Loving, Professional Care
By Clive Connor
What’s it like to be an out-patient at the Scudder Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Ranipet, India? On January 27, I unintentionally got an inside look!
Several days after arriving in India, I developed a urinary tract infection. At an evening event, I spoke to Mrs. Suganthi Benjamin, SMH’s Nursing Superintendent, whom I had previously met. I asked her to help me to see a doctor and obtain some antibiotics.
She introduced me to Dr. Anbu Suresh, the Medical Director of SMH and a surgeon. Somehow, that evening, he procured specimen containers for me and arranged for a medical technician to arrive at my hotel door at 6:30 am the following morning to pick up my samples!
Later that morning, after we attended church, Dr. Suresh pulled me aside to go over my specimen report. Talk about a fast turnaround! I indeed had an infection with results which concerned him. He gave me antibiotics to take along with adequate hydration and rest. A driver would take me to SMH the next day to have a blood test and an ultrasound. Dr. Suresh was concerned about the spread of the infection to my blood and/or my kidneys. I discovered later that UTIs are one of the most common infections among the local poor population, often leading to much more serious infections, and so my infection was taken much more seriously than had I been in the US.
On my walk through the corridors to the ultrasound location, I saw people patiently waiting their turn to see a doctor or to have tests. Although the 100+ year old building itself is in great need of repairs and renovations, everything was very clean and tidy. The female radiology doctor, Dr. Jemi Pawen, who trained locally at the Christian Medical College, was knowledgeable and shared her findings with me as she went along (seen in the Panel picture with her son.)
By the time I was back in Dr. Suresh’s office, the results of my blood test and scan had been given to him. Fortunately, my infection had not spread. Next, my specimen would be cultured to determine the bacteria involved. That would take until the next day. Meanwhile, I was to go back to the hotel and rest. I was told not to visit the schools the next day because the trip involved 5 hours in a van and there would be a lack of clean and adequate restroom facilities. Finally, the culture resulted in changing my antibiotic to a more powerful one for another 7 days. Dr. Suresh urged me to contact my doctor at home and give him my test results. I did that and had another urine test which was clean!
Final thoughts: I was very impressed with SMH!
Obviously, as a Scudder, I was welcomed as a member of the “family”. I was treated quickly and thoroughly both because of that but more importantly, because of our short stay in India and the strenuous schedule we were keeping. However, I do not believe that they changed their treatment because of my “family” status.
The nurses, doctors, and administrators whom I met were all caring and compassionate people who truly want to provide the best possible care for their patients. They are struggling financially to keep up with modern equipment and medical treatments but at the cost of the building itself becoming increasingly in need of repairs. It is an appropriate choice but one with consequences. When they need to renew their certificate of occupancy in a few years, I was told that they may not receive it. They do know that SAF is doing all it can to try to give them the building grants they need but we are currently being blocked by the Indian government. We are investigating other ways to help.
Clive was not the First
SAF Board of Directors member Cynthia Scudder Sherman shared this memory.
“In 2022 when I took my two granddaughters to India Cindy began feeling lightheaded while touring the SMH campus. They brought her to the Casualty Block and put her in one of two a/c rooms with an IV drip to make her feel better. After two hours she was released and she returned with us to Vellore’s Alumni House. We found ourselves the center of attention with many employees coming into her room to have their pictures with an actual Scudder!”
