Operating Theatre Expansion Project

%
$714,000 of $850,000

David Shirk
Project Description
With 50 surgeons sharing 8 operating theaters and a waiting list of up to a year for orthopedic and plastic surgery, Kijabe desperately needs to expand theatre capacity. 7 additional operating theaters, educational and storage space will be added with a build-time of two years. Initial goal of $450,000 for a first phase was passed, so the project will be approached as a continuous build with Friends of Kijabe target contributions of $800,000 and Kijabe Hospital contributions of $300,000.
*Above was the original funding plan. As the hospital takes a major revenue hit due to COVID-19, plans for total contribution may need to adjust accordingly. Construction is proceeding on schedule.

Ground Floor

Upper Floor
Project Updates
March 2021
March 2020
May 2020
Theatre Proposal Word Document
Looking at the history of what Kijabe has been and where it is today, the places it’s been through, and what has been happening at the hospital in the few years I have been here, one thing is apparent, Kijabe must have been set up with God’s mission at the purpose at the center of it.
Somehow, every day, there are patients whose lives are permanently changed because of what we do, and somehow it seems this happens in spite of us! We look at the big picture and see that God is still at work, his work will still go on. People are coming, needy patients are coming, people in distress from physical or spiritual conditions. Our job as physicians is to look at this and choose to be a part of this.
I see and experience God in real, tangible ways here. I don’t think I had to leave the US to experience that, but it is making an intentional choice to follow where you think God is leading.
Seeing what He is doing in Kijabe. Hearing the stories of where this hospital started over a hundred years ago, the improbabilities of it being what it is today, seeing so many of my colleagues, what they are doing. . .witnessing these miraculous outcomes.
Even yesterday I was giving exposure to an orthopaedic surgeon and neurosurgeon to the top of the spine through the mouth. The patient comes in barely able to move and he’s going to leave being able to walk. To me that’s just miraculous.
Being part of that is really, really fun. It’s really compelling. It’s what draws me in and keeps me here.
When I see a patient coming, I can identify with them. In 2012 I was an orthopedic patient here. I had an injury, was treated in a different facility, and here I got the optimal treatment. I am what I am today because of the treatment I got here at Kijabe.
If you look at the numbers, you can get discouraged. What makes a difference is, when you focus on that patient you are operating on at that time, when you fix them well. Deriving joy from that patient is what makes you go on each and every day.
The lack of safe anesthesia and safe surgery account for more deaths than HIV, TB, and Malaria all added together. Though it’s not easy to corral these diseases, they can all be cured with medication, HIV can be stopped, TB and Malaria can be cured. Safe surgery, safe anesthesia, you need skilled practitioners operating in a complex structure. That’s why it’s so much harder to get a handle on it, the structure involved and the timeline to train people is so long.
In many ways, I feel like what we are doing at Kijabe is a drop in the bucket. There’s maybe 1,000 well-trained clinicians in Kenya able to safely administer anesthesia, for a country of 50 million. But it’s like the mother Theresa quote, “if you cannot feed 1,000 people, feed one.”
I think of that often when we are doing surgery that can be life changing for a Kenyan child.
Meet the Surgery Team

General Surgery & Urology
Dr. Juma Irungu
Dr. Jack Barasa

ENT

Neurosurgery
We’re grateful to Dr. Kim for serving at Kijabe for the past years. Please pray for the neurosurgery service, that God would provide the right surgeon to join the Bethany Kids Kijabe Hospital team.

Plastic Surgery
Dr. Peter Nthumba
Dr. Justin Daggett
Plastic surgery service needs to expand to meet patient needs and provide opportunity for fellowship training.

Orthopaedics

Orthopaedics

OBS/GYN




Patient Blessing is currently waiting 11 months for her next corrective burn surgery.
2018-2019 College Football Giving Scoreboard
The Ohio State – $60,087.87
University of Alabama Birmingham – $26,300
Alabama – $25,125
Auburn – $22,150
Arkansas – $19,551
Clemson – $16,750
Georgia – $13,762
Vanderbilt – $5000
Penn State – $1281
Texas A&M – $102.5
Georgia Tech – $30.50
Thanks so much to all who gave in honor of their favorite team!
2019-2020 College Football Giving Scoreboard
Clemson: $49675
UGA: $8357
Lenoir-Rhyne: $7300
The Ohio State: $7200
UGA: $6000
Alabama: $5915
Michigan State: $5000
University of Texas: $4800
GA Tech: $3857
Auburn: $2725
Clemson: $2400
Florida: $1500
Michigan: $1200
Washington: $1025
UNC: $600
Penn State: $256