Kasturba Hospital

Socio-economic conditions often dictate the quality of healthcare a person has access to. At Gandhigram, we are attempting to erase such barriers and ensure that every person is accorded this right – with a specific focus on rural areas, where this disparity is more obvious. 

Avvai Rural Medical Service was started in 1943 in Papanchavadi, near Adyar, Chennai, by Dr. T. S. Soundaram, to achieve this vision. In 1947, it was shifted to Chinnalapatti in Tamil Nadu, where it began functioning as Kasturba Maternity Home. Over the years the hospital has become a household name in and around  Chinnalapatti, because of its  affordable and quality maternal, childcare and neonatal services, which are considered the best in the district. What was once only a maternity and child welfare centre, has now expanded to become a well-equipped multi-specialty hospital.

The main building in its current scenario was inaugurated on 24th December 1962 with 100 beds. Now the hospital has 300 beds. The institution prides itself on its rich history and has consistently been fulfilling the health and medical needs of those in rural areas since its inception.

Its objectives include:

     To give medical care to the rural poor and improve their health status;

     To provide timely maternity and child health services;

     To educate the rural people with emphasis on small family norm;

     To provide geriatric care for the needy;

     To provide community health services to nearby villages;

     To train students to serve the rural poor who need health services.

The hospital’s state-of-the-art facilities include medical imaging, echo testing and x-ray labs. Its artificial limb centre has been instrumental in restoring a degree of normal function in amputees. The hospital is providing speciality care with its Arvind Eye Care Centre and Telemedicine Centre, which offers patients the opportunity to seek remote healthcare.     

Its work in the family planning and welfare sector has secured it 18 national and state awards. Kasturba Hospital is currently staffed by 189 employees.