A BRIEF, PHOTO-HISTORY OF MASINA HOSPITAL
Rtn. Homi Katgara
The Rotary Club of Bombay has, in a short span of time, fructified six projects of Masina Hospital. Last month saw the inauguration of a new Casualty, a new Cosmetic Day Care Surgical department, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy department, up gradation of Burns department, up gradation of Neonatal Intensive Care unit, up gradation of Orthopaedic Operation Theatre. The total value of these projects is close to Rs. 3 crore.
RCB is thankful to the donors, Balkrishna industries – Vijaylakshmi Poddar, Hindustan Composites – Varunn Mody and Mr. Mansaria for their wholehearted support to Masina Hospital. Our thanks to Rtn. Gaurav Nevatia, PP Rtn. Sandip Agarwalla and President Vijay Jatia who negotiated with vendors to provide medical equipment to the six departments. Last but not the least, the project would not have been such a success without the hard and sincere work put in by Masina’s CEO, Dr. Vispi Jokhi, the hospital’s management, Honoraries, nursing staff and other workers of the hospital.
Masina Hospital is presently on a transformation journey, in the process of putting building blocks in place to create infrastructure for the next hundred years.
The history of Masina Hospital is a saga of service to humanity for more than a hundred years. A small sapling of
healthcare planted by a devoted and dedicated doctor in 1902 has grown into a large tree providing various medical facilities to thousands of people irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.
Masina has always served mid to lower segments of society. We have struggled for funds and find ourselves looking for donors on a routine basis. Being involved with Rotary, and one thing led to another. We have upgraded the equipment so that our doctors will be better equipped to provide efficient and world-class healthcare. We want to arm our doctors – who are very hard-working – with all they need to provide what we have promised.
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- In 1907, Masina Hospital Trust was created with a corpus of Rs. 1,30,640 through donations from Mumbai’s Parsi citizens.
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- Prominent people of the time saw potential in this dedicated doctor. Among them were Sir David Sassoon and Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.
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- The present property, named ‘Sans Souci’ (without care), was gifted in 1907 to Dr Masina by the family of Sir David Sassoon.
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- The Sassoon family coat of arms is preserved on the ornate staircase of the hospital. The six-acre surrounding land and property were acquired for Rs. 25,000.
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- Masina is the oldest private charitable hospital in Mumbai predating Parsee General Hospital by five years and Sir H. N. hospital by 23 years.
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- Dr. Masina and his wife Jerbai made the hospital into a 150-bed facility and proposed a postgraduate Medical College and the Lady Broacha college of Nursing.
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- In 1924, it became the first hospital in India to have an x-ray unit (pictured above) and was considered suitable to train M.D. and M.S. students. Upon the founder’s death, his son Dr. Ardeshir H. Masina took charge of the hospital and developed the cardiothoracic department started by Dr. B. R. Billimoria.
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- In 1947, the trust was headed by Sir Hormusji Cowasjee Dinshaw Adenwalla with Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry (pictured left) as a trustee.
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- Dr. Ardeshir’s elder brother Dr. Maneck headed the hospital till 1949 after which his sister Dr. Miss. Mehroo H. Masina took over and remained at the helm of affairs till 1966.
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- From 1952, the board of trustees was chaired by Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry.
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- In 1954 the Dr. F. N. Moos memorial building (pictured above) was opened for the treatment of tuberculosis patients. After 1966 Lt. Col. D. R. Bharucha FRCS was in charge of the hospital till 1973.
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- In 1969, the premature babies department started, one of the first of its kind in a private charitable hospital in Bombay. A separate paediatric ward was also started.
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- In 1970, a new laboratory was started which was fully equipped and had a facility of blood bank services.
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- In 1972, the Bai Seranbai M. Banajee wing, a nursing home with 23 private rooms, was opened. It had an OT, labour room and X-ray department.
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- In 1974, the N. M. Wadia Outpatient department was started.
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- The Mehroo Irani family made a donation for the ICU and diabetic clinic in the Kharas Memorial Center building. The OT is named the Noshirwan Muluk Irani OT.
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- The second floor had been renovated and a male ward was named and designated as the Almai Shapoorji Mistry Ward’.