christian mission hospital network in South India, namely CMC! After my arrival in the United States, I was eventually appointed as the Senior Pastor for the Reformed Church of Metuchen in New Jersey, which was founded in 1857. During my tenure here, I've seen enormous changes in the church demographics as it evolved to a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multigenerational congregation bringing in greater opportunities for global mission. Our church is called to serve God with purity of heart, respecting our brothers and sisters from other traditions and beliefs for we are all called to do good deeds of mercy, justice, and generosity based on the love that Jesus taught. Worship is at the center of everything we do together, and we strive to provide added value to the Metuchen community by serving those in need and celebrating our seasons of life both inside and outside the place of worship in a variety of ways. In our rapidly changing culture, we offer our true selves, trusting that grace abounds when the truth of our lives is experienced and told. We are an imperfect church, and an imperfect people, called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ as we live, work, and raise our families together in an imperfect world.
AND CRUCIAL JOURNEY WOULD ENSUE IN MILESTONES IN MY LIFE. " In response, the Reformed Church of Metuchen enthusiastically organized a "Church Picnic Fundraiser” in the first week of June to kick off the summer season, complete with fun games, food, prayer and live music. This was the first time we participated in the initiative of the Vellore CMC Foundation. Who would have predicted that this modest endeavor would lead me to the RCA worldwide mission movement? CMC Vellore, of which I had never heard of before, had finally become a part of my heart and life. I believe this small step, which God lead me to take with a sincere heart multiplied and expanded my ministry. Later I was appointed as President for the Council for Pacific Asian American Ministries (CPAAM) of the Reformed Church in America. My relationship with the Foundation was strengthened as I was included as a Guest Presenter at the Foundation’s Ecumenical Leadership Forum which took place in May 2023. I also attended the Vellore CMC Foundation’s 75th Anniversary Gala at Chelsea Piers, New York. I experienced extraordinary joy and felt honored to join RCA’s Global Mission team also present at the event. It was a special night to celebrate the Foundation’s historical partnerships with Faith-based organizations for more than 50 years! The RCA is among one of them and providentially joined with the healing ministry of Christ through CMC even before its inception in the early 1900s. RCA supported Ida Scudder along with generations of medical missionaries who served before her.
I believe I was led to CMC Vellore and the work of its Foundation by God's grace and intervention. During our Church’s efforts to bring global humanitarian relief during the pandemic, we had no idea that we were one of the donors in the Vellore CMC Foundation’s ICU India campaign. The Campaign’s primary purpose was to adequately furnish the Intensive care units at CMC with oxygen cylinders and other essential and lifesaving equipment during a crucial time. These efforts were propagated through the Foundation’s affiliations with Churches in Edison, NJ and their collaborations with the Metuchen Edison Interfaith Clergy Association (MEICA). www.vellorecmc.org
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A LASTING HERITAGE Written by Barbara Isely, PhD, MMEd in appreciation of Pat Colonna (for her suggestion)
My Methodist family treasures the story of an ancestor shaking hands with John Wesley. Soon after birth, I was on the Cradle Roll of the then Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS), now United Women in Faith (UWF) of The United Methodist Church. Through WSCS my mother and others knew about Ida Scudder and the medical and nursing college she started in Vellore. Ida shared her story with women’s groups in many denominations. My mother enthralled me at age nine with “Three Knocks in the Night,” Ida’s story of her call to medical service in India. This story ignited my love for India where I did research, research consulting, teaching. Finally, at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India (CMC), I taught sociology briefly, and trained children’s choirs over a twenty-year period. When sharing my India experiences with US students and friends, I find women active in WSCS and later Untied Methodist Women and UWF best able to think beyond media-generated stereotypes. Because these women regularly study and contact various cultures, they are able to see positive aspects of other cultures including strengths and advantages for women. Not imposing their plan for help, UWF considers what women, themselves, say what helps them best. Among UWF’s many contributions to women and children in about forty countries are nursing student scholarships at CMC.
culture like attention to relationships, concern for the mistreated, non-binary thinking, strong extended families, and welcoming the stranger, whether a patient or an unknown foreigner. When I first crossed a CMC campus in 1984, an unknown student startled me by cheerfully greeting me, forecasting later decades of friendships. As a sociologist who did research on social and economic effects on mortality in India, I particularly value CMC’s holistic socioeconomic approach to health, service to low income, often remote populations, and empowerment of communities, especially women, to become selfsufficient. This approach is the primary focus of several major units, including CONCH (College of Nursing Community Health), and of smaller projects within several other departments. Through scholarships CMC also empowers students from low income families. I interviewed nine women with UWF scholarships at CMC’s College of Nursing (CON). CON ranks 1st (best) among India’s nursing colleges offering a BSc degree2. One might expect the high quality and rigorous admission requirements to attract only well-off students from elite schools. Not so! Many talented, motivated nursing students come from very poor families and attended government schools. In five of nine scholarship recipient families, a major income earner had died or stopped earning, because of injury or illness. Families struggled to pay the first year’s tuition and fees (~US $1000). Some families took loans on family jewels, including on the equivalent to our wedding rings despite shameful connotations. Students in tears described these loans to me. Scholarships are essential to continue their studies.
CMC is shaped by its heritage of professional excellence and service from Ida Scudder and other foreigners. From mid-20th century, this legacy has been carried primarily by Indians. I have personally seen remarkably dedicated, compassionate CMC nurses and doctors serving sacrificially, forgoing higher incomes elsewhere, and working long hours. CMC also reflects values of India’s www.vellorecmc.org
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Students face other problems. At high school exam time, one student’s grandmother was hospitalized after a stroke. An orphan, she feared that her grandmother, a weaver who raised her, would be neglected while she took the government exams. Instead, nurses gave care usually given in hospitals by families 24 hours a day. These nurses inspired this young woman to become a nurse. One might expect first ranked CON to be internally competitive, demanding, even unfriendly. Again, not so! Scholarship recipients revealed superb teaching and planned student life – rigorous, supportive, loving. Students were enthusiastic about their studies. One described “playing” with friends in evenings. “Playing” turned out to be studying together. They learn compassion: a student from a very low income family said she learned in her hospital work that, “We [her family] have problems, but patients have more problems.” Recipients were especially excited about their CONCH experiences in villages. They realized their close observations of daily life provided much more information about disease and health factors than is available in a clinical setting. Several recipients hope to go into rural or urban community health work. Patterns in the interviews are resilience, a drive toward professional excellence, enthusiasm for learning and nursing work, love of patients and patients’ families, and a deep desire to help – help other students, help their patients, help their own families, and help other young people to study nursing, the work they love. Donations to CMC reach beyond the immediate recipients.
The evening included an inspiring conversation between our guest of honor, Dr. Pratibha Varkey (President of Mayo Clinic Health System and recipient of the Foundation’s Dr. S. Scudder Women’s Empowerment Award), and engaging emcee, Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil (a well-known physicianscientist specializing in the prevention and treatment of chronic pain). An added attraction was a video message of appreciation prepared for our guests by CMC Director, Dr. Vikram Mathews. This evening was also an occasion to pay tribute to four members of our Faith-based community who have been loyal supporters of CMC through the Foundation for more than 50 years! This special recognition also brough to light the dedicated efforts of CMC’s founder, Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder, whose passion was not to build a medical school but rather to have her patients experience the kingdom of God. She believed that the kingdom of God was built on interconnections some of which included her relationships built with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the United Methodist Church, the International Ministries of the American Baptist Church, and the Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ.
A COMMEMORATION OF AND TRIBUTE TO STEADFAST LIAISONS
“I FIND IT BEAUTIFULLY POETIC THAT CMC
Written by Deepika Srivastava, Director of Church Relations, Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation
SERVE IN A DIFFERENT CAPACITY.”
Throughout the year, the Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation has been celebrating its 75th anniversary, highlighting its participation in and support of Christ’s healing ministry through CMC Vellore. But this is not a story about the Foundation. Rather it is a testament to God’s faithfulness and special summons to a medical mission. A calling to bring physical and spiritual wellness for all in need. In November, the Foundation celebrated this jubilee milestone with a memorable Gala which took place at New York City’s iconic Chelsea Piers with an ambiance that included waterfront views and a spectacular sunset! www.vellorecmc.org
WOULD BE BACK IN MY LIFE AND I GET TO
Significantly, these collaborations were Providentially set in place even before CMC’s birth in 1900. Ida Scudder and generations of Scudder family medical missionaries in India were adopted by the Reformed Church in America, the first being Dr. Ida Scudder’s grandparents John and Harriet Scudder. Ida Scudder was also sponsored by the Methodist Church along with several other Christian denominations and Women’s mission committees. Many of these organizations later served on the American section of the General Board of the Mission Medical College for Women in Vellore established in 1932. PASSAGES | Pg. 5
The Vellore CMC Foundation’s journey had its genesis in 1948 in the subsequently officiated Vellore Christian Medical College Board, (North American section) whose primary mission was to provide financial and Church related support to the new CMC for women and men. As associations developed and evolved with the Faithbased community, they remained knit together as a 3-fold chord into the present, partnering with the Foundation in mutual priorities of high-quality governance and responsible stewardship. Today, each of the Foundation’s Institutional members continue to bring their own unique history, expertise and commitment to the Foundation’s ministry to support the continuous education of CMC’s junior and senior healthcare providers, breakthrough research in medical science, and the compassionate care of every patient cared for by CMC Vellore’s devoted staff. This year’s Gala gave us the opportunity to recognize the Reformed Church in America’s rich history and contribution to missionary work in India and around the world, with the Global Impact award. Over the years many stories from the Faith-based community have become interwoven with ours.
In a recent video interview conducted by the Foundation, Reverend Dr. JP Sundararajan, Director for Global Missions at the Reformed Church in America, reflected that growing up in India he had a desire to study medicine at CMC. In his words, “I find it beautifully poetic that CMC would be back in my life and I get to serve in a different capacity.” He explained that RCA’s heritage with CMC made it crucial to continue to envision a twentieth century mission become a twenty first century endeavor. In the same interview, Dr. Hudson Kibuuka, Associate Director for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Education Department emphasized, “Vellore CMC Foundation has similar aspirations as we have, and we find it necessary to be involved and support CMC as much as we can while working together.” www.vellorecmc.org
“THE LOCAL AND THE FOREIGN ENRICH EACH OTHER’S HUMANITY AND TOGETHER WE RESTORE THE HUMAN DIGNITY AND HARMONY IN THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF GOD’S CREATION.” United Women in Faith of the United Methodist Church expounded women’s empowerment through a Nursing Education at CMC – “United Women in Faith, as usual, has stepped in quietly, without fanfare, to care for and empower women and help those who need it most, wherever they may be, partnering with a hospital known for its outstanding research, service, and education.” (UMF Response magazine, September/October 2023). Reverend Dr. Benjamin Chan, Area Director of East Asia and India for International Ministries of the American Baptist Church wrote in an article for Passages, “The local and the foreign enrich each other’s humanity and together we restore the human dignity and harmony in the original design of God’s creation. Christian Medical College at Vellore is the living witness of this mission and beauty.” As the Gala came to its grand finale, we were all enriched with a special benediction through a melodious rendition of “The Lord Bless you and keep you” sung by the acapella musicians of the “Back Track Vocals”. The apostle Paul reminds us of a lasting enrichment in his letter to the Corinthians, “He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous, producing with us great praise to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:11 (MSG). These Divinely appointed, steadfast collaborations help us look through God’s exquisite kaleidoscope as we unite in compelling visons for the future!
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THE 'CMC COMPASSIONATE | CMC STRONG' CAMPAIGN Helping CMC Push the Boundaries of Research, Education and Patient Care Activities RESEARCH - EARLY STAGE RESEARCH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Funds from this campaign will provide both students and junior faculty with access to research training and research initiatives orchestrated by CMC. Such sponsored activities will include: Research Grant Competitions Annual Research Day Awards Research Training Workshops Travel Grants (for conferences and workshops) Financial Support for Publication Fees
A “Research Funding Committee” assess and identify worthy candidates
EDUCATION — INTERNATIONAL TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS FOR CMC FACULTY Funds from this campaign will allow CMC to award six (6) 10-week training fellowship grants annually for travel to the United States (or another foreign country). Facultyawarded grants will be used to support: Academic Institution tuition fees Expenses associated with transportation, professional insurance, lodging, and other necessary items. Publication Fees A CMC committee reviews & assesses CMC applicants’ qualifications.
SERVICE — COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROVIDED BY RUHSA AND CONCH INITIATIVES Funding from this campaign will also be used to support two of CMC’s premiere community outreach programs: RUHSA provides affordable medical care for the rural poor, deploying models of community development and poverty alleviation. RUHSA conducts capacitybuilding training for all of its healthcare personnel. CONCH is nurse-managed, with the objective of promoting preventive and promotive health of impoverished rural and semi-urban communities through direct and indirect services for all age groups.
MEANINGFUL STEWARDSHIP — COMPREHENSIVE FOUNDATION-INITIATED CMC PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES “Responsible” and “impactful” stewardship is at the heart of the Vellore CMC Foundation’s day-to-day operations. The result is a 14:1 leverage factor translating to: Full compliance with India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation’s Act (FCRA) Accurate and timely USAID/ASHA reporting and drawdown requisitions Ongoing adherence to 100% designated funds transfer Orchestration of Academic Institutional Relationships supporting research and fellowships Program accountability reporting back to donors and Board of Directors
www.vellorecmc.org/donate/compassionate-strong