Prem Jyoti Community Hospital
EHA’s Prem Jyoti Community Hospital (PJCH) was started as a community health program to care for the marginalized Malto tribal hill people of northeast Jharkhand.
This people group struggled with high infant and maternal mortality rates, low literacy, and severe poverty. Their population dropped from one million in 1947 to one hundred thousand by 1997. Witnessing this drop, EHA, along with the Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) and the Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB), opened a community health program with just two doctors, a lab tech, and two lay people. Twenty-seven years later, PJCH is a 30-bed hospital with 70 staff members.
From 1997 when the clinic opened to 2016, the infant mortality rate dropped from 250/1000 births to 100/1000. And the maternal mortality rate decreased from 46/1000 to 6/1000. The Malto villages now struggle less with diseases like malaria, diarrhea, TB, and a parasite disease called Kala-azar.
Since the villagers are spread out in the hills with few means of transportation, PJCH operates 72 mobile clinics each year covering 48 different villages. They have trained community health volunteers to give basic care and evaluate patients who need to be brought in for treatment at PJCH.
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The Life-Changing Impact of Education
Growing up in a Malto tribe, Arun has led a challenging life. His mother died when he was in second grade. He had to overcome financial hurdles just to finish school. Local hostels provided a refuge for him, and when he was old enough, kind adults directed him to Prem Jyoti Community Hospital (PJCH) for further training.
Since 2017, PJCH has offered vocational diploma courses to local students who cannot afford college but want job training. Students have the option of studying to become a technician in the areas of medical labwork, X-ray services, surgery, or patient care. Arun chose to study for a diploma in medical lab technology (DMLT), the first time this diploma class was offered.
He was an exceptional student and was hired by PJCH immediately upon graduation. Arun has already progressed to become a senior lab tech and has plans for higher education. He is an inspiration to his entire community.
Arun’s journey from poverty and loss to purpose and leadership exemplifies the life-changing impact of education. He is very grateful to PJCH for showing him the way.
Against the Odds
Lavanya came to Prem Jyoti Christian Hospital (PMCH) in a life-threatening situation after a complicated childbirth. She had retained her placenta and was experiencing severe bleeding, low hemoglobin, and non-recordable blood pressure. The PJCH medical team feared the worst but swiftly stabilized her, gave her blood, and took her in for surgery to remove the placenta.
Despite Lavanya’s dire condition upon arrival, after surgery she recovered remarkably in three days. She happily went home to her newborn and the rest of her family. The PJCH staff were thrilled to see her life saved against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Preemie Survives Thanks to Waived Fees
Makku Soren was only 16 but she was already married and 8 months pregnant when she arrived at Prem Jyoti Community Hospital. Within minutes she delivered a premature 4 and a half pound baby boy.
She and her 18-year-old husband were advised that it would be best to transfer to a more specialized medical facility, but they told the hospital staff that they struggled to have enough money to eat, let alone enough to pay for the baby’s medical care. The father was ready to take both mother and baby home immediately, but the infant was completely dependent on oxygen and IV fluids. After much persuasion and assurance from Prem Jyoti staff regarding the waiving of all fees, he agreed to keep the baby at the hospital for treatment.
Prem Jyoti, like each EHA hospital, must carefully determine when patients are unable to pay for medical care, and it is only through generous donations and careful financial management that they are able to waive all or part of patients’ fees. If you feel led to give toward needy patients’ medical care, go to our donation page.
Meanwhile, the newborn struggled with the strength to suck well and he developed severe sepsis and jaundice. He was started on high-end antibiotics and phototherapy, and the caring staff monitored him closely. Every day, the baby’s father came and asked to take the infant home, and every day the staff assured him that the baby was receiving critical care at no cost to him.
Slowly the baby gained enough strength to breastfeed, and his infection cleared up. By the time he was discharged for home, he was active and feeding well. The entire Prem Jyoti staff rejoiced that this little life was saved through their loving care and God’s intervention through their prayers.
Community Healthcare Builds Through Volunteers
For a rural hospital with patients from many outlying villages like Prem Jyoti, reaching out into the community with medical care is essential. To that end, they have developed the model of having community health volunteers who are trained to provide villagers with checkups, referrals, vitamins, home visits, and health education. Currently there are 63 volunteers serving in 68 different villages.
After extensive training by Prem Jyoti’s community coordinator, the community health volunteers attend the mobile health clinic with their patients, attend monthly meetings, make house visits, and refer patients to the hospital. Each month, community coordinators meet with the volunteers to go over health concerns in their respective villages. Prem Jyoti’s mobile health clinic operates in five different centers each month, providing general checkups, antenatal checkups, and immunizations. In an area with so many far-flung villages and patients with few means of transportation, having a mobile clinic like this is essential for the care of the people.
Incredible Emergency Situation
The boy never saw it coming. During a Malto tribal festival, Ranbir was struck in the neck with an arrow. He and his family spent the next four hours journeying from hospital to hospital, with each one refusing him admittance.
Desperate for help, his family brought Ranbir to EHA’s Prem Jyoti Community Hospital. At this point, he was in hemorrhagic shock and his hemoglobin was low. The staff quickly took an x-ray and determined that while the arrow was deeply embedded in his neck, it had miraculously missed all major blood vessels except the external jugular vein.
Prem Jyoti’s staff prayerfully took Ranbir into the operating room and the arrow was successfully removed. Ranbir and his family were incredibly thankful at his recovery at the hands of the only medical team who was willing to care for such an injury. It is such medical care carried out with love and compassion that makes EHA stand out.
Just 24 More Hours
Seizures were afflicting six-year-old Shray, so his father brought him in to Prem Jyoti. The medical staff evaluated him, and Shray was diagnosed with cerebral malaria along with an acute kidney injury and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
Gravely ill, Shray was immediately intubated and connected to a ventilator. Doctors began giving him anti-malarial medication, lasix infusions, and other treatments. Shray’s father soon lost hope and wanted to take him home to die peacefully. But each day, the hospital staff begged the man to give them 24 more hours because there were signs of improvement. Often these discussions turned into arguments. Praying fervently, the medical staff were hoping for a miracle. After one week of intensive care, God answered their prayers and Shray improved enough to go home happy and healthy. Shray’s father was glad to learn more about the God who had healed his son.
Tiny Newborn Given a Chance at Life
Dr. Isac David and his wife, Dr. Vijila Isac, have served faithfully at Prem Jyoti since its inception almost 20 years ago. They have seen much progress from when they began—lives have been saved, programs have been run, infrastructure has been developed, systems have been set up, and credibility with the government has been built up.
But the best part of the process is not what they have achieved, but what God has done through them and their dedicated team. He has led them through tough and lonely paths, times of brokenness, feelings of failure… only to discover anew that He was always there, loving them despite their mistakes. They have experienced Him in unexpected places—even in the operating room and the labor and delivery department.
Recently, a woman named Pushpa Devi began to struggle with her first pregnancy. In her eighth month, she began bleeding heavily. She came to Prem Jyoti for treatment, and the ultrasound showed she had placenta previa, a condition in which the patient needs an emergency caesarian section to save her life. Since Pushpa’s blood pressure was already low, she couldn’t have a spinal anesthesia, so they used the alternative intravenous short-acting sedative, Ketamine. Although Pushpa lost even more blood during surgery, Prem Jyoti doctors delivered a tiny preemie who was just over three pounds. It took the baby five minutes to cry, but he finally did, and was placed in a newborn stabilization unit.
Since Prem Jyoti is located in an area with intermittent electrical service, they cannot use incubators or ventilators, but they do have battery-operated units that provide phototherapy for newborns and warmers that keep the babies’ temperatures consistent. Pushpa’s baby made it through his critical first week, and Pushpa stabilized and began to move around freely. She is incredibly thankful for the care she and her newborn received at the hands of these dedicated EHA doctors and nurses.
After a Devastating Accident, a Shattered Ear Is Repaired
All it took was a few minutes, and everything changed. One minute Bhavin was driving along in his vehicle, and the next he was being flung around by violent forces as another car crashed into his. The result of this severe car accident was that Bhavin’s right ear was dangling, barely attached to his head. He was brought into Prem Jyoti with multiple injuries to his face and head.
The Prem Jyoti staff stabilized Bhavin and took him into the operating room. They were able to remove all of the foreign objects from his wound and to reconstruct his ear completely. The multiple lacerations on his face were repaired. And all of this was accomplished in fairly rustic operating conditions with little of the equipment that a US plastic surgeon would have access to. EHA staff work with what they have, and they often achieve miracles with God’s help.
Mariyam Nirmala Becomes the First Malto Tribal Nurse
She came from a poor farming family in the village of Kusumghati. Unable to afford the cost of her studies, her father turned to missionaries he knew and sent her to the Jayraj Memorial Girls Home where she completed her studies through Class (grade) 12. After finishing these exams, Mariyam came to Prem Jyoti Community Hospital as a pre-nursing student and learned basic nursing procedures. One day, God touched her heart when she was helping the nurses in the labor room. A pregnant Malto woman from Mariyam’s village came to the hospital in serious condition and eventually died. This incident changed her thinking, and she decided to serve her community by becoming a nurse.
She was accepted into EHA’s Duncan Hospital’s School of Nursing located in Raxaul in northwest Bihar and worked hard to achieve her goal of becoming a nurse. She faced many obstacles, including learning English, but strengthened herself through prayer. Eventually, Mariyam accomplished her goal and received her General Nurse Midwife diploma. She has returned to Prem Jyoti and is serving her community by sharing the love and light of God with them. Her faith and commitment to serve others are inspiring other Malto girls to follow her example.
About Prem Jyoti Community Hospital
Prem Jyoti Community Hospital is a community of God-centered individuals who reach out to the poor and marginalized, especially the Malto tribals of Jharkhand. The ministry began in December, 1996, as a unique partnership between three major Indian mission agencies: the FMPB, EFICOR, and EHA.
Today, the hospital’s goals include providing quality, accessible, and compassionate health care, as well as empowering communities to take care of their own health and development needs. They strive to develop local leadership and expertise while serving as a model to challenge others, so that these communities can develop to their fullest potential.
Focusing on the Malto’s health needs, they work through a network of community health volunteers, peripheral clinics, and the hospital itself. They emphasize training and empowering the community to tackle their own health problems. One of the areas they focus on is infectious diseases, such as malaria, TB, and kala-azar. To this end, they work with the government to spray DDT in Malto villages and distribute mosquito nets. They are also the Designated Microscopy Center for the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program. Another program allows patients suffering from kala-azar to be treated free of charge.
Conducting school health programs allows them to teach young people better health awareness and care.
Desiring to strengthen their teams, the staff fast weekly, pray together, and study the Word. In order to witness to those who walk through their door, they pray, share with, and counsel the patients and their families. During outpatient department days, they play movies and songs with a message for the patients waiting for treatment.
Through all of these programs and services, Prem Jyoti reaches out to the community with the love of God, offering not only physical healing, but also true spiritual healing through this message of hope.