It was in the early fifties, when Most Rev. V. Selvanather, the then Bishop of Salem, during his visit to R.C. Chettipatty,  Omalur, again and again encountered people afflicted with Leprosy. The Bishop was confronted with indescribable  human misery and deprivation and he sympathized deeply with these patients. This moving experience urged him to  look out for ways and means to establish in this area a Centre, where these unfortunate persons could find care and  relief from their sufferings.  It seemed providential that just at that moment a French Nurse, Ms. Marie Denis, who had previously acquired some  relevant experiences in Leprosy Colonies in the Congo and in South India, placed before the Bishop of Salem the desire  to dedicate herself to the care of leprosy patients somewhere in a little village. Thus, in January 1956, the LEPROSY  RELIEF RURAL CENTRE was born in R.C.Chettipatty.  The Bishop acquired a piece of land and made it his task to provide living quarters for Ms. Marie Denis and her helpers.  He also constructed a spacious, well equipped dispensary, which today still serves its purpose, and a hut to  accommodate 'four' cots for in-patients.  The real growth started at this Centre with the coming of Dr. Elisabeth Vomstein, a German National. She arrived in  India in the year 1960 and landed in CHETTIPATTY in January 1961.  Government recognition followed shortly and the activities of the Centre were integrated with the National Leprosy  Control Programme (NLCP), which was constituted in 1955.  Chettipatty was the first Centre in India to come under the patronage of the GERMAN LEPROSY RELIEF  ASSOCIATION, a Funding Agency in Germany. From its inception Dr. Elizabeth Vomstein was the guiding force in its  development.  More than 22,000 Leprosy afflicted persons treated here had been declared cured. The incidence of Leprosy which was  40/1000 was reduced to <1/10,000 population. It has been approved centre by Government for reconstructive surgery  for leprosy defected persons for 6 Districts - Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.  In the year 1988 treatment for Tuberculosis was started by the Leprosy Relief Rural Centre in the whole of Omalur Taluk  with the help of German Leprosy Relief Association (GLRA), Germany in 53 villages. Drugs were provided at the  doorsteps by employing village health volunteers. The programme was recognized by the Government of India and  drugs under NTCP (National Tuberculosis Control Programme) were provided by them. Patients under serious condition  were admitted in the hospital. The response from the people was so good that more than 4000 Tuberculosis patients  have been cured. From September 2000, the Centre was recognized as TU and RNTCP continues to function with 5  lakhs population.