Holy Family Hospital, Karachi

By Menin Rodrigues

The Holy Family Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan was founded in 1948 by the Medical Mission Sisters, a Roman Catholic religious order for women based in Philadelphia,
USA. This was at a time when very few health care facilities existed in Pakistan.
The founder of the Medical Mission Sisters, Dr. Anna Dengel arrived in 1920 in Rawalpindi to work as a mission doctor at the 16-bed St. Catherine's Hospital. The
hospital evolved into the Holy Family Hospital and continued to operate under the auspices of the Roman Catholica Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi until 1977. In that
year the diocese was no longer able to bear the financial burden of running the hospital and handed it over to the Government of Punjab. The Medical Mission Sisters went to
work at the Holy Family Hospital, Karachi.
Three of these Sisters (see photo) worked together from 1967 to 2009 at the Hospital. Sister Elona Stanchak served as Administrator of the 225-bed hospital; Sister Celine
Bernier was Directress of Nursing Services; and Sister Helen Marie McGrath taught at e hospital's nursing school. In 2009 they left Pakistan to return to the US.

The institution is a national heritage and a prized possession of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi right in the heart of a bustling city. It has the potential to expand and upgrade many of its facilities. Nearly 100 students are enrolled at the Holy Family Hospital Nursing School where thousands of nurses have graduated and now spread all over the country and abroad. The students spend 3
years in basic nursing, and a 4th year in midwifery training. The school is registered with the Pakistan Nursing Council.
The hospital is located off M.A. Jinnah Road on a large plot of land with ample parking and beautiful trees and shrubbery. It also has an Out-Patients Department (OPD) and caters to many people from all parts of the city because of its charitable nature. The hospital has a large extra-curricular facility, the Holy Family Hospital auditorium.
In September 2004 the Health department had identified some private hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital, as having the facilities where trauma patients could be treated. This is recognition of the high-quality care provided and the important role played by the hospital over the years.