St. Joseph's Hospice () is a health care facility in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

, run by the

Franciscan Sisters of Mary The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of religious sisters based in St. Louis, Missouri, noted for its operation of SSM Health Care, a group of some 20 hospitals throughout the Midwestern United States. It was f ...

, open to patients from all walks of life.AsiaNews, 10/17/2011
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History

Francis O'Leary was a Catholic Priest and missionary in Rawalpindi. In 1962, while attending to a sick woman in a mud hut, O'Leary realized the need for a hospice. In 1964, he opened the first hospice in Rawalpindi. After receiving advice from

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

, he obtained loans and donations to establish hospices in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala and England. It is registered as a non-profit organisation under the Pakistan Donor Welfare Agencies Ordinance.

Facilities

The hospice has been run for the past 30 years by the Franciscan Sisters. With 60 beds, it receives up to 300 patients a day. The staff includes 50 Pakistani nurses, aides, volunteers, doctors, and ward helpers. In 2009 Sister Mairead Walsh, a nun from Dublin, ran the hospice.The National, Jun 9, 2009
/ref> The hospice has three separate wards for men, women and children within its two-storeyed structure built of concrete and stone. The building was funded by a German Catholic organisation, MISEREOR and built on church land. The hospice treats patients with chronic illnesses and disabilities, tuberculosis, meningitis, polio and typhoid fever, etc. Children with congenital deformities and malnutrition are often abandoned to the hospice. 90 per cent of its outpatients and 60 per cent of its in-patients are Muslim. St Joseph's has a well functioning laboratory, provides physiotherapy treatment and has its own pharmacy. All medical services are free of charge. The Pakistani government officially recognised this service to the community when in 2006, St Joseph's received the Award of Excellence from President

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

. The hospice is now a teaching facility attached to the

Islamabad Medical and Dental College Islamabad Medical and Dental College () is a medical and dental college located in Islamabad, Pakistan. It has a campus spread over at the foothills of the Margalla Hills. The college gives admission to 100 MBBS, 50 BDS, and 4 MDS students e ...

. In November 2013 the Hospice came close to closing when it had only enough in the bank to run for 5 months. In 2014 the Hospice celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding. The Administrator at the time was Sister Margaret Walsh MFF.Catholic Health Australia, Autumn 2014
/ref> Also in 2014, a fundraiser was organised by the Nomad Centre and Gallery on March 7, in support of the Hospice which is struggling financially. The Hospice charges as little as Rs. 20 per patient, but this too is waived if the patient cannot afford to pay. This user pay system has not been enough to fund its work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St Joseph's Hospice, Rawalpindi Catholic Church in Pakistan Rawalpindi District Medical and health organisations based in Pakistan Hospices Hospitals in Rawalpindi Catholic hospitals in Asia 1964 establishments in Pakistan