Kenya Update 6 - some final visits and homeward bound
Today is my last full day in Kenya. Flight to Nairobi this eve.
Started the day with a visit to the Karunga school and almost 100 kids. No money for any sort of food program or supplements, which means most of the kids go without lunch at all. NIHS does a medical outreach here for de-worming and immunizations. Kids in bright purple uniforms, as usual smiling and giggling. They flood to anywhere a camera is shown! Met the teachers and looked at classrooms NI helped to fund and build. Momma Helen (aka Momma Jeff Krueger) was there to meet. We met Momma Mylka on the way to Karunga.
Also briefly toured the thatched roof hut village of Karunga itself.
Back to Miwani. Packed out. Met nurse John who is quite personal and rides his bicycle once per week to work at NIHS while Esther is out doing immunizations/outreach. He is married to a nurse who also works in a health center. One child, 8 mos old.
He is most interested in preventative disease, and education that goes with that. He seems very interested to work more with NIHS.
Said goodbye to Esther and staff.
Off to Kisumu to tour “Russia” hospital (named such because the Russians mostly built it before it became part of the Kenyan NHS), or actually New Nyanza Provincial Hospital. I was prepared to be disappointed, but they have greatly improved services compared to a year ago (I am told)! New building for labor and delivery – new as of less than 1 year ago. They macerate placentas and the remains go into a placenta pit. Four active delivery beds and 2 infant warmers. Post-partum moms go to another (old) hospital area; which looked crowded but not too bad. Nice staff overall, very committed to care and providing excellent services. 15-20 deliveries per day, and roughly 2-3 C-sections per day. So amazing to see people/families everywhere washing bodies and doing laundry and hanging patient laundry up on outside clotheslines; all on hospital grounds. The A&E sees roughly 30 per day, and admits usually 15. Peds usually go directly to the peds outpatient area – The Mitchell Obama Children’s outpatient unit (yes, they spelled Michelle Obama’s name that way!). There they get evaluated for admit.
501 beds. No waiting for beds from the A&E. You simply go upstairs, and if need be, you get into bed with another patient!! Or 2. Only exception – ICU admits, they are kept in the A&E until a bed opens. 2 exam rooms in the A&E, and one minor theater.
Peds wards (here called the Obama Children’s Hospital) were not too busy, maybe half full – yet several sections for various problems – malnourished section (this one nearly full), communicable diseases, age under 3, age over 3, an oral rehydration observation unit (where if they do not improve, they get admitted with an IV). Areas looked “clean”, compared to what I have seen.
Overall a much better facility than I expected. No MRI, but they do have CT.
Off to the Green Garden Restaurant for pizza and a great virgin lemon juice-Mojito w ground mint leaves (thinking later this was the only potential source of possibly contaminated water/juice I have had – time will tell!!). Then goodbyes and flight to Nairobi. Off to be for an early morning trip to Amsterdam, then Frankfurt, then home Sunday 26 February.