The Vellore Foundation promotes, interprets and helps support the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, one of the largest health care institutions in India dedicated to providing quality medical education and health care in the spirit of Ch rist to all society, especially the poor, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised.

Please Note:
 We have moved. While we are still at 475 Riverside Drive, our suite number is now 725.   The US Postal Service will no longer forward mail addressed to our former location.

The North American Alumni Gathering (GOTC) for 2011
 The gathering, held June 16-19 in Indianapolis was a great success.  Visit the page for links to photos taken during  the weekend: click here.

CMC Vellore related Blog link:
 Palliative care at CMC Vellore http://elnecindia2009.blogspot.com/

Combined Federal Campaign, SEFA  and United Way.  The Vellore Board is listed for these campaigns under ID # 10765. Please note this is a new number.

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Our Annual Report is available. Click here to view a pdf (1.2 Mb) file. Contact the office if you want a printed copy.

Welcome from Our President

CMC Website

Hidden Gems of Vellore

Our Mission Statement

Board, Staff and Consultants  

Elective Program for
Medical Students

Volunteering at CMC

Our Print Newsletter Archive 
(Starting with the Fall 2000 issue. The latest issue of our print Advocate, Spring 2011 is now available on line. Click here.)

Special: Glimpses, a free pamphlet which tells founder Dr. Ida S. Scudder's fascinating story, is now available from the Vellore Board.  Click here.

The Vellore Foundation's partnership with CMC Vellore

Read how the Vellore Foundation, through the support of its donors and staff here in the United States, have contributed to the work at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India over the  years. 

Foundation Accomplishments
 (PDF, 110 KB)

 

 

Clinic at New Chittoor Campus

CMC has begun to treat patients at their new Chittoor campus with the construction of this temporary outpatient clinic. Construction is under way to complete the campus.

 

CMC Given Go-ahead to Expand Educational Programs to Meet the Needs of a Growing Nation

    The past two years has been a dynamic time in the Indian medical establishment.  The winds of change began to blow through agencies and institutions that had been static for many years.  As part of the new era, CMC has received approvals for much-needed expansion in its academic offerings.     
  CMC administrators are excited that government and academic authorities have recently approved nine new courses of study for post graduate physicians at CMC.  These include MDs in Geriatrics, Transfusion Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Hepatology, Neonatology, Endocrine Surgery and Vascular Surgery.  Of these specialties, Geriatrics and Rheumatology will be offered by CMC for the first time ever, which is important given a general neglect of the two fields in India.  In addition, nine new undergraduate courses have been added in Allied Health fields. 
   Officials have promised CMC an increase in MBBS (undergraduate) seats from 60 to 100, but final approval is still pending.  Also expected are increases in BSc nursing students and BSc post-Diploma conversion candidates.  Approvals for added post graduate seats total 75 with 15 more pending.   All the courses are at least 3 years in length, so the increases will add at least 225 post grad doctors to the CMC staff. The new courses will also allow more people to develop in their specialties within CMC, rather than going outside the institution for post graduate training.  The additional programs will also give more opportunity to attract talent to CMC. These new doctors will be productive members of their clinical teams, giving relief to existing hard-pressed clinicians who are now seeing upwards of 6,000 people a day.

 

College of Nursing Dean Visited USA


Dean Jayakaran (middle row, green sari) at gathering
of nursing alumnae in South Florida

  Mrs. Rosaline Jayakaran, Dean of the CMC College of Nursing, visited nursing alumnae and other CMC supporters during February. She met with groups in New Jersey, Florida and Washington DC. Her message was one of thanks for the donors who helped to make possible the new College of Nursing campus. She shared photographs of the spacious new building, which provides private offices for each member of the faculty as well as classrooms with the latest in audiovisual technology.
  On the drawing board is a new dormitory for undergraduate nursing students. At the present time they are commuting from the old dorm on the hospital campus to the new facility, about a kilometer away.
  Dean Jayakaran explained that CMC’s nursing college is emerging as a critical regional leadership facility for southern India and beyond. The World Health Organization has vested CMC’s nursing faculty with responsibility for training 90,000 Indian nurses in HIV/AIDS treatment protocols. CMC will be accepting larger numbers of students and expecting them to stay to work for a longer period following their graduation in order to meet a serious shortage of personnel.
  It was a pleasure to have Dean Rosaline with us, if only for a short time. We wish her well as she presides over this vital and dynamic institution.
  Many nursing students come from humble backgrounds in rural villages. They have worked hard to excel in their school work. A $600 annual scholarship can give them the opportunity of a lifetime to attend CMC. A degree or diploma from CMC opens the door to a lifetime career serving people. If you would like to help change a young person’s life in such a positive way, please contact the Foundation to arrange a scholarship gift.
 

Vellore Christian Medical College on YouTube

There are two wonderful YouTube videos now up about Christian Medical College that are definitely worthy of note.  Taken together, they cover the history of the institution from it's founding, over a hundred years ago, to the current decade.  One is the voice of Dr. Ida S. Scudder herself narrating a presentation about her background and the the founding of CMC.

Video: Dr. Ida S. Scudder's Presentation

The other video is Home of Healing God, a professionally produced video by an Australian filmmaker, which shows the work now being done at the institution .  Co-produced by the Vellore Foundation in New York a few years ago, we highly recommend you watch it and share it with anyone you think might find it interesting.

Video: Home of a Healing God

And a Name Change for the Board

At the April 24, 2008 Corporate meeting, the Corporation voted on and approved a resolution to change the name of the Vellore Christian Medical College Board (USA), Inc. to the Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation, Inc.  The word "Board" is an anachronism, dating from a past era when the American organization owned and controlled the medical college in India   The new name, The Vellore Christian Medical College Foundation, Inc. more accurately reflects the work of the organization.  The word "foundation" connotes the collection of financial gifts for humanitarian purposes as well as the prudent management of charitable endowments. Since these activities now make up most of our program, the Board felt the new name better reflects reality.  The certificate for name change was submitted to the appropriate New York State agency and is now official. 
 

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The Foundation office is located at 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 725
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Return to TopThis page was last updated: Wednesday December 14, 2011

President's Corner

Vellore Loses a Special Friend

I'm sorry to report that Rev. Eric Gass passed away at a hospice facility in North Carolina December 10, 2011. Eric grew up in southern India, the son of a missionary doctor who was a prominent member of the faculty at CMC Vellore for many years. I first knew Eric in the late 1990's when he was working as an officer of the United Church Board for World Ministries. His office was in 475 Riverside Drive, and he served as the UCBWM representative on the Vellore Board Corporation. From 1983 – 1990 Eric was a member of the Board of Directors; he also served as Secretary for the organization. In 2001, he and his wife, Pat, managed the Board during a transition period of several months. They have been living in retirement near Asheville in recent years. Eric and Pat continued to be helpful advisors and friends, and he will be greatly missed by all of us.

Their children continue Eric’s and Pat’s legacy of service with Sandra posted in Kinshasa and Robb in Bangkok.
 

Update

I have in my hands the Report of the Director of CMC, Dr. Suranjan Bhattacharji, to the June meeting of the governing Council. This fifteen page document provides a fascinating overview of a dynamic and rapidly growing institution engaged in a critical mission of public service. Here are a few salient points:

Re-examining recent data, a reasonable estimate of outpatients treated at the main hospital over the past year is 2 million, representing a 25% increase in five years.

Physicians at 19 mission hospitals now have internet access to the CMC Medical Library.

The Distance Education program over the past five years has trained 1,139 physicians from all over the country in Family Medicine.

The Development Office, started several years ago with the assistance of American supporters, over the past two years has accounted for one Crore Rupees in donations (about $220,000) from Indian sources.

Three named core-research Chairs have been established and a major fund raising effort is planned to create several more.

The CMC Principal, Dr. George Mathew, was appointed Convener of the Medical Council of India undergraduate education working group, which has recommended extensive reform of medical education in India.

The list could be much longer if space allowed. God continues to minister mightily to the people of India through CMC. Your support allows the institution to remain faithful to its calling to serve the “least of these” while it steadily grows in size and excellence.
 

India Today Rates CMC

India Today's annual rating of medical colleges has been published.  Once again, CMC retains its position as a top medical school in India, second only to government-run AIIMS in New Delhi.  See article here.

CMC TO BUILD A SECOND CAMPUS

For the first time in its 110 year history, the Christian Medical College is opening a second campus. On Saturday, April 24 several hundred people gathered to celebrate this historic moment at a spot on the old Bangalore-Chennai highway, a few kilometers south of the town of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Click here for more info.

CMC Joins With Government To Help The Poor

Easter Eve, April 3, late in the day, CMC received the distinguished visitor, M. K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He came to inaugurate a new program whereby poor people in the area around Vellore can come to CMC for treatment of serious illnesses with insurance coverage from the state government. Click here for story.

Research at CMC

Learn about the wide variety of research projects undertaken by CMC faculty in the interests of  a healthier world.  Click here for a pdf of CMC's Research Digest(3 Mb).
 

Rev. Lou Knowles's CMC Vellore Diary

Lou Knowles, President of the Vellore CMC Foundation (formerly the Board) here in New York, is stationed from September 2009 to June 2010 at Vellore. He will be helping create an international development strategy and program for CMC. His presence in Vellore will allow for in-depth reporting on many aspects of life and work at CMC.

CMC News Archive

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CMC Website