Salvation Army’s dispensary that became a well-known hospital near Nagercoil

Place of solace: Patients once walked miles to the dispensary that later became the Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital. The Travancore royal family contributed to the growth of the hospital over the years.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Salvation Army, a prominent Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, operates 24 hospitals, 132 medical facilities, and numerous services worldwide. Interestingly, the first Salvation Army hospital was established at Putheri near Nagercoil. In 1893, Major William Stevens arranged a dispensary at the modest bathroom on the veranda for Captain Henry John Andrews, a missionary officer, to treat the poor. Captain Andrews treated his first patient there, laying the foundation for what would become the Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital (CBH) at Putheri.

Patients walked miles to that amateur dispensary so as to seek help from Captain Andrews, who demonstrated remarkable practical ability to render medical assistance to them with limited means. His services catered to their immediate health needs and also led to the establishment of a healthcare model for all. The late Pope Francis, while meeting a Salvation Army delegation in 2019, expressed his appreciation for the organisation’s service to the poor.

Cholera outbreak

A severe cholera outbreak in the Travancore Kingdom prompted Captain Andrews to gather simple remedies and walk from village to village, treating the sick and the dying. Thus started his mission of healing. The headquarters of the organisation recognised Captain Andrew’s efforts, and Bramwell Booth, a key figure in the organisation, deemed it worthwhile to take Andrews to England to take a medical dresser’s course. On his return to India in 1896 with 50 British pounds, Captain Andrews bought a piece of land for establishing a dispensary, marking the beginning of the CBH at Putheri. Locals started calling it ‘Putheri Aaspathiri’, one of the most sought-after hospitals in the region. Captain Andrews named the dispensary after the co-founder of Salvation Army and wife of William Booth. It embodied her passion for service to the poor, addressing not only their health needs but also working towards their uplift.

A significant development came when Percy Turner began working at Catherine Booth Dispensary in 1900. Turner, the first qualified medical doctor of the organisation, transformed every section of the dispensary into a central health resource of the region. In 1901, the foundation was laid for the CBH, and the dispensary was made into a full-fledged hospital.

Turner also introduced a four-year medical course at the hospital with laboratory work and dissection, and the qualified students were awarded the Diploma Licentiate in Medicine, Surgery, Midwifery and Gynaecology (LMSMG). Those trained under Turner were recognised as registered medical practitioners. This helped to contain the cholera outbreak in Nagercoil and surrounding areas.

School of nursing comes up

William Alexander Noble, an American officer who succeeded Turner in 1921, developed the hospital further. In 1937, a school of nursing was established on the hospital premises with eight students. By 1948, 67 youngsters had been registered as nurses, with 20 of them qualified as midwives. The establishment of the nursing school was considered revolutionary, especially for the Scheduled Castes. Many young men and women from these communities received education on payment of a minimum fee or even on full scholarship, significantly improving their societal status.

At the same time, the hospital, which consists of multiple buildings, was constructed by members of the Travancore royal family over different periods. Notable contributions include a building constructed by Vadasseri Lakshmi Pillai Karthiayani Pillaiamma, in 1913, and another in 1920 by Vadasseri K. Bhagavathi Pillai Kochamma, who were the wife and daughter respectively of King Visakam Thirunal Rama Varma V.

Rexi Gnanabhai, 55, from Kadetti, a hamlet near Thengamputhoor, a place where the Scheduled Castes predominate, expresses her gratitude for the opportunity she had at the nursing school. She pursued nursing after completing B. Com at a college in Nagercoil, where she had faced caste discrimination. “My days as a nursing student at the CBH was the golden period of my life as there were no caste barriers there,” she says. After working at the CBH and B.D. Petit Parsee General Hospital in Mumbai, Ms. Rexi moved to West Asia where she worked for almost 20 years. Many of her friends from the Scheduled Castes, Ms. Rexi says, are working at prestigious government and private hospitals, a mark of the lasting impact of the CBH on the historically disadvantaged communities.

Treating AIDS patients

Benjamin Dhaya, director of business administration, CBH, says the nursing school has had a profound impact on the lives of the Scheduled Castes. Many families, once peasants and daily wage workers, could afford the education of their children who became successful professionals, thanks to the nursing school. Mr. Dhaya also points to the hospital’s contribution to the care of HIV/AIDS patients. The first AIDS patient identified at the hospital was referred to Christian Medical College in Vellore. But subsequent cases were treated at the hospital by counselling those living with HIV and their families. In the 2000s, it began conducting deliveries for HIV-positive women. It undertook 85 such deliveries in a short period of time, he says. To this day, the hospital treats numerous patients daily.