The Cardiothoracic Center at Tenwek Hospital (CTC) will be a state-of-the-art unit to care for patients needing life-saving heart, esophageal, and lung cancer surgeries. The 175-bed CTC will house six cardiac operating rooms, a cardiac catheterization lab, an endoscopy suite with four procedure rooms, and a chapel.

Hospital leaders dedicate the recently completed Resident Housing.

The apartments for physician trainees are now open and occupied. The infrastructure upgrades required to build the CTC – including building excavation, electrical service, sewage treatment, and water purification – are well underway.

A funder has stepped forward to pledge all the remaining funds needed to complete construction of the CTC! Hospital leaders expect construction to begin in May and are seeking an exemption from the usual 16% government tax. Please pray with us for a favorable decision.

COVID-19 vaccinations arrive at Tenwek.

In mid-April, Tenwek Hospital saw an increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases – from only five cases in January and eight in February, to 52 new cases in March, including 12 staff members or students. The COVID-19 Holding Area and Care Unit (CHACU) has been at full capacity consistently through April, with resumed use of the Lower Holding Area.

Respiratory therapist Annette Lievaart notes the installation of a new oxygen concentrator – funded by FOT – has been a lifesaver. While the COVID medical team is providing optimal care for complex patients, most patients who are placed on ventilators do not recover. “The moral toll of losing these patients is hard on the staff especially, as our COVID patients appear more stable before being placed on a ventilator – able to converse and ask questions,” explains Annette. “This gives us the opportunity to share Christ and pray with them, which we are thankful for. But deaths are still hard.”

Tenwek has not postponed regular services during the pandemic and long-term staff have served for over a year without the assistance of visiting staff. Less than 100 visitors served at Tenwek in 2020 – about one third of the number from the previous year. As a result, physician assistant Val Sleeth reports that both missionary and national staff are feeling stretched and weary. “There is still great fear and stigma surrounding COVID in our community … and a cultural fear around the vaccine. We are in the ‘third wave’ now, which is really the first serious wave for our community.”

Shem Tangus, Tenwek’s CEO, recently told hospital staff, “Our Spiritual Ministry theme this season is Courage, which is especially imperative at this time. Living in itself takes courage because we find ourselves facing trials and tribulations of every kind regularly. But courage is not the absence of fear, rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. I pray that our service will be greater than fear.”

With travel restrictions being eased and testing more available, visits by short-term staff are beginning to resume at prepandemic levels. Sanitation and social distancing measures remain in place throughout the hospital and nearly 700 Tenwek staff have been vaccinated, as well as most missionary families. Travel to and from Nairobi for arrival and departure has not been impeded.

Service at Tenwek has never been more meaningful or needed. Learn more about a medical mission visit here. 

HMIS Upgrade Project is Underway!

The installation and integration of two new software systems to update and enhance how Tenwek manages electronic medical records, financials, and operations is underway. We praise God – to date, FOT donors have generously contributed $460,467 of the project’s $520,000 cost.

While Tenwek is committed to cover any balance, FOT’s goal is to raise the remaining $59,533 cost of the software. This will provide the hospital with greater flexibility and margin in its operating budget. As the project proceeds, FOT will continue to raise funds.

Hospital CEO Shem Tangus expressed his thanks to FOT donors. “We strongly believe that the new system will be essential in managing the day-to-day hospital operations including patient care management, financial management and human capital management. The new Health Management Information System will transform our operations and will help us provide more efficient and effective support to the clinical teams while they serve patients for the honor and glory of Christ. For this, we say thank you and we commit to be great stewards of this great gift.”

To make a gift to the HMIS project, use the button below to access a secure, online form.

In 2013, with support from FOT, Tenwek introduced its first Health Management Information System (HMIS). This massive project created integrated electronic patient records; streamlined patient accounting; improved payroll processing and personnel records; and enhanced the hospital’s ability to monitor, assess, and forecast its financial information. As a result, Tenwek’s patient care and administrative operations were significantly improved.

Tenwek’s medical staff appreciates the opportunities provided by electronic patient medical records and administrators value the financial insights the integrated HMIS has provided. They are eager to implement an update that will further enhance care and improve processes.

The time and expense invested in building a network, installing workstations and training Tenwek staff to handle a computerized process laid the groundwork for future upgrades – and the future is now!

Tenwek is embarking on a new business model that will enable hospital administrators to conduct an accurate assessment of the profit and loss components of its medical services with analysis by cost-centers. Recognizing that “with no margin, there is no mission,” the new IT DOSE clinical system, in combination with Kinetics financial package, will provide more efficient delivery of patient care as well as clarity on how to maximize the hospital’s opportunities for revenue in order to cover services for needy patients.

The new HMIS is an essential element of Tenwek’s tomorrow. It will lay the groundwork for continued hospital growth and help build a more sustainable future.

Because this is a critical need – and can be effectively addressed even in the midst of the pandemic – the FOT Board is making it an immediate priority to raise $250,000 – approximately one-half of the system’s cost – as soon as possible. To make a gift in support of this critical initiative, please use the button below to access a secure, online form.

Many of you have asked about the impact of COVID-19 at Tenwek Hospital and how you can help. We recently received the following list of prayer requests from Tenwek Hospital’s Medical Director and Acting President.

Please join us in prayer for the needs listed below. We have opened an FOT “Prayer Room” where you can sign up for a slot of time to pray for Tenwek during September.

KINDLY JOIN US IN PRAYER FOR:
• Sufficient measures to curb the pandemic in Kenya to prevent hospitals, nation-wide, from becoming overwhelmed
• Adequate rest and peace for our entire Tenwek Hospital staff
• Ability and authorization to perform COVID-19 testing on-site at Tenwek Hospital
• National Health Insurance Fund recognition of Tenwek Hospital as a designated facility to deliver COVID-19 care, which will permit reimbursement for such care
• Adequate funds for the increasing staffing needs at Tenwek Hospital
• Ability to purchase sufficient numbers of N95 masks (about 1,000 per month) of adequate quality to appropriately protect staff members and patients
• Smooth and safe resumption of service by visiting physicians
• The Lord’s protection for our staff members from serious illness