Christian Hospital in Greece Looks to Expand its Ministry

One of the best hospitals in the entire Balkan region will be expanding to stay competitive in a country where their faith can sometimes be a barrier.

By Kenneth Chan, Saturday, March 05, 2005

AMG International’s St. Luke's Hospital, considered one of the best hospitals in the entire Balkan region, will be expanding to stay competitive in a country where their faith can sometimes be a barrier.

"We want to offer our patients the most modern and effective treatment and, at the same time, have the opportunity to speak to them about Christ so that we may continue the combination of modern medicine with evangelism, " AMG International's Demosthenis Kartsakas told the Mission Network News (MNN) in a recent interview.

According to MNN, the leadership of AMG wanted to establish a medical center in northern Greece that would offer a successful combination of modern medical treatment and a spiritual approach to the sick. And in April of 1975, that dream began.

Now, every year since the hospital's establishment, the number of patients continues to increase dramatically. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to handle the large number of people seeking medical treatment.

Currently, teams are raising the 20-million dollars needed for the expansion, as it moves its expansion project along. Kartsakas said they’d be adding bed space, radiology, intensive care units, outpatient surgery and dialysis facilities.

"We hope to start next month, and we need 24 months to complete the work,” Kartsakas told MNN. “This is the final plan. We start at the beginning of April, and just two years later, we shall have everything completed."

As reported by MNN, one unique factor that sets St. Luke's apart is that profits from the hospital are used to support the missionary work of AMG International. Meanwhile, food and medical supplies are provided for AMG's orphanage in Albania and to clinics in Romania. St. Luke's also gave a substantial gift for the completion of AMG's seminary in Indonesia.