Page 6 - American Mission Hospital Benefit Art Exhibition (1892-1992)_Neat

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN MISSION HOSPITAL

Bahrain Hp wit f , 892’ Samuel Zwemer made his first visit to
Refofmpri rhnth l'rst rePresentativ® of the Arabian Mission of the
Reformed Church in America to serve on the island. He had included
some medicines in his baggage. Distributing these, he discovered, not only
fbr£nrt?ThnSI?erablVelief t0 suffering people, but also won him many
friends. Therefore, when he returned to the island in 1893, he rented a
room m the Manama souk where he operated a small dispensary. It is from
this humble beginning that the American Mission Hospital traces its
development.

At the medical services were intermittently offered by Zwemer
anc* °f' sionaries, and . 'onally by mission physicians who
included '.in in their to; : nd the Gulf. Then in 1896, Samuel
Zweme. an Australis Amy Wilkes, and the couple took up
resident: : nrain. Amy’s : e and skills improved the quality of
care give • dispensary, - :;ed for doctors was apparent.
i
Sharon Thoms was the fir, tor assigned to Bahrain. He had
scarcely arrived when a pearl dive;, who had been attacked by a shark,
was brought to him for care. Dr. Thoms operated on the man in order to
clean and close his wounds. This was probably the first operation
performed on the island wit,, the benefit of anesthesia.

A family in New York donated $6000 to the mission. This money was
used to build the first hospital - Mason Memorial - which began receiving
patients at the end of 1902. The hospital was formally dedicated in January
1903. It did not take long for this first hospital in Bahrain to become quite
busy, and more doctors and nurses were added to the staff. Some of their
names are well remembered in Bahrain - Paul Harrison, Stanley Mylrea,
Lewis Dame, and Harold Storm, to name but a few. A second hospital
building was erected in 1926 with additions being made to it in 1946.

Following World War II, the government increased its role in providing
healthcare services. However, the mission hospitals remained busy. In
order to modernize, the old Mason Memorial Hospital was demolished
and replaced by new buildings in 1962. The entire complex was renamed,
“American Mission Hospital”. In spite of this, decline set in during the
1970's and 1980's and there were thoughts of closing the hospital. But
many leaders and people in the community indicated a desire for the
institution to continue, and officially, the development of a private
healthcare sector has been encouraged. In response to .this, American
Mission Hospital has expanded its services during recent years to
complement those offered by the Ministry of Health and other providers
on the island.

Today, American Mission Hospital is an independent, private,
not-for-profit healthcare institution that seeks to offer high quality services
at reasonable prices to all members of our community. While the operation
of the hospital is self supporting, donations to the hospital enhance our
ability to offer care at reduced cost to needy individuals, and to purchase
necessary, equipment. We thank His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Isa bin
Salman Al-Khalifa, and all of the people of Bahrain for the opportunity to
serve, and for the encouragement we receive in so doing.