Holy Family Hospital
Hospitals are the most important medical institutions for patients. There is no other place that has the expertise, resources, and infrastructure to provide care to patients. Choosing a hospital and treatment can be confusing, as many factors contribute to how effective a hospital will be in treating and addressing the medical needs. Also, in a time where it is mandatory for hospitals to prioritize patient’s comfort and convenience at each stage of their journey, only few establishments are offering seamless medical experiences. Holy Family Hospital is one of the renowned medical brands, based out of Mumbai by the Ursuline Sisters of Mary Immaculate situated at the junction of Hill Road and St. Andrew’s Road.
A 268 bedded multispeciality hospital, the hospital is more than 44 years old and is registered as a Public Trust hospital and also with the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra. The hospital has been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) for its processes and high quality patient care.
Not only is Holy Family Hospital striving towards extending quality medical relief and medical education, operating under the society, the Hospital extends its services without distinction of religion, caste or creed with a special focus on the less privileged of the society.
So with a clear objective of understanding the working ethos present at Holy Family Hospital, we interviewed Dr. (Sr) Beena, the Executive Director of Holy Family Hospital. Here is a deep dive into Holy Family Hospital through Dr. Beena’s point of view.
- How well-equipped is Holy Family Hospital in today’s time?
Accessibility, transparency, and affordability – technology helps us achieve each one of these objectives and therefore from day one, Holy Family Hospital has had a vigorous commitment to the adoption of the very latest in the technology for the benefit of our patients.
Apart from adopting the latest technologies, the friendly environment of our facility allows experimentation and customization according to the needs of the hospital. With the main focus on the clinical aspect of medical care, we are in the process of enhancing our HIS and other technological tools. It aims to create a true patient-centric setting through the digitization of different operations and departments to enable easy access to services. The core thing we are doing is to enhance first all our clinical areas to the extent that each and every operation is digital to ensure efficiency.
- Also, help our readers understand in depth about the illustrious infrastructure present at Holy Family Hospital.
Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, evolved purely out of the need to serve the complex and growing needs of Mumbai’s suburbs. What started as a 10-bedded private nursing home has since developed into a multi-specialty hospital and medical research center under the stewardship of Ursulines of Mary Immaculate.
We provide a spectrum of specialty and super specialty healthcare services, critical care and emergency services with excellent quality and at an affordable cost. All Our facilities are strongly backed by 72 critical care beds, 81 specialties, 3 state-of-the-art Operation Theatres equipped with latest equipment, 128 slice CT scan, high-end 1.5 Tesla MRI, State-of-the-art Cath lab which provide Diagnostic & Therapeutic procedures covering Angioplasty, Stenting, Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Insertion and Pacemaker Insertions, high-end Gastro-endoscopy Unit, Neuro Navigation system and other latest technology.
One of the recent milestones was the setting up of The Holy Family Heart Institute in 2002, a pioneer in cardiac diagnostics, treatment and research. With state of the art equipment and highly trained, veteran experts (including a Paediatric Cardiology sub-department) available round the clock, this is one of the best heart care facilities in the city.
Additionally, Holy Family Hospital launched its Geriatric Care Clinic (Senior Citizen Health Club), an exclusive facility for the elderly. This initiative is aimed at serving relevant needs of the elderly in Mumbai. The comprehensive elder-care initiatives covers preventive, curative, promotive and rehabilitative treatment for the over-all being of older people.
- What are specialties or super-specialties offered at Holy Family Hospital?
The specialties offered at our facility range from Anaesthesiology, Audiometry & Speech Therapy to Endoscopy and Emergency Department, and many more. Also, the Hospital is home to Special Clinics across the fields of Cancer Detection, Child & Adolescent Guidance Centre, Career Guidance Clinic, Lactation Management Clinic, and several others.
We also have CRITICAL CARE facilities, be it – Cardiac ICU (ICCU) or the Surgical ICU (SICU) and even DIAGNOSTIC LAB SERVICES across various verticals. There is also a Physiotherapy Department on the campus of the Hospital.
- How was the transition handled during and after the pandemic?
Holy Family Hospital began to read and understand the signs of the time, when the Corona virus crossed geographical boundaries and spread to newer territories. The horrifying news reports from China, Italy and other countries were disturbing and we could foresee what is awaiting us in India. As early as mid-March 2020, it was decided that the hospital would actively participate in Covid-19 treatment. The hospital had to go through various milestones in the evolutionary process of being a Covid care center, such as:
- Establishment of a hospital Core Covid Committee which included members from the management, clinical, nursing, human resource, pharmacy.
- Designated team was assigned with the task of preparing standard operative protocols, infection control policies and clinical and treatment guidelines.
We learned from our experiences that integration of various resources and their coordination in terms of the cohesive workforce with an effective health care team and a response team for disaster management, flexible hospital infrastructure, state-of-the-art equipment, continuous availability of drugs and other supplies, and transport and maintenance departments are needed. Our Covid management facilities are in place, we are self-sufficient in oxygen building capacity, sufficient number of isolation beds, augmenting infrastructure to ensure zero infection spread, leveraging telemedicine, remote patient management and emerging technologies.
- Importance of Research and Development?
Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, considers research an essential means to achieving efficient delivery of clinical diagnostics & treatment and patient care. In keeping with this ethos, The Bandra Holy Family Medical Research Society established a Research Centre to keep abreast of and contribute to scientific studies in medicine.
The Research Society was set up in 1983 and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation since 1984. It was established by its Executive Director Late. Dr (Sr) G Alberoni, who is also a founding member of The Bandra Holy Family Society, the charitable trust that runs the hospital and its various independent institutions.
The Bandra Holy Family Medical Research Society has three arms:
- The Holy Family Research Centre
- Independent Ethics Committee
- Continuing Medical Education
Through its activities, the Research Centre contributes to the scientific knowledge base; encourages medical students to pursue academic excellence, offers doctors and residents an opportunity to bring their work to the attention of the scientific fraternity; and enhances the quality of teaching available to postgraduate students at the hospital. The Centre also actively encourages junior faculty to undertake research to expand their horizons and upgrade their clinical skills.
Research Areas
The Research Society conducts studies in four thrust areas:
- Basic Scientific Research
- Clinical Drug Trials
- Community Healthcare
- Continuing Medical Education
A significant portion of the research we undertake comprises clinical drug trials undertaken with the approval of the Food and Drug Administration and in keeping with international guidelines.
We also have an active Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programme, which keeps the hospital staff, post-graduate doctors as well as medical practitioners in the hospital’s catchment area updated on emerging trends in medicine, advances in clinical research as well as technical strides in diagnostics and therapy.
