In 1996, Prem Jyoti Community Hospital (PJCH) was founded under the Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) to serve the Malto tribal community living in the hills around Barharwa, Jharkhand. When the hospital began, the Malto population was diminishing rapidly due to malaria, kala-azar (a parasitic disease), and tuberculosis. One of the first things the new doctors did was introduce mosquito nets and raise awareness of these diseases and their transmission. Over the last thirty years, PJCH has become an important source of healthcare for many marginalized families and is the only significant medical facility within a thirty-mile radius.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects placed the hospital under severe financial strain and created a serious shortage of medical manpower. Like many mission hospitals serving remote and vulnerable communities, PJCH found it increasingly difficult to sustain services due to rising operational costs, reduced numbers of patients, and challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified healthcare professionals.

Currently, EHA’s Madhipura Christian Hospital (MCH) in Bihar is supporting PJCH through management guidance, administrative strengthening, and regular loaning of doctors and other medical personnel. This partnership has been helping PJCH stabilize services, rebuild community trust, and gradually improve patient traffic.

The medical team at PJCH includes an ophthalmologist (Dr. Ruhel), Dr. Bethany, an OB/GYN who delivers over 200 babies each year, a family physician (Dr. Blessy), a junior doctor (Dr. Elizabeth), and 25 nurses. The laboratory technicians are also quite busy, running over 25,000 tests annually. The palliative care team sees about 100 patients a year, conducting about 75 home visits each month, while the community health team runs 75 health camps at remote villages scattered throughout the surrounding area.