In a landmark achievement of Public Healthcare in Kerala, Department of Emergency Medicine at Government Medical College, Kottayam, has been awarded NABH Certification (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers - Emerald Award). This is the first time a government medical college in the state has received NABH accreditation. The certification was awarded for establishing the Emergency Medicine Department in full compliance with NABH standards. 

Kottayam Medical College had implemented a Quality Improvement Initiative project to ensure high-quality treatment, including in the casualty/emergency department. Steps have been initiated to start a Postgraduate (PG) course in Emergency Medicine. Kottayam Medical College Hospital has already achieved National LaQshya Certification and ‘A’ Grade accreditation from the Kerala University of Health Sciences. The NABH recognition was granted based on the improvements implemented across all areas, including patient-friendly services, safety protocols, hygiene, efficiency of emergency services, and quality control. This accreditation serves as proof that the hospital strictly follows precise guidelines to ensure higher standards of treatment and safer hospital systems for patients.

Kottayam Medical College, the third Medical College in Kerala, was established in 1962, which serves a large number of patients. For the first time in India, three major organs — heart, lungs, and kidney — were transplanted in a single day at this hospital. It was also the first lung transplant performed in a government hospital in the country. Eleven heart transplant surgeries have been conducted here, and liver transplant surgeries are also being performed regularly. It has a campus which spreads across 265 acres of beautiful land shared by two panchayats (Arpookkara and Athirampuzha) and Kottayam municipality. This is a tertiary care hospital catering to people from five districts including Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam.