NORTHERN Province’s Elim Hospital, which has earned an international reputation over the past 100 years for its community work and eye treatment, has been revamped at a cost of R14-million. The new hospital complex, called the Centenary Building, was officially opened in Elim outside Louis Trichardt on Tuesday. Until the early 20th Century, Elim Hospital was the only hospital north of Pretoria. It was the first to diagnose and treat the eye disease trachoma, which is caused by water-borne bacteria and can lead to blindness. The hospital’s Care Group initiative, which is an holistic outreach programme that dispenses treatment and advice in communities, has been successfully copied in Mozambique, Kenya and Ghana. The Tropical Institute in Switzerland is studying Elim’s methods. – African Eye News Service