Mission in India William James Wanless

william wanless, age 23, @ new york university school of medicine, ca.1888.

the bryn mawr presbyterian church, of bryn mawr, pennsylvania, sent dr. wanless india in 1889. in 1891, selected rustic town of miraj in maharashtra state mission hospital. mission started one-room dispensary in small rented place @ busy bazaar, , assisted wife, mary, trained nurse. rajah of miraj, rajah sir gangadharrao ganesh (bala saheb) patwardhan, provided him land hospital formally opened in 1894, in part of city known wanlesswadi.

with establishment of hospital, need higher quality medical care increasingly felt, , towards end school of nursing founded in 1897 under superintendence of miss elizabeth foster. has since steadily developed 1 of best nursing schools in maharashtra.

the mary wanless hospital founded in memory of wanless s first wife mary after death in 1906. called mary wanless hospital / miraj medical centre, still attracts hundreds of poor , needy patients across india , abroad. established miraj christian medical school in 1907, later graduated first group of 17 students, qualified teacher being wanless himself. in 1917 medical school recognized diploma of licentiate college of physicians , surgeons of mumbai (lcps), similar lrcp of royal college of surgeons (mrcs) of england.

wanless established tuberculosis sanatorium in 1920. @ time of retirement in 1928, money raised citizens , friends erect new building called wanless tuberculosis sanatorium, known wanless chest hospital. 1 of premier institutions in country.

the vail memorial cancer institute, named after dr. charles e. vail joined wanless 3 years later, , goheen psychiatric clinic started in 1937 , 1955 respectively. goheen clinic named after dr. robert h. h. goheen, father of robert francis goheen, these facilities have served purposes established, in providing quality health care irrespective of caste, creed, religion or financial means.

additionally, wanless established 5 outpost stations attached hospital, , paid hospital s staff of 125, living on missionary s salary sent bryn mawr presbyterian church, while donating personal staff salary mission.

retirement , legacy

in 1928, after forty years of medical missionary service in india, wanless retired live in united states. wrote book, medicine in india, on life doctor in india. died @ home, 1016 matillja street, glendale, california on march 3, 1933, , buried @ forest lawn memorial park in same city. wife lillian died in 1973 @ age of 99 years @ home in glendale, california. wanless s son harold later carried on father s tradition studying medicine @ university of toronto.

since inception on 115 years ago medical mission has grown institution consisting of 550-bed teaching hospital affiliated india s government medical college, college of nursing, institute of pharmacy , various paramedical programmes.

the wanless hospital , wanless chest hospital located in township of wanlesswadi , ‘wanless town’, made notable medical institutions. name given citizens in part of india , recognized federal government of india. wanlesswadi has own postal index number, 416414, , indian railways has station named wanlesswadi’ on miraj–sangli route, opened on april 1, 1907 use ill or needy patients across india , abroad.

as secondary , tertiary care centre, wanless hospital serves large part of western maharashtra , north karnataka. wanless hospital reputedly provides best possible medical care patients; institution comprehensive , dedicated health care.