The Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA) is the commitment of Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore to provide quality of care to the poor and underprivileged population and serve the marginalized and people in need through health care, community development, training and research. A department of CMC Vellore, we believe that each of these components will reinforce and enhance the others resulting in holistic, more integrated, and sustainable social development, leading to a better quality of life. We work towards fulfilling the dream of a healthy and happy community, socially and economically empowered, just and inclusive, compassionate, and caring, rooted in values, and dedicated to the well-being of all.
What initially started as a Kavanur rural clinic in 1944 was transformed into a rural unit for health and social affairs (RUHSA) in 1977 realizing the fact that socio-economic development go hand in hand with health care to improve the well-being and overall quality of life of people. RUHSA was chosen in a most backward rural development block in Vellore district – K V Kuppam block and continues to transform the lives of people using principles of primary health care and socio-economic development through a holistic approach.
K V Kuppam block is a 100% rural area with a population of 138, 803 as per our last census in 2015 and a female-male ratio of 1.02. The overall literacy rate is 84.5% with female literacy being 88.6% and male literacy rate of 80.4%. Majority of the block residents follow Hindu religion and about 3% belong to other religions, including Christianity and Islam. Most of the inhabitants in the block subsist on agriculture and linked occupations. There is a recent trend among young men in the rural areas to migrate to the nearby urban towns and cities to work as labourers or get into alternate professions. Some of the other occupations are weaving, poultry farming, rope making, dairy farming and “Beedi” (country cigarettes) making.
The K V Kuppam block is divided into 18 peripheral service units (PSUs) for provision of primary health services to the community. Each PSU caters to a population of about 7-8, 000 and helps in reaching out to the people in the entire block. A team comprising of a doctor, nurse, rural community officer (RCO-Social worker), health aides and family care volunteer visits each PSU once a month and conducts half-a-day clinic while a nurse-led clinic and community house visits are organized once a month under each PSU. RUHSA is a 23 acres residential campus which houses the secondary hospital, a 64-bedded in-patient facility, residential quarters for doctors, nurses and emergency support staff, administrative building, chapel, hostels, canteen, a recreation center, NOOAH guest house and a community college among others.
