Christian Medical College Vellore was started as a one-bedded clinic-cum-dispensary in 1900 by Dr Ida Sophia Scudder, the daughter of second-generation medical missionaries.

Today, this healthcare organisation of international repute includes a network of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care hospitals, with around 3844 beds spread across six campuses in and around Vellore, and in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.