Patan Hospital
Patan Hospital | Statistics | Stories
The story of Patan Hospital is a long-term success story. In 1954, the United Mission to Nepal (UMN), an international cooperation of Christian organizations, founded Shanta Bhawan Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, as a pioneering autonomous hospital to serve the underprivileged people of Nepal. In 1982, the hospital merged with Lalitpur Hospital to form Patan Hospital at its present location.
Since 1997 the number of beds at Patan has increased from 138 to 690 and there now are 17 departments, including a 24-hour emergency room, an intensive care unit (ICU), orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, and a private ward that helps to generate income for the hospital. In 2008, in accord with its long-range plan for sustainability, UMN relinquished control of the hospital and handed over its management to the people of Nepal.
Since then, Patan Hospital has evolved into a Nepali-run independent multi-specialty medical facility that has been held up as a model for others to follow. It maintains the values of its founders, providing high-quality, compassionate care to all comers, regardless of ability to pay. As one of the largest hospitals in Nepal, it serves patients from every district in Nepal, treating over 300,000 outpatients and 20,000 inpatients and performing more than 10,000 operations per year. This is accomplished on a budget of only $4 million supplemented by contributions of individuals and charitable organizations from North America, Europe, and Australia.
Because health insurance in virtually unknown in Nepal, patients must pay out-of-pocket for all of their health care. Patan Hospital has faithfully kept its charges for patient care at a level that most patients are able to pay, maintaining a self-sustaining balanced budget for day-to-day operations. Through efficiency and excellent management, Patan is able to provide quality care for pennies compared to the cost of similar care in the United States. A child with severe pneumonia may be admitted and receive full treatment for a total of $20, and a day in the ICU costs less than $100. To pay for care for the poorest of the poor, Patan maintains a Charity Care Fund through the support of organizations like FOPH in Nepal and around the world.
In 2010, Patan Hospital broke new ground again with the founding of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences, a new model of medical education for the developing world. Patan Hospital also distinguished itself in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in April and May of 2015. The well-prepared frontline emergency care provided during that crisis has been held up as a model for other hospitals in Nepal to follow.
In recent years, Patan has expanded its services to include CT scanning, MRI imaging, and a cardiac cath lab which opened in 2017.
In 2017, Patan Hospital inaugurated several much-needed training programs for Nepali physicians. Historically, it has been difficult for medical school graduates in Nepal to find post-graduate residency training positions in-country, forcing many of them to go abroad in search of better opportunities and resulting in a significant loss of human capital. Of the more than 1000 doctors produced in Nepal each year, 40-50% leave the country soon after graduation, contributing to the overall “brain drain” of educated Nepalis leaving the country. To address this problem, Patan Hospital now offers post-graduate training programs in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, general practice, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, radiology, otorhinolaryngology, and psychiatry. They are currently able to provide residency training for 34 medical school graduates per year, and they offer post-residency fellowships in rheumatology and emergency medicine as well.
A coterie of talented, visionary Nepali physicians has now turned Patan Hospital into one of the premier medical institutions in Nepal, both for patient care and for medical education. They are educating the health care policymakers of the future and performing cutting edge research to find new and creative ways to tackle the difficult problems at the intersection of poverty and health. By investing in the intellectual and human capital of Nepal, they are setting up Patan Hospital as a model for other developing nations to follow. The people of Nepal are tackling the problems of Nepal. Friends of Patan Hospital is privileged to support the vision of the these dedicated professionals and follow their lead as they prioritize the hospital’s needs and set a course for the future.
Patan Hospital | Statistics | Stories