Photo by Sarah Day Smith for HJFMRI
The reputation of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu, Kenya, was experiencing a downward slide among expectant mothers in the community. Exaggerations and falsehoods about the facility spread on Facebook, but some complaints couldn’t be dismissed as misinformation.
“The floor was just terrible,” admits one nurse about the hospital’s maternity unit. “It had potholes! It wasn’t good for our mothers, who we take around in wheelchairs.”
Conditions were driving women to seek care at other hospitals, so officials approached the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) data to action program about possible improvements.
“When they approached with this information, and they thought it was keeping mothers out, they asked for funds to be able to renovate it,” said Dr. Dickens Onyango, Kisumu County health director and CHAMPS co-investigator. With CHAMPS data to action funds and support from HJFMRI, the hospital has been able to redo the deteriorating floors and improve the maternity ward drainage system. “It makes it safer for the mothers who come to deliver, and seeing the improvements, they feel like they can deliver with dignity.”
HJFMRI staff supported this effort by providing overall project oversight, procurement, and financial management support. Working closely with contractors and hospital leadership ensured that renovations were completed in a timely manner and within budget.
The CHAMPS program collects data on preventable causes of infant and child mortality to inform public health action and address specific issues in care. By fixing maternity ward infrastructure and improving sanitation, the program helps ensure mothers and babies receive timely, safe care during delivery and beyond.
Since the renovations, the hospital has seen a rise in the number of mothers choosing JOOTRH to deliver. “Right now, the patient numbers are increasing,” said one nurse. “We are seeing many mothers walking in and appreciating the new environment they find themselves.” The updates have also made the hospital more inclusive; washrooms now include features catering to the customs of its Muslim delivering mothers.
“I chose this hospital because it’s very clean,” explained Doreen, as JOOTRH midwives nearby tended to her one-hour old baby. “The doctors and the nurses here are very protective of us. They care for us a lot.”