Sagam Community Hospital Claimed

Sagam Community Hospital (SCH) is a leading hospital in western Kenya that is engaged in several formal health partnerships with Kenyan and US health institutions, including MGH. Since its founding in 1998, Sagam has shown a profound commitment to serving the poor. The hospital is located in rural western Kenya, and serves as an important safety net hospital for the region; it cares for the most vulnerable populations. The hospital was founded by Dr. Khama Rogo – a distinguished World Bank physician health executive, former President of the Kenya Medical Association, and visionary – on his family’s own plot of land and with the support of his wife, Dr. Lucie Rogo. Dr. Khama Rogo’s vision for SCH is to provide the rural poor the same high quality of care as people living in Kenya’s large cities.

• Since its establishment in 1998, SCH has managed to build towards a sustainable financial outlook through various partnerships, donations, investments and governmental engagements.
• Over the last few years of operating, a majority of SCH’s income is generated from remittances from the government for claims under the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) (Kenya’s public health insurance plan). As an NHIF-accredited institution, there is comprehensive coverage provided for patients for in-patient, ob-gyn and certain surgical procedures. It should be noted that the current NHIF rates are to be increased this month, which will contribute further to the hospital’s sustainability. Other sustainable revenue generation comes from our mortuary, ambulance/hearse services and cafeteria.
• Key networks and partnerships with the Ministry of Health, the County Government of Siaya, Sub-County Government of Gem, and other public and private health institutions in the region have helped push collaborations and interventions that are cost-saving and efficient for both SCH and its vision of provision of high-quality but affordable healthcare for the public. In addition, collaborations with various NGOs have been a strategic goal of SCH in helping to provide services in a cost-efficient manner. For example, the International Centre for AIDS Care and Treatment Program (ICAP) and Columbia University School of Public Health supports SCH’s HIV prevention and treatment programs through the provision of counseling and weekly voluntary male circumcision to our clients.
• In August 2014, SCH, in partnership with the MGH Division of Global Health and Human Rights, collaborated in the creation of the SCH-GHHR Medical Innovation Centre. This initiative provided upgraded Emergency, Surgical, Dental, Ophthalmology, ENT, and Delivery/Neonatal equipment and supplies to equip the newly renovated Sagam Hospital in Sagam, Kenya. The suites were selected and customized specifically for SCH, based on assessment information provided by Dr. Burke and the Sagam team. The suites equip each service and/or department in the facility plans, and can be adjusted as the project needs or scope may change and develop. In addition, the initiative established an E-Learning Centre to teach clinical examinations and treatment as well as a conference center for residents and clinicians at Sagam.
• With funding from the Kletjian Foundation, SCH has constructed brand-new operating theatres to support its clinical services and training ventures for its residency and internship programs, medical student rotations, and the introduction of surgical training as it works to be accredited from the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). SCH will also begin specialized surgical services such as laparoscopic surgery through its collaboration with MGH, which has provided equipment and training resources.
• Most recently, SCH has partnered with the Centre for Public Health and Development (CPHD). CPHD is a non-profit organization in Kenya working to improve health systems through training and other innovative solutions. SCH has partnered with CPHD in the installation of oxygen piping throughout its main clinical ward, emergency room, operating theatres and private ward. In addition, CPHD is supporting SCH, through its partnership with General Electric (GE), in the provision of equipment for SCH’s emergency room and operating theatres. Furthermore, CPHD provides maintenance support for the equipment and oxygen system, including offering training in the aforementioned areas. SCH will soon serve as a training site for CPHD’s Nurse Anaesthesia Training Program currently running at Kijabe Hospital.
• Furthermore, SCH has now opened its private wing that will offer fully-enclosed private suites and semi-private units to clients that are able to pay a higher cost or have more comprehensive insurance coverage. This is part of the hospital’s vision to provide quality services in the county and also enhance its revenue-generating activities towards a more sustainable future. Lastly, SCH/MGH has secured a CT scan machine (for a purchase price of $1) that would be installed within the next 2 years, would serve as the only CT scanner in the county, and would attract clientele and referrals from other hospitals in the region.

Through such endeavors, SCH continues to further its goals to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the rural community it serves and has fostered collaboration between the United States with Western Kenya and beyond. The ASHA programme would further build upon these efforts and be sustained well beyond the proposed project’s conclusion.