Mumbai: Operation facelift for St Elizabeth hospital in Malabar Hill

The St Elizabethrsquos Hospital Malabar Hill started as a nursing home at Grant Road in 1922 Many milestones later this year the South Mumbai medical facility has smashed a century Completing 100 years also means opening a new chapter The hospital is all set for a mammoth redevelopment projectThe JSW Foundation will construct and redevelop the Hospitalrsquos B wing A tripartite agreement was recently signed and executed between JSW Foundation St Josephrsquos Education amp Medical Relief Society and The Bombay Provincial Society of the Daughters of the Cross According to this agreement the JSW Foundation will also redevelop the hospitalrsquos B wing with the latest infrastructure and amenitiesSangita Jindal chairperson JSW Foundation rsquosays after redevelopment it will be a fully modernised medical centre close to 100000 sq feet across seven floors and two basements right Sr Sarla Macwan executive director of the Hospital says programmes are being chalked up for the centenary celebrations beginning in NovemberThe modernisationSangita Jindal chairperson JSW Foundation said the 100bed multispecialty healthcare hub will following its redevelopment have a ldquofully modernised medical centre covering close to 100000 square feet across seven floors and two basements The Rs 70 crore initiative is to be completed by 2026 and will be known as St Elizabethrsquos Hospitalrsquos JSW Medical Centrerdquo In response to a question on why the B Wing has been taken up when the hospital has two wings lsquoArsquo and lsquoBrsquo Jindal stated ldquoThe idea is to keep the hospital operational as we reconstruct and redevelop B wing The A wing will remain operational throughout The St Josephrsquos Education and Medical Relief Society operates and administers the hospital on a daily basis We will not be involved in daily operations as our focus is to reconstruct and redeveloprdquoJindal added that the ldquoredevelopment is in line with our commitment to strengthen and improve public healthcare The Foundation already runs two hospitals in Karnataka Ballari and Maharashtra Dolvi The Elizabeth team approached us and we agreed to support it It is with pride that we announce our association with the hospitalrdquo A spokesperson added ldquoThe INI Design Studio Private Limited architect firm has been retained by JSW for redevelopmentrdquoAlso Read Maharashtra logs 830 new Covid19 casesThe centurySr Sarla Macwan executive director of the Hospital stated while expressing gratitude ldquoWe had already redeveloped our A wing years earlier so the B wing needed to be taken up This is also our centenary and certain programmes are being chalked out for celebrations beginning in November We have not finalised the schedule as yet Yet we are looking at a theme running through that celebrates the past acknowledges the present and looks forward to the futurerdquo When asked when demolition and reconstruction starts on B wing Macwan was unable to pinpoint an exact date stating ldquocertain civic permissions are needed however it will be soonrdquo Asked for plans about facilities in the new wing Macwan said ldquoWe are looking at some special rehabilitative programmes for senior citizens like this place in the hospital where they can stay for some days as they undergo specific treatment Not exactly a staycation but on those lines Details will be chalked out laterrdquoThe neighbourhood newsletter lsquoThe Voice of Malabar Hillsrsquo giving news about the entire swathe from Mahalaxmi Altamount Road Breach Candy Walkeshwar and all the adjacent areas till Chowpatty had a prominent report on St Elizabethrsquos Hospital and the 100year landmark including how it is looking at redevelopment in its April issue It also highlighted how a 3yearold boy in the neighbourhood who had received an accidental head injury was treated within the golden hour at the hospital and saved Tushar Prabhoo newsletter editor is enthused about the hospital getting support for redevelopment ldquoas with old peopleand children at home with the others off to work it is especially reassuring that we have access to topclass healthcare I also think at least half our residents were born at St Elizabethrsquos Hospitalrdquo he ended on a laugh