Mount Alvernia Hospital is a 319-bed general
acute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery.Alberta Health ServicesAcute care.Acces ...
hospital with tertiary medical capabilities and two multi-disciplinary medical specialist centres in
Thomson Road, Singapore
Thomson Road is a major trunk road linking Singapore's central business district with the northern suburban areas of the country. The road is one of the longest in Singapore, starting from Novena in the south towards MacRitchie Reservoir, before ...
.
It is the only not-for-profit, private
Catholic missionary
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
hospital. Fiscal surplus accumulated is channelled back into supporting the
Assisi Hospice
Assisi Hospice is a hospice in Singapore which provides palliative care to terminally ill patients.
History
Founded in 1969 by the Catholic order Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood as Assisi Home for the poor and sick, and was ...
, hospital development, local community outreach activities and the
Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood
The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, founded in 1947, is an international congregation of religious sisters that serves in 11 countries, both in the developed and developing world. It serves in various schools, prisons, and hospita ...
(FMDM) global mission activities to reach out to the sick, poor and marginalized through education, nursing, pastoral care, counselling, prison and parish ministry.
History
In 1949, Sisters from the
Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood
The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, founded in 1947, is an international congregation of religious sisters that serves in 11 countries, both in the developed and developing world. It serves in various schools, prisons, and hospita ...
(FMDM) took over the
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
wards at
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. The hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 8,000 healthcare staff. ...
, which eventually became known as Mandalay Road Hospital. They also served “The Lepers Camp”, a community of lepers housed in
Trafalgar Home in Woodbridge. Both centres were managed as self-contained units as isolation was the treatment at that time.
In 1952, the Sisters were given an opportunity to start a private hospital to bring nursing care and services to the population. It was to be a well-planned and professionally managed hospital for everyone; especially for the poor and the disadvantaged. The FMDM Sisters pooled their savings and salaries, and canvassed for donations all over Singapore. The Colonial government at that time promised a dollar-for-dollar matching grant based on the total collection.
The Sisters bought land on Thomson Hill in October 1956, which was cleared in 1957.
However, the construction of the hospital, which was meant to have begun in 1956, was delayed after the government announced that it would not subsidise the cost.
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
A. J. Braga performed the
ground breaking ceremony
''Ground Breaking Ceremony'' is Himsa's first album. It was released on 2 November 1999 through Revelation Records
Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for ...
on 7 January 1959. Construction of the building began later that year, as the government had promised the Sisters a grant of $425,000.
After Singapore gained self-government and the
1959 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 30 May 1959. They were held under the new constitution and were the first in which all 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly were filled by election. This was the first election victory for the People ...
, the matching grant from the colonial government was cancelled. The Sisters had to adjust their plans to cater for a 60-bed hospital instead of 200 but would be fully equipped to provide medical, surgical and maternity care.
On 4 March 1961, Mount Alvernia Hospital was declared officially opened. Staffing was done entirely by the Sisters who were professionally trained as nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, radiographers, laboratory technicians and other support services. The Sisters who ran the hospital received all their professional healthcare qualifications, religious training and work attachment at a hospital in the United Kingdom.
At the time of opening, the hospital was equipped with two operating theatres, an anaesthetics room, a recovery room, two labour wards, a nursery and a milk kitchen. A physiotherapy department was also in place, as well as one outpatient department and a dispensary. X ray department was set up immediately. The nursing Sisters performed ward duties from 7am to 9pm and doubled up as housekeepers, chefs and meal servers when they are off ward duties.
In 1963, the first extension to MAH was completed. This provided improved outpatient facilities, a new delivery suite, a third labour ward, a specialised nursery for premature infants and two more operating theatres. In the same year, the first Resident Medical Officer (RMO) joined the team and a second RMO was added two years later.
In 1964, one of the Sisters came back after her training in England and Ireland to set up a department of pathology, a blood bank, making MAH the first hospital to have its own blood bank and it was 90% self-sufficient. Patients' relatives were encouraged to donate. With the seaport bustling with activities at that time, the Sisters also regularly went out to the anchored ships to drive blood donation from visiting seamen.
During the early years after independence, government focus on expanding medical services in primary healthcare was to improve hygiene. Inpatient care was not high on the list of government priorities at that time. MAH saw the need to further develop to increase inpatient capacity and support services.
In July 1965, Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
officially opened a new 5-storey wing, which brought the total number of beds to 127.
In 1969, MAH added another extension to provide care to chronically ill patients. Within this building, another 22 beds were added.
Lee returned to the hospital again in 1971 to open another wing adding another 72 beds to the capacity. With this addition, the hospital now had 221 beds.
The new wing included an Intensive Care Unit and a Paediatric Ward. It also housed a new outpatient department with consulting rooms and a minor theatre. A radiography department, pathology laboratory were expanded, a hydrotherapy pool was added to the physiotherapy department. For the convenience of the patients and visitors, the public areas boasted a new coffee house and a pharmacy.
In the 1980s, a decision was taken to accommodate some specialist clinics on campus. Work began in 1989 to build a new 7-storey medical centre. With doctors on-campus, increased in patient loads were expected. 1991 saw the construction of a new wing to accommodate medical and consulting suites. This wing would also include a suite of six operating theatres, a delivery suite of 10 rooms and 4-bedded first-stage room, a new physiotherapy and occupational therapy unit.
MAH further stepped up support for specialist practices by expanding clinical services from the late 1990s onwards. These include X ray, MRI, multi slide CT-scan and digital mammography. Other developments include capabilities for laparoscope of Minimal Access Surgery. A Lithotripter Centre was opened and a bone densitometer was added to the facilities of Diagnostic Imaging Department. Clinical support staff received training and skills upgrading with attachments at leading international institutions.
In addition to training its own staff, the hospital also ran courses for doctors. MAH scored a first as a private healthcare initiative by beaming the procedure live from the operating theatre to be viewed in a separate training area. Foreign doctors were included in the training. The capability for laparoscopic surgery allowed MAH to include many more procedures in its Day Surgery services.
In 1986, MAH started accepting respite patients. This extension became known as Assisi Home. Two years later, it expanded into the area of
Hospice Care
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
and in 1992, a decision was taken to establish hospice care as a dedicated mission of the Assisi Hospice, housed in a separate building from the hospital.
![Med Centre A - 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Med_Centre_A_-_1.jpg)
In 1996, the new medical centre (now known as Medical Centre A) was finally opened and started admitting specialist doctors with full admission rights.
Health screening centre was added to offer comprehensive and personalized services. The other service was the Day Surgery where the patient could register, checkout and collect medication in one place.
In 2004, allied health services were stepped up with the setting up of the Sports Medicine and Sports Surgery Centre functions in tandem with the rehabilitation centre. The following year, MAH added 24-hour outpatient clinic services to fill the gap when extended hours in Singapore public sector polyclinics were discontinued
In October 2010, MAH opened the Alvernia Parentcraft Centre for ante-natal care, childbirth education and newborn baby care. Equipped with private consultation rooms and staffed by lactation consultants and parentcraft counsellors, the Centre fulfilled the needs of both parents with newborns and those preparing for childbirth.
The following year saw more investment in several IT initiatives such as electronic medical records, online medical test order by doctors, enhancement of pharmacy information system and customer relationship management system.
The new side extension facing Thomson Road was completed in 2012. It housed additional diagnostic imaging facilities, a bigger health screening centre, more operating theatres and patient beds. It is served by a covered pedestrian walkway to provide easy access to Thomson Road.
The hospital Chapel had been an integral part of the infrastructure since MAH started in 1961. The Chapel went through a renovation and reopened in 2013. The new medical centre D was finally completed and officially opened by Minister of Health,
Gan Kim Yong
Gan Kim Yong ( zh, s=颜金勇, p=Yán Jīnyǒng; born 9 February 1959) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Trade and Industry since 2021. A member of the governing People's Action Party, he has been the Member of P ...
in October 2014. This new 17,490sq m new facility not only provides additional medical suites, but also expanded car park space for the hospital. It houses over 60 specialist clinics and cover 28 specialties.
Community Outreach
Since 2009, the hospital-wide Community Outreach programme has reached out to more than 15,000 people through mass health screenings and health talks conducted at the grassroots level through channels such as the People's Association, churches and other religious organisations. A new channel for partnership was established when MAH and the
Singapore Heart Foundation
The Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF), formerly known as the Singapore National Heart Association (SNHA), is a registered Charity and Institution of a Public Character (IPC) in Singapore. It aims to promote heart health, prevent and reduce disabil ...
signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 28 August 2012 to explore joint activities to promote heart health.
Since 2013, MAH were able to bring free health screening to other religious organizations. They are
Lembaga Pentadbir Masjid Ar-Raudhah mosque located at Bukit Batok and
Sree Ramar Temple
Sree Ramar Temple ( ta, ஸ்ரீ ராமர் கோவில்) is a temple for the Hindu god Rama, who is the presiding deity. It is located at the junction of Changi Village Road and Loyang Avenue in the east of Singapore.
History
Th ...
located at Changi Village. Several outreach activities were extended to overseas community organizations in Indonesia and Vietnam through charity events and free health screenings.
See also
*
List of hospitals in Singapore
The following is a list of hospitals in Singapore registered by the Ministry of Health.
Acute hospitals
Community hospitals
Psychiatric hospital
Upcoming hospitals
*New hospital in Bedok North
*Woodlands Health Campus
Defunct hospital ...
References
External links
*Ng, Tisa, (2006), Mount Alvernia Hospital : a tradition of compassionate and patient-centred care
Mount Alvernia Hospital : a tradition of compassionate and patient-centred care / [text by Tisa Ng ; photographs by Albert Lim K.S.].*Lee, C. E., & Satku, K. (Eds.). (2015). Singapore
''s Health Care System': What 50 Years Have Achieved''. World Scientific.
{{Coord, 1.3418401, 103.8376666, format=dec, display=title
Hospital buildings completed in 1961
Hospitals in Singapore
Toa Payoh
Hospitals established in 1961