Country India District Chittoor Time zone IST (UTC+05:30) | State Andhra Pradesh Founded by Dr. Frimodt Moller Pincode 517330 | |
Arogyavaram is a village in the district of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India. Arogyavaram is known for its sanatorium (now a general hospital), established in 1912 for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB).
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Sanatorium
Arogyavaram Medical Centre is a 350-bed general hospital near Madanapalle on a campus of over 270 acres on Madanapalle – Tirupathi Highway (NH-71), about 5 km away from Madanapalle and same distance from Madanapalle Road Railway Station. It was formerly known as Union Mission Tuberculosis Sanatorium (UMTS), and was the first tuberculosis sanatorium in South India.
History
UMTS was opened in 1915 by Lord Pentland, the Governor of Madras. Dr. Frimodt Moller was appointed as the first Medical Superintendent. At that time no cure was known for tuberculosis, and the isolation of TB patients to prevent infection to others in special institution called "sanatoria" was thought of as the only service that could be rendered to them. The climate is more or less equable and hence all seasons are beneficial for the treatment of any disease. The sanatorium was registered as a Charitable Institution under Charitable Society Act of 1914, and admitted patients from all parts of India and even beyond the borders. During its second decade the sanatorium continued to expand. The institution took up the training of medical and paramedical workers from other institutions, and in 1927 a course for laboratory technicians was started.
Advances were made in treatment along the lines found useful in the west. Surgery was developed particularly from 1928-29. The introduction of surgical method in the cure of tuberculosis enabled the sanatorium to accept for treatment even moderately advanced cases. The first thoracoplasty operation in India was done there around 1922. New drugs for treatment of TB were trialled at the sanatorium before general release. As a consequence, laboratory work was developed especially in the study of resistance to different drugs. A lung condition called "tropical eosinophilia" was first described at the sanatorium and further studies on this were carried out there.
Government of India requested UMTS to conduct a pilot investigation in Madanapalle Town to study the immediate effect of BCG vaccine in Indian children; and the first community-wide X-ray survey for tuberculosis in India was conducted in Madanapalle. Former Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited this centre in 1952.
The UMTS was renamed as Arogyavaram Medical Centre and was converted to a general hospital in 1975, inaugurated by the then Governor of Andhra Pradesh, His Excellency Sri. S. Obul Reddy. The former Governor of Andhra Pradesh, His Excellency Dr. C. Rangarajan visited Arogyavaram Medical Centre in 1998 and appreciated the services of this institution for poor people.
With the growth of domiciliary care of TB (which was advocated by this institution as early as 1920) the need for a sanatorium diminished. However, TB is still treated at the hospital. TB has re-emerged as a major cause of mortality and disability. With the existing social, religious and cultural restrictions on the women in this part of the country, the problem of women with TB is of particular concern.