Garst, Ronald Joseph

Ronald Joseph Garst

Garst, Ronald Joseph (1918-2009) Orthopedic Surgeon, Educator and Social Worker. He was born in Oklahoma state of USA. Since 1954 he was in service at the Union Methodist Missionary at Ludhiana, Punjab, India; where he established the Christian Medical College and Hospital. His deep concern about the fact that there was only one Orthopedic Surgeon in Bangladesh who also left the country after independence motivated him with his wife to move to Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1972 to start a 100 bed Orthopedic unit in Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar with voluntary staffs to treat wounded freedom fighters of Bangladesh independence war.

Later on the capacity of the unit was raised to 250 and further more to 350 where training of local doctors in Orthopedics started by introducing MS (Orth) and Diploma in Orthopedics courses under the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies of the University of Dhaka. Side by side courses and training facilities were also added for plastic Surgery, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Orthopedic Nursing, Artificial Limb and Brace Fabrication center, Spinal Injury treatment and rehabilitation etc. Many local and International Organizations extended their help in enriching that hospital. There Mrs Mary Garst pioneered and contributed in establishing the Hospital Library.

With help from Bangladesh Government and other foreign donors he as Project Director established Rehabilitation Institute and Hospital for the Disabled (RIHD) at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka with a facility for 400 in- patients where all patients from Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital were shifted to the new venue of RIHD. He was also a frequent visitor to peripheral Medical College Hospitals to see Orthopedic patients.

Even after his retirement in 1980, he continued his visit to Bangladesh for few months every year to render his services for Orthopedic education and patient care. In 1988, Bangladesh Government awarded him honorary citizenship of Bangladesh in recognition of his service to freedom fighters and citizens.

RIHD was later renamed as National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), which is now a 1200 bed Orthopedic hospital being largest Orthopedic Hospital in South Asia and serving the country as the prime center for Orthopedic Education, Research, Training and patients’ care. The Founder of the hospital Dr. Ronald Joseph Garst breathed his last on 15 August 2009 in his residence at Tennessee State of USA. [MKI Quayyum Choudhury]