Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences

Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences
Type	Public (Autonomous)
Established	August 1957; 67 years ago
Director	Dr. S. F. Kammar
Academic staff	334
Students	600 undergraduate students; 103 postgraduate students ; 100 nursing students; 100 paramedical students
Location	Hubballi, Karnataka, India
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences
Website	hubballikims.karnataka.gov.in; hubballikims.karnataka.gov.in/english

Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi (KIMS, Hubballi) is a medical school in Hubballi, India and is affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is one of the oldest government tertiary healthcare centers, and the largest multi-specialty hospital in North Karnataka, recognized by the National Medical Commission. In June 1997, the then Karnataka Medical College was accorded autonomous status and became the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi (KIMS, Hubballi)

History

Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi, (KIMS, Hubballi), formerly known as Karnataka Medical College, Hubballi, was established in August 1957 and is one of the oldest government medical colleges in Karnataka.^[1] For the first few years, the college was located in a building which was later known as J. G. Commerce College. The campus subsequently was shifted to the present location comprising 100 acres (0.40 km²) of land, on the Pune – Bangalore National Highway near Vidyanagar, Hubballi.^[1]

KIMS, Hubballi serves the society at large by providing tertiary health care services to the needy and developing the resources of health care providers and researchers.

The decade 1980-1990 changed the institute from being a nondescript hospital treating cancer patients to a well-known comprehensive regional center for cancer treatment and research. It is now capable of offering diagnostic and therapeutic services to cancer patients from Karnataka and neighboring states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. The institute was the first medical college in India to start a full-fledged post-graduate course in pediatrics.

For a brief period, due to a lack of political will and poor funding, there was a progressive decline in staff strength, facilities and services offered. The government of Karnataka organized a Governing Council, and, in June 1997, the then Karnataka Medical College was accorded autonomy and became the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi. The current objectives are:

1) providing comprehensive undergraduate and postgraduate medical and paramedical education and
2) developing facilities for:
- research,
- training,
- screening,
- diagnosis,
- treatment,
- rehabilitation,
- palliative care and
- preventive care

for society at large. It now has well trained staff.^[2]

There has been steady progress in the facilities and the health care services that are available at the institute. The institute is equipped to provide some specialty services like:

The Anti-Retroviral Treatment Center at KIMS, Hubballi has been recognized and is being developed as the nodal center for North Karnataka as well as the surrounding region.^[3] The Government of Karnataka has provided a cardiac catheterization lab to the Institute and has pledged to renew it as a Regional Cardiology Center.^[4] The institute has also been accorded the status of Institute of Excellence and recognized as a Training Center for WHO Fellowship. The addition of new blocks, Trauma Care Center and Maternal & Child Health Center^[5] is expected to increase the popularity of the hospital in the region. Phototherapy, dermabrasion and radio frequency have been newly added to the Department of Dermatology. The Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences at Hubbali was selected by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) making the facility the only government controlled body in Karnataka as a center of clinical trials. The center is among the handful of centers in the country that check the impact of any medicines or vaccines.^[6]