Our Beginnings
East Shore Hospital (ESH) started in the 1930s as the Paglar Maternity and Nursing Home, having been founded by Dr Paglar, a Eurasian general practitioner.
In 1970, Dr Leo Taylor, an English gentleman, purchased the hospital from the Paglar family and renamed it St Mark's Maternity Hospital. Two years later it was sold to property developers for construction of condominiums on the site. However, the existing land was zoned for hospital use. Dr Sundarason and a group of doctors and businessmen bought the property from Hong Leong in 1974.
The new owners refurbished and modernised the existing facilities, and it commenced operations in September 1974 as the 45-bed St Mark's Hospital. In 1977, Dr Yahya Cohen together with American Medical International (AMI) Inc entered into a joint venture arrangement with St Mark's Hospital to form St Mark's AMI Pte Ltd in May 1979.
In 1982, the hospital further expanded by purchasing another 40,000 sq ft of land adjoining the existing hospital. The number of beds in the hospital increased from 45 to 49 in 1982. In 1983, AMI became the sole owner of East Shore Hospital and the facility was renamed The American Hospital of Singapore. It began offering speciality services in General Surgery, Emergency Medicine and Cardiology/Internal Medicine.
In 1985, a paediatric ward and a urology unit were opened. A Medical Office building to house specialty clinics was built in December 1986. In March 1987, 25 specialist tenants moved into their clinics.
In 1989, National Medical Enterprises Inc acquired East Shore Hospital. It continued to run East Shore Hospital until 1995 when Parkway Holdings Ltd, who also owns Gleneagles Hospital, bought East Shore Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Hospital, making it the largest private healthcare organisation in Singapore. East Shore Hospital has since increased its bed capacity to 123.
East Shore Hospital has continued this tradition to maintain its position as a preferred healthcare provider serving primarily the eastern sector of Singapore. What sets the hospital apart is that with the warmth and care of our staff, our patients have no hesitation in choosing this hospital for any further medical attention they require, or recommending us to their loved ones, far and wide.
East Shore Hospital is committed to develop its staff to provide continued excellence in healthcare. Every effort in continuing education and training is made towards staff career development and systems are being put in place to monitor their skills development. The hospital achieved the Productivity Service Board's (PSB) "People Developer Standard" in July 2001.
