A 106-year-old dilapidated hospital has become a state-of-the-art healthcare facility in Maharashtra, thanks to a Catholic priest.

Giving a new lease of life to the Morarji Gokaldas Rural Hospital in Mahabaleshwar is among several success stories of Father Tomy Kariyilakulam, who has revolutionized the healthcare scenario of Satara district after he entered the western Indian state a quarter century ago.

“This could be a role model for India to improve public health delivery, without privatization or corporatization,” the 54-year-old priest, popularly called Father Tomy, told Matters India.

The member of the Kerala-based Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament says he draws on “unique collaboration” among the state government, Red Cross of India and corporate houses to improve a few hospitals and nearly 80 public health centers in the district.

The Mahabaleshwar hospital, a government enterprise, boasts of a hoary past as its foundation stone was laid in 1914 by Lord Thomas Willingdon, the then governor of Bombay. It was originally meant for the use of locals and British tourists.

Despite its hoary past, the hospital — sprawled on an 11-acre forest land adjacent to the Mahabaleshwar market — was a decript structure that resembled “a ghost house” when the Catholic priest started the renovation works at the invitation of the Maharashtra government.

Doctor Amrish Vaidya of Mumbai, whose family has a 100-year-old association with Mahabaleshwar, thanks the Catholic priest for converting “a very basic rural” healthcare institution into a well-equipped facility. “It is now ready for the next level of care for the local population,” he said at the soft launch of renovated hospital on May 8.