Gertrude’s Hospital Marks 75Th Anniversary, Unveils Robust Growth Plan

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital has celebrated its 75^th anniversary of providing healthcare to children in the region and unveiled an ambitious medium-term growth plan for the next five years.

According to the new strategic direction announced by Chief Executive Officer Dr. Robert Nyarango, the region’s leading and exclusive children’s hospital will prioritize expanding services to more counties across the country while also growing its medical tourism model to seven countries in the Eastern Africa region to provide tertiary and quaternary care to children there.

“As we celebrate our 75^th anniversary, we have exciting plans to continue growing Gertrude’s over the next 75 years, so we can improve access to care for even more children and young people who need our specialist care…now and in the future,” Dr. Nyarango said.

Since its inception as a children’s convalescent home in 1947, the hospital has evolved and expanded to become a Level 5 Tertiary Referral, Teaching, and Research Children’s Hospital. Today, the not-for-profit Children’s Hospital is the most recognized pediatric hospital in Eastern and Central Africa and is accredited internationally by the Joint Commission International USA, for its quality and safety. Gertrude attends to over 400,000 patients annually through a network of 17 branches, providing the full continuum of pediatric services ranging from primary care to interventions for complex conditions like congenital heart disease, pediatric cancer, and pediatric genetic conditions.

“We have expert teams, equipment, and facilities, available 24 hours a day. Children come to us from all over Kenya and beyond, utilizing 27 aspects of pediatric specialization, as well as our teens’ clinic providing comprehensive healthcare to teenagers and young adults,” explains Dr. Nyarango.

As part of the expansion plan, the hospital recently opened the Kisumu clinic, with the Meru Clinic set to open soon. In addition, the hospital has implemented a Telemedicine program in four counties: Lamu, Homa Bay, Samburu, and Baringo to provide pediatrician consultations to patients in areas with no or a limited number of pediatricians. The DaktariSmart® initiative, which is funded by MPESA Foundation and Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation, will be expanded to more counties once the first phase is completed.

Gertrude’s has also rolled out a plan to establish pediatric outpatient access clinics to reach many children in low- and middle-income communities throughout the Nairobi metropolitan area. The first two clinics will open in the next three months, according to Dr. Nyarango.

In addition, the hospital has started a process to expand access to life-saving interventions (heart surgeries and interventional cardiology) for children born with congenital heart disease. To that end, the hospital, in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation, will offer highly subsidized heart surgeries every week, all year round. The construction of a pediatric bone marrow transplant unit to enhance the hospital’s pediatric cancer care program has also started.

The hospital is also in the process of establishing Centres of Excellence in 12 pediatric specialties at its Muthaiga campus. The Centres of Excellence will provide specialized treatment, specialty training, and research.