After two years of planning and construction, the clinic opened to much celebration and joy in April 2007. Since the health center opened on April 2nd 2007, people have been streaming in from all over the countryside to receive quality, affordable care, many from as far as a day’s walk. Sixty percent of our patients are children under five years old. Of the other 40%, the majority are pregnant mothers and elderly people. We’re offering a host of services specific to women and children, including vaccinations, family planning, bed net distribution for malaria revention, and prenatal care including prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. We’ve also held several de-worming clinics at local primary schools.

Our fantastic local staff is leading this effort, from management to housekeeping to clinical care. We currently employ a manager, a clinical officer, two nurses, a nurse’s aid, a lab technician, a secretary, two night guards, a housekeeper, and a groundskeeper, and we’re actively recruiting!

We’ve built some very important partnerships in Kenya this year. We’re now working hand in hand with the Kenyan Ministry of Health. In the words of our district minister of health, Dr. Gitau: “You’re doing the work of the ministry of health in an area we aren’t reaching. We should be supporting you!” We’ve sent our  staff for various trainings through the ministry, and we’re now receiving lots of important medicines and supplies from them, including vaccines, family planning materials, and medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We’ve also formed a great partnership with the Tabaka Mission Hospital, which is taking our most serious and emergent cases.

We are now a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization called the Lwala Community Alliance (LCA).

Please see Ian Swan's update on the clinic at the Real Medicine Foundation's website:

http://realmedicinefoundation.org/initiatives/IN1-13.asp