Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children and Research Centre (BJWHC) is the first Pediatric Hospital established in India, meant exclusively to provide comprehensive healthcare to children with a variety of health problems in an affordable manner. The foundation stone for the hospital was laid on 7th March, 1928, when no large hospitals existing at the time had a Pediatric Department. Built in the memory of Bai Jerbai Wadia by her two sons, the late Sir Cusrow N Wadia and the late Sir Ness N Wadia, the 78 bedded hospital which included an Orthopedic Factory was declared open on 13th December, 1929, by the then Governor of Bombay, Sir Frederick Sykes. The Bombay Municipal Corporation has continuously and generously contributed to this cooperative endeavor from the time of inception. Dr. RN Cooper was the first Hon. Principal Medical Officer of the hospital. Pediatrics made a beginning in Mumbai as a specialty in 1928, when Dr. George Coelho, rightly called the Father of Indian Pediatrics, became the Superintendent of BJWHC.. Between 1929 – 1958 the BJWHC was the only hospital dedicated exclusively to children and imparted training to undergraduate students from G.S. Known for its academic excellence, many senior pediatricians of today have been trained at BJWHC. BJWHC has been providing charitable services for past 85 years to the most vulnerable section of society – "the sick child". It has been serving not only as community clinic for common health needs of children, but also as a tertiary referral center, where complex cases are referred from various parts of the country for diagnostic workup and specialized treatment. Currently the 300 bedded BJWHC is manned by an expert team comprising of more than 60 pediatric specialists providing care for over 100,000 children on an outpatient basis, and around 10,000 children as inpatients annually and is also the nodal center for Clubfoot in Maharashtra
