KEM Hospital (Monday, May 26)

This morning we had the opportunity to see the other side of health care in Mumbai. Previously we had been introduced to Saifee Hospital, which is a cutting edge private hospital. However, according to our guides, only 10-20% of people in Mumbai could afford to come to a hospital such as this. The rest of the people go to government-run hospitals such as King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. We arrived and three of the therapists gave us a tour of their facilities. They had six physical therapy wards divided into areas for neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and pediatrics physical therapy. Compared to the amenities seen at Saifee Hospital, the facilities here were in stark contrast. The patient-load was significantly higher for the physical therapists, and the equipment they were given to complete their jobs was significantly less. However, they loved their jobs. In fact, working at KEM was a very prestigious position as it was associated with the best medical school in the country. Besides seeing the areas where physical therapy was performed, we were given a tour of the pediatric intensive care unit. There we spoke with the lead doctor and he explained how the ward was run. We also had another chance to run into our acquaintance, Dr. Chlaga, the neurosurgeon that works at both KEM and Saifee Hospital. Finally our tour guides took us to their physical therapy school, which was attached to KEM, where they attended classes. This included a tour of their anatomy lab, cadavers and classrooms. After finishing up at the hospital, our tour guides surprised us by taking us to “Natural” Ice Cream shop, which probably is one of the best places to buy ice cream. We were most grateful for their kindness. After visiting KEM Hospital, we were the guests of honor at a ‘thank you’ lunch hosted by the National Association for the Blind. We met up with Asha and her NAB constituents at Samrat, a wonderful veg-tali restaurant. It was nice follow-up with their organization and solidifies the relationship with them. Asha and her colleagues were amazing hosts during our visit in Mumbai. We were very happy to meet up with them for a final farewell. We hope that we will have an opportunity to work with them in the future.

Our final adventure for the day included a trip to Elephanta Island. We took a 45-minute boat ride from the Gateway to India to the island. Once there we climbed the hill to the Elephanta temple. This is a Hindu temple carved into a rock wall. It was massive! There were several large rooms and intricate carvings depicting the Hindu god of rebirth. Not only did we see the caves, but we met with the other inhabitants of the island…the monkeys! They were very friendly and even posed for a few pictures as can be seen below. Our return boat ride was very relaxing and we had the opportunity to see the sun set over the skyline of Mumbai. It was a wonderful ending to a very adventure-packed day.

Sincerely, Chris

Addendum: We finished up the night by having a birthday dinner to celebrate Shefali's 25th with her parents at Mehesh, a great seafood restaurant near Mocambo.