A HAPPY ENDING TO THE CONTAINER SAGA

An ambulance for Arrow Web Hospital

For those of you who have been following our blog, you may remember that Arrow Kenya board had to make a very difficult decision in August, to give up on our project to ship recycled medical equipment from the UK to Kenya. Although many of our UK supporters had managed to fundraise £1800 to pay the shipping charges, our main donor pulled out at the last minute. Everyone was really disappointed as we had been working on this for over two years with Aid to Hospitals Worldwide http://www.a2hw.org.uk , and Alison Lowndes from AVIF http://www.avif.org.uk/.

We contacted the UK donors and asked them if they would like their donations returned or used to pay for the conversion of a second hand matatu (minibus) to an ambulance and for new mattresses and covers for hospital beds. As we need to transfer about 20-30 patients per month to larger specialist hospitals, the Kenyan National Hospital Insurance Fund inspectors had told us that an ambulance was a priority. So, in August our local garage set to work on the matatu; meeting the NHIF standards which included a bed, water supply and first aid equipment.

Working on the inside of the ambulance after the seats had been taken out

Our new ambulance - fit for purpose

The ambulance is now being checked over by the Ministry of Health before we can start using it. This will make a big difference to patients who have had to be transferred in Bram's car or by board members in the past.

Thank you again to Alison Lowndes and all our very generous UK donors who made this possible.

Melissa's dream is still in the lead

With just over three days of voting to go, Melissa's dream to fund urgently needed resuscitation equipment for newborn babies at Arrow Web Hospital, is still in the lead.

http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/dreams/popular

With 4892 votes so far, we are nearly 1000 votes ahead of our nearest rival. However, a lot can happen in a few days, so please keep voting and pass on the link to your friends. Your response to this has been overwhelming- so a big thank you to everyone who has supported us, especially to Melissa Ostoga from Australia. Melissa started supporting us via our "village" on Nabuur, a global network of volunteers.

http://www.nabuur.com/en/village/kayole-soweto

Melissa's dream will help ensure all mothers will deliver healthy babies at Arrow Web Hospital

VERY SAD NEWS AND SOME GOOD NEWS

A TRAGIC ACCIDENT

Last week we heard the shocking news that two of our board members had been killed in a tragic car accident. We send our sincere condolences to their families for their great loss. They will be greatly missed by our board and staff.

THIS YEAR'S VOLUNTEERS

We are really pleased to let you know that the following international volunteers have confirmed that they will work with us this year:

Sebastian Nedak a medical student from Germany, who will be working with us for his medical elective for six weeks from June 25th.

Kelly Potter from the US, who will be working with us for three months from September.

James Harrison and his medical colleagues from Australia will be working with us, arriving in July. You may remember James visited us at the end of last year.

A doctor from the Emirates has applied to work with us for a year from October (we are just awaiting further documentation from him) and we are currently discussing some opportunities for another volunteer from Italy, who will be moving to Nairobi for a year in September.

We are always so grateful to all the volunteers who are willing to share their skills and give so much of their time to support the work we do. If you are interested in working with us please go to our "volunteering" section on our website; we would be very interested to hear from you.
(http://arrowkenya.org/help.php#volunteer)

Other visitors

Since our last post, we are really pleased to tell you that Muriel Armstrong a director from COCO visited us. Muriel a senior nursing lecturer from the UK, set up the Kenya Acorn Project in Ndhiwa in Western Kenya in 1998.The charity now runs a hospital and supports five schools.Bram and Muriel were able to share experiences of providing health services in two very different locations.
(http://www.kenyaacornproject.org/History.html).

Thank you for taking the time to visit us, Muriel, during your visit to Kenya.

NHS Grampian

You may remember that we applied to the International Health Links Funding Scheme for funding to support NHS Grampian volunteer doctors and midwives provide training on maternal and infant health for our staff. Unfortunately this application was not successful. However we have just heard that Dr Jamie Hogg's application to the British Medical Association will support another visit from NHS Grampian volunteers later this year. We are now working hard to find funding for a solar powered generator and reliable water supply for the hospital before their visit.

NHIF AUDIT UPDATE

Every quarter we are inspected by the Kenyan government's National Hospital Insurance Fund auditors. In April we scored well with an average of 65% (against the minimum 45% required). The main areas we need to work on are " Equipments and diagnostic" and "Transport". Both depend on our abilty to raise funds. We now need to provide an ambulance to transport patients to more specialist facilities as well as other basic equipment.

Of course the day to day work of the hospital and community outreach team continues, as we face many challenges and work hard to improve the quality of the services we provide. We rely on the commitment and dedication of our board and staff and the great support we receive from local colleagues and our international network of friends and partners.

Another safe delivery at Arrow Web Hospital - this makes it all worthwhile

PLANS FOR 2011

Arrow Kenya board plans

In January, Arrow Kenya board finalised the organisation's plan for this year. Our strategy for 2010- 2012 is to improve the quality and scope of our services and to try to reach more communities in our area of Embakasi District.

We are also trying to focus on the Embakasi District Health Authority Annual Operational Plan priorities and targets and achieve a higher level of accreditation from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) by gradually meeting more of their criteria.

See our plan and the Kenyan and Embakasi District Health Authority priorities.

Bram and our senior doctor and board member Dr Onyango discuss the plans

Our board chairman Nicodemus Kipruto approves the plans

Another volunteer from the UK

We are really pleased to let you know that Jacq Goldthorp is coming to work with us in March. She is from Moray in Scotland and is a colleague of Dr Jamie Hogg and Liz Tait who visited us last year. Jacq will be helping us improve our data collection and financial management systems. She will also be helping us review the way we record the activity and achievements of our Community Outreach Team. This work is really important to us as it will help us with funding applications. In the future we hope that we will get paid for the out patient and community services we provide. Currently we only receive payment from the government for the inpatients we treat and the babies we deliver at Arrow Web Hospital.

The board and staff really look forward to meeting Jacq and showing her around Arrow Web Hospital and the local community.

Growth of our Pharmacy

Arrow Web Hospital is very proud of our hospital pharmacy, so we thought we would take this opportunity to share some history with you in both words and pictures.

In May 2008, Arrow Web Hospital moved into our present building. This is a picture of our pharmacy shortly after we moved in:

In September 2008, we achieved our initial accreditation under NHIF. At that time, NHIF provided a list of medications with an estimated cost of $1500 and explained that these are required be in stock at all times. The hospital staff were told that if they were not able to maintain these medications, they risked losing the accreditation they worked so hard to obtain. With the reimbursement they received at the end of October, the first month they were able to accept insurance cards, they were able to purchase over half of the medications that NHIF required be stocked in the hospital pharmacy.

November 2008 brought more NHIF card carrying patients to the hospital as word spread that Arrow Web Hospital could now accept these cards. The hospital ended up being reimbursed over $700 USD at the end of November and was able to purchase the remaining stock needed for their pharmacy. NHIF officials have been checking in regularly with the hospital and have been very pleased with the progress and management of funds to date.

Since October 2008, each month our reimbursements have grown and we have been able to maintain stock in our pharmacy. The following pictures were taken in March 2009. We are very proud of our pharmacy and the growth that has occurred in less than a year's time. These are pictures of one of our doctors stocking a new supply of medications to our shelves:

A great ending to another great week!

We were originally scheduled for our NHIF reinspection on 3/19/09. Bramuel, our hospital administrator was out attending a 2-day conference this week, so the resinspection ended up being rescheduled for Monday, 3/23, but our NHIF official decided to visit the hospital on Friday, 3/20/09, instead.

NHIF awards 3 levels of accreditation-A, B and C. Our initial level C accreditation was achieved in September 2008 after Friends of Kenya helped us purchase 8 beds for the hospital. To reach the next level-B, we had to purchase certain pieces of medical laboratory equipment. Thanks to the help of Kitchen Table Charities Trust, we were able to accomplish that last week and get everything installed according to standard.

We are extremely happy to report that as of today's reinspection, Arrow Web Hospital has been awarded level B accreditation status under NHIF! Congratulations to Bramuel and the Arrow Web Hospital staff for yet another great achievement!

Improvements to the Medical Laboratory

On Wednesday March 11, 2008, Bramuel traveled to PEFRIC East Africa Stores with the funds transferred from Kitchen Table Charities Trust in the UK. Several months ago, at the suggestion of a friend in Matopeni, Kenya, volunteers from the Nabuur Foundation in the Netherlands began work on a proposal for 3 pieces of medical laboratory equipment. If successful, this equipment had the potential to do two things for the hospital; (1) qualify the hospital for the next level of accreditation under NHIF, and (2) allow the hospital to begin receiving referrals from other medical centers for the first time in hospital history. We were informed earlier this month that our proposal was accepted.

Bramuel was able to purchase all of the equipment locally. This resulted in a cost savings for the hospital. Above, you will see the inside of the PEFRIC East Africa Store. Once the equipment was purchased and brought back to the hospital, a carpenter was hired to build a table strong enough to hold each piece of equipment.

Once the table was completed, our laboratory technician went to work making sure that everything was set up properly.

Now the machines are set up and ready for use. On 3/19/09, NHIF will be sending an official to the hospital for another inspection. We hope to report good news-that we have been recommended for our next level of accreditation very soon!

We wish to extend a our sincere gratitude to everyone at Kitchen Table Charities Trust for the support that you have shown our hospital and the belief in the good work we are doing in Kenya. It is truly due to organizations and people like you that we are able to continue on this path toward long-term sustainability. For that, we thank you.

New Equipment for the Medical Laboratory

Thanks to the kindness and generousity of Kitchen Table Charities Trust, Bramuel was able to go out yesterday and purchase 3 new pieces of equipment for the Arrow Web Hospital medical laboratory; a bacteriological incubator, hematology analyzer, and a biochemistry colorimeter.


This equipment will make a huge impact in the day to day operations at the hospital. Bramuel has already contacted NHIF to schedule an inspection visit for 3/19/09. This inspection will be for approval for the next higher level of accreditation. It will also allow the hospital to begin accepting referrals from outside facilities for the first time in hospital history.

Arrow Web Hospital wishes to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone at Kitchen Table Charities Trust. We are extremely thankful for your support. It has allowed us to take one more very significant step toward long-term sustainability.

Thank you Kitchen Table Charities Trust!

Back in January, Arrow Web Hospital submitted a funding proposal to Kitchen Table Charities Trust. Our proposal requested assistance to purchase medical equipment for our hospital lab. We were so happy yesterday to receive word from them that our proposal was accepted!!

Once this equipment is secured, the hospital can request inspection for the next highest level of accreditation under NHIF. It will also allow us to begin accepting referrals from outside facilities.

This opportunity bring us another step closer to long-term sustainability. We look forward to providing updates and pictures very soon!

The New and Improved Reception Area

Arrow Web Hospital began accepting National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards on October 1, 2008. Since that time, each month we have been able to utilize the reimbursement funds provided to make improvements to the facility. One of the things that NHIF requires is a standard reception area.

Here is a picture of the artist working on the new reception desk:

This is the end result: