St. Thomas Hospital, Chethipuzha, Changanassery is a health care institution owned and run by the Archdiocese of Changanassery. Now, when the hospital celebrates its Golden Jubilee, it has many things to say about the past. When it was started in 1953, it was the first of its kind to be started by a Christian diocese in Travancore. It was the realization of a dream of Archbishop Mar Mathew Kavukattu who is the founder of the hospital. He was a man of vision and mission and a friend of the poor. There was hardly any similar institution in Changanassery when this hospital started functioning except the Taluk hospital and a few dispensaries. A hospital with at least minimum facilities was a felt- need of the times. The medical college of Thiruvananthapuram is 150 km away and general hospital of the Government 25 km away. Thus the people in Changanassery and around had very hard times to get emergency medical assistance.

      It was at this juncture that Archbishop Mar Mathew Kavukattu took brave steps to establish a hospital. His vision about this is clear from the address presented to His Eminence Cardinal Tisserant Prefect of the Oriental Congregation and who represented the Pope to bless the hospital in 1953. The address says “we are now launching out into a new field yet uncharted, the field of medical service. We are sure that this venture which your Eminence is pleased to bless, will progress with steady steps and eventually grow into a medical college and fulfill a great need and do untold service to suffering humanity without distinction of caste and creed. Your Eminences blessings is our greatest asset”.