Bel Air hospital Panchgani: An HIV haven

[Guest guest]

HIV haven

Anuradha Mascarenhas

One man's initiative has turned around the fortunes of Bel Air

hospital, one of the top HIV care centres in the country

Panchgani:After helping the Latur quake victims in 1993, Kerala-based

Father Tomy decided to take a breather at Panchgani, a hill station

in Maharashtra. It was a decision that not only changed his life but

also turned the fortunes of the dilapidated Bel Air Hospital, now one

of the best HIV treatment and care centres in the country.

" I remember the day I stumbled upon this huge place with broken

buildings and a hospital with no doctors. I still don't know why I

stayed back, " recalls Tomy, the director of Bel Air. " One day I was

checking the records and came across a plaque of Sir Dorabji Trust. I

went to meet Rusy Lalla, the trust president, and apprised him of the

situation. He asked me how much money I needed. I demanded Rs 5 lakh

and he gave me Rs 20 lakh. Since then there has been no looking

back, " says Tomy, adding that he has collected Rs 45 crore from

donors.

Founded by Dr. Rustomji Billimoria in 1913 as a sanatorium for

patients with tuberculosis, Bel Air enhanced its scope in 1995 when

it decided to take in AIDS/HIV patients. This at a time when HIV

positive people were practically ostracised and refused admission by

hospitals and private institutions. " The place belonged to the Indian

Red Cross Society and was run by a Catholic priest. How could we

refuse the patients who had been rejected and thrown out by their own

families and doctors? " asks Tomy.

In 1964, the institution was transferred to the IRCS, and in 2000,

the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) sanctioned the first

and biggest community care centre in the country. Enthused by the

success of the programme and encouraged by President A.P.J. Abdul

Kalam, Bel Air has now been entrusted with setting up an Anti-

Retroviral Treatment (ART) centre, the first in the NGO sector. Tomy

has been nominated as chairperson of the technical resource group.

A visit to the 300-bed hospital is an eye opener. Be it the 20-odd

HIV positive staffers who were treated at the institution and now

work as drivers, gardeners and watchmen, or the new lot of

volunteers, everyone loves the place. " You don't want to leave Bel

Air. I came here from Surat to cure my TB, but stayed on, " says 83-

year-old Erach Gadiyali, the oldest staffer.

Till March this year as many as 4,265 HIV patients had been admitted

and treated, while 500 are treated every month. Patients in Bel-Air

are provided lodging, food, basic medicines and routine

investigations free of cost. Patients are usually charged for the

costly antibiotics and expensive investigations, though most of the

patients are poor and can't afford it. But Bel-Air makes every effort

not to deny treatment to those who can't pay, says Father Sebastian,

adminstrator.

To tackle stigma and discrimination, Bel Air has conducted 19

training programmes for 460 doctors and has started a College of

Nursing in association with the University of Illinois, Chicago, with

special focus on HIV/AIDS. The hospital has also launched a

communication campaign with the support of USAID, Avert Society and

the s Hopkins University.

But it hasn't always been easy. Tomy has had to fight local

politicians and land sharks who wanted the 44 acres of prime land at

Panchgani, has been slapped with 62 cases in various courts, even

accused of rape. The municipality did not allow hospital staffers to

cremate HIV positive bodies and agreed only on the condition that

they would wash the crematorium afterwards. But Tomy continues

relentlessly. As he says, " We want to show that we can make Satara

district HIV free. " Given his tenacity, he probably will.

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