Background
Tenwek Hospital is a 402-bed Teaching and Referral Hospital situated in Bomet Township, Bomet County. It was founded in 1937 by the World Gospel Mission (WGM) of the United States of America in partnership with the Africa Gospel Church (AGC) in Kenya.
As a non-profit making health facility, the hospital is supported by individuals and organizations who partner with it to fulfill its mission.
Since its inception, Tenwek Hospital has had a significant impact on the healthcare space not only in Kenya but also across sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years, the hospital has grown to become a specialty hospital offering a variety of health services.
Tenwek Hospital serves over a million people in the vast Southwest region of Kenya and the country at large. “We also see patients from outside the country, that is, East, Central, and West of Africa”, says Shem Tangus, Chief Executive.
The hospital offers a broad range of services that include Inpatient, Outpatient, Diagnostic, Medical Outreach, Training and Research.
The new Cardiothoracic and Emergency Centre
Tenwek Hospital is uniquely positioned as a center of excellence in cardiothoracic care for patients with heart diseases in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. According to Mr Tangus, the hospital is currently performing more open-heart surgical procedures than any other hospital in the region at a fraction of the cost it would take to perform the same procedures in countries outside Africa, says Mr Tangus. “We are caring primarily for patients with rheumatic heart disease and patients with congenital heart disease.”
Tenwek Hospital Board and Management have embarked on expanding and modernizing these services through the construction of an ultra-modern Cardiothoracic Centre.
The Hospital envisions a high-level center where it will offer training to cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, perfusionists, cardiac nurse anesthetists, cardiac critical care nurses, echocardiographers, cardiac rehabilitation therapists, and specially trained chaplains. After the Tenwek Cardiothoracic site is fully established, the hospital anticipates fostering other sites throughout the region that can use the Tenwek model as a starting point for new cardiothoracic units.
Project Consultants
Leading architectural studio Triad Architects in collaboration with HFG Architecture of Kansas USA were commissioned to design the Cardiothoracic Center for Tenwek Hospital.
The Project
The 4-storey building with 2 basements is an ultramodern 176-bed self-contained surgical center located 300m west of the main Tenwek Hospital campus. The building is composed of 2 blocks forming 2 wings connected by a central core with 3 hospital lifts and a W-shaped ramp. Each wing has adequate provision of staircases for fire escape within a 30m running distance.
The hospital comprises:
- an out-patient center on ground level with examination rooms, a pharmacy, a lab, a blood bank, CT and X-ray machines on ground level
- an endoscopy suite on 2nd floor with 4No. theatres, a 16-bed recovery room
- a training center on 2nd floor with classrooms,
- a conference hall, and offices on 2nd floor
- the heart surgery suite on 3rd floor with 6No. cardiothoracic theatres, 1No. hybrid theater, an 8-bed preoperative holding area and a 32-bed post anesthesia care center
- the general wards accommodating 80No. beds distributed in the 4 No. floors.
The patient wards have large floor to ceiling windows to provide adequate views to the undulating green hills beyond Tenwek valley. This also creates a pleasurable light atmosphere which enhances quick healing. Running through all floors is a chapel. It is defined by 2 thick curved concrete walls whose concept mimics a candle flame in the night when interior lights are on. This symbolizes the metaphor of Christ being the light of the world.
To increase resiliency during frequent power interruptions, the hospital features a mechanically assisted natural ventilation system (the surgical ward and many patient areas feature full humidity and temperature control) and supplemental ramps that facilitate the uninterrupted movement of patients. Other sustainable innovations include solar panels positioned on a low-slope standing seam roof, the use of hollow core concrete blocks produced on site, and the collection and reuse of rainwater for on-site laundry.
This project also encompasses housing for visiting fellows. These residential towers are located near the hospital and include 15 three-bedroom and 5 two-bedroom apartments. Improved water infrastructure also ensures that the entire medical campus has access to reliably clean water from a nearby river.
Expected Outcomes
Tenwek Hospital expects the project to have major impact on health delivery as well as multiple associated benefits once completed.
When fully operational, the Hospital will employ over 300 Kenyans.
Advanced training will become available to many Kenyan health professionals and will attract other high-end professionals seeking training from around Africa.
The professionals trained at the Cardiothoracic Centre will go on to provide specialized Cardiothoracic care and treatment in other service centers across Kenya and Africa, creating a positive ripple effect in the healthcare space.
Medical tourism will bring economic benefits to Kenyans and will mark the country as a leader in cardiovascular health. Within Africa, there are few options for heart surgery and currently, many people go to India for care.
The Cardiothoracic center is a high-end service center that will perform major heart and chest surgeries and will be a solution to the lack of adequate cardiac centers in Africa and a source of hope for people suffering from heart disease and in need of surgery.
The staggering scope of the heart disease challenge means that addressing the disease burden will be necessary to achieve Universal Health Care so that Kenyans will have increased access to preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services at minimum financial burden, thereby eliminating inequalities in access to healthcare.
The cost of heart surgery at Tenwek is a fraction of the cost of the same surgery when done outside the country.
