Kijabe Hospital, Kenya
Kijabe Hospital was founded in 1916 and is run by the Africa Inland Church, the largest Protestant denomination in Kenya. A 205-bed facility located an hour north of Nairobi, it has grown to become one of the most respected Kenyan hospitals offering quality, affordable care to poor and non-poor alike. In combination with the A.I.C. - CURE International Children's Hospital of Kenya, next door, the complex draws individuals from a very wide area, including all parts of Kenya, Somalia, and occasionally Sudan and Uganda. A large percentage of patients are traditional Maasai pastoralists. The hospital is staffed by Kenyans and expatriate missionaries from Africa Inland Mission or World Medical Mission. At any time, there may be three or four family practitioners, three general surgeons, an orthopedist, a pathologist, and an internist. In terms of Kenyan healthcare providers, there is one surgeon, four medical interns, six clinical officers (physician assistants), orthopedic and obstetrician/gynecologist trainees, and family practice residency program, and additional trainees from around Africa.
The mission statement of Kijabe Hospital declares:
With God’s help and to His Glory, A.I.C. Kijabe Hospital seeks to provide excellence in compassionate health care, education, and spiritual ministry, in Jesus’ name.
The primary goals of Kijabe Hospital are:
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To provide the best medical and preventive care within the limits of the local situation, maintaining those standards acceptable to the Director of Medical Services of the Kenyan Government. This includes and requires high quality hospital supporting services.
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To provide this care within the context of biblical community, by developing a team spirit in which every member is committed to the well-being and maturation, both professionally and spiritually, of all team members.
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To train the spiritual needs of all those who come seeking medical care including the evangelism of the lost and discipleship of believers.
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To train Kenyan personnel for the continuation of the above hospital goals and the spread of the gospel by means of medical ministry.
The institution is well-equipped for a rural African
church hospital serving the poor. Facilities include: modern operating
theatres, endoscopy, wall oxygen, reliable generator back-up, intensive care
with ventilatory support, radiography, ultrasound, pathology, chemistry and
hematology analyzers, microbiology, longitudinal medical records, a
well-stocked pharmacy with computerized inventory, and internet access.
The institution faces many challenges. AIDS and tuberculosis are rampant.
Trauma from dangerous working conditions and roads is prevalent. Most Kenyan
women lack access to quality pre-natal care, leading to often disastrous
outcomes. Poor sanitation contributes to typhoid fever.
Kijabe Hospital endeavors to provide quality care--not just any care--to an impoverished East African population. Because such care is expensive, many patients are unable to pay, forcing the hospital to absorb a large amount of debt. (No patient in need of urgent care is turned away.) These financial pressures make it difficult to expand infrastructure and hire Kenyan medical staff. Patients often cede the title to family land as surety. Kijabe could solve its financial problems by seizing and selling this land, but such an act is not consistent with its Christian mission and values.
Kijabe Hospital and its staff strive to make known the love of God for the world shown in the gift of His son Jesus Christ. Chapel and staff prayer form an integral part of the pattern of life at Kijabe. Christian social and personal values are expected and upheld. Patients and their families are prayed for and with. Those who wish to join the Christian faith are welcomed.
Many Christian mission hospitals have suffered from poverty and indifference. Yet, Kijabe Hospital stands prepared, guided by the Holy Spirit, to continue to meet the needs of a fallen world.
