![]() History of Christian Medical College and Hospital CMC Vellore was founded by Ida Sophia Scudder in 1900. Ida decided to become a doctor when three women with their babies died on the same night due to severe labour pain in front of her. This incident happened when she came to India; she was just 24 years of age at that time. She thought to become a doctor to treat Indian female patients and inspire Indian women to become doctors. In 1895, she enrolled her name in the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania to study medical. After finishing her studies, she came to India again and opened a single bed dispensary in Vellore in 1900. In 1902, she built a 40-bed hospital for women and named it Mary Taber Schell Memorial Hospital. She continued to work in her dispensary and started to train women to make compounders at the same time. In 1918, she started a training program for nurses and women physicians with the Union Mission Medical School for Women. Then in the year 1938, government changed the policies for medical degrees as a result of which medical degrees could only be granted by universities. So, Ida decided to upgrade her medical school to medical college- Christian Medical College. Then finally, the college got affiliated to Madras University and from 1942 it began to offer MBBS course. Academics of Christian Medical College and Hospital CMC offers MBBS and 57 post-graduate diploma and degree medical courses, which include MS, MD, DM, MCh, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD etc. Other courses are 44 allied Health Science courses, 14 diploma courses in nursing and 52 Fellowship courses. Each year about 2500 students enroll in this college. Medical Services in Christian Medical College and Hospital There are two campuses of CMC. The main campus is in the heart of Vellore city and the other one is at Bagayam- 7 km from main campus. The medical departments of CMC are: • Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology • Obstetrics and Gynaecology • Reproductive Medicine • Child Health • Neonatology • Paediatric Surgery • Orthopedics • Ophthalmology • Hematology • Psychiatry • Radiology • Surgery • Anaesthesia • Anatomy • Biochemistry • Cardio thoracic Surgery • Cardiology • Centre for Stem Cell Research • Chaplaincy • Clinical Biochemistry • Clinical Epidemiology • Clinical Microbiology • Clinical Virology • Cytogenetics • Dental and Oral Surgery • Dermatology • Dietary • E.n.t • Endocrinology • Forensic medicine • Gastroenterology • General pathology • Geriatrics • Gynaecologic Oncology • Haematology • Hlrs - Hand & Leprosy Reconstructive Surgery • Infectious Diseases • Medical Genetics • Medical Oncology • Medicine • Neonatology • Nephrology • Neurosciences • Nuclear Medicine • Obstetrics and Gynaecology • Ophthalmology • Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation • Physiology • Plastic Surgery • Pulmonary Medicine • Radiotherapy • Reproductive Medicine • Rheumatology • Transfusion Medicine and Immuno Haematology Community Works of Christian Medical College and Hospital The community works of Christian Medical College are organised by its Department of Community Health; it was established in 1957. The community programs run by CMC are Community Health and Development (CHAD), Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA), College of Nursing Community Health (CONCH) and Low Cost Effective Care Unit (LCECU). In 2014, the LCECU community opened the Shalom Clinic for middle-income patients. Notable Alumni of Christian Medical College and Hospital Some of the most notable alumni of CMC are: • Binayak Sen, pediatrician, recipient Jonathan Mann Award • Ajit Varki, medical researcher, director Glycobiology Institute, UCSD • Nagarur Gopinath, cardiothoracic surgeon and Padma Shri awardee • K. A. Abraham, interventional cardiologist and Padma Shri awardee • Suresh David, pioneer of Emergency Medicine in India Significant Initiatives of Christian Medical College and Hospital There are some important initiatives of CMC which have been proved as significant changes in the medical history. The initiatives are: • Fleming Memorial Research Laboratory in Virology in 1965 • Artificial Kidney Laboratory in 1976 • Betatron ICMR Centre for Advanced Research in Virology in 1978 • National AIDS Reference and Surveillance Center in 1986 • Cytogenetics Laboratory in 2002 • Vellore Bombay Artificial Limb Bioengineering Department in 2003 Recognitions to Christian Medical College and Hospital The recognitions which have been given to CMC Vellore are Public Health Champion Award by WHO (World Health Organization) in 2015, SKOCH Platinum Awards in 2014, D.L. Shah Quality Gold Award for Clinical Audit Program. |