September 29th, 2018 - October 6th, 2018

SCH Physicians: Dr. Nyamogo (OB-GYN), Dr. Alwar (Paediatrics), Dr. Ligeyo (Orthopaedic Surgery), Dr. Taha Yusufali (Surgery)

Family and Emergency Medicine Residents: Dr. Charles Ochola, Dr. Richard Luate

Interns: Leju Modi

Visiting Resident: Dr. Richa Kalra

Program Coordinator: Leslie Ojeaburu

Assistant Program Coordinator: Sebastian Karlson

Senior Research Coordinator: Joseph Owuor

Fellow: Dr. Sevgi Sipahi

Nursing Consultant: None

Visiting Consultant: None

HOSPITAL NEWS

On Saturday morning Dr. Richa Kalra finished up a video interview with the patient she has been working with over the past month (the patient was the employee’s daughter that was mentioned in the previous report). She departed from Kisumu shortly after finishing up her project. We are appreciative that she was able to stay with us for so long. Monday morning’s Nursing CME was presented by Titus Kwede and covered the topic of Maternal Perinatal Death Surveillance Report. The weekly ob/gyn clinic was co-lead by Dr. Sevgi and Dr. Nyamogo as part of the former’s orientation to SCH.

There was a simulation for the Emergency Department (ED) on Thursday morning. The scenario consisted of a patient who had been involved in a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) and was unresponsive. Dr. Modi was the lead clinician during the RRT and the simulation was lead by Sagam’s General Surgeon Dr. Taha and Javan Ibamba, CO in charge. Following the simulation both Dr. Sipahi and Joseph went to KMET where Dr. Sipahi and Dr. Nyamogo held their OB/GYN clinic as part of the former’s orientation.

In addition to everything listed before, SCH has launched a new research initiative called Maisha Mapya, in collaboration with Medtronic Labs, which is an extension of the Empower Health app initiative that digitizes monitoring of high blood pressure.. This innovative venture will test whether wearables (worn on one's wrist) can be used to measure vital signs in pregnant women. If there is an abnormal measurement, a signal is sent through the software to a clinical team for follow up. For a pregnant mother, her blood pressure measurements and vital signs are closely monitored during antenatal (ANC) visits as part of the care she needs during her pregnancy. We wish to see if these wearable can monitor their vitals between ANC visits or assist expectant mothers who are located far away from health facilities or cannot afford to access such care. It would further empower women to be engaged in their care and improve health education, thus, improve adherence to ANC appointments, which are now fully covered by the Kenyan government under the 'Linda Mama' initiative. 

We shall also be testing this app in our maternal clinic so we can use technology to monitor the gestation period for our mothers. As part of the initiative, Medtronic Labs has trained SCH administration, clinical, nursing and community health staff as members of the project.

EDUCATION

Teaching Rounds: Teaching rounds will commence the week of October 1st.

Residency and Internship Program Update

We continue to receive a high request of inquiries from medical officer interns applying to our internship programme and will update the team once the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirm placement of additional interns. A recent medical school graduate from Uganda, Leju Modi, has joined SCH and we expect addition interns and pre-interns to arrive in the coming weeks.

Hospital Education

Last week’s hospital wide CME featured two groups of guest presenters. The first presenter was from Kannina International LTD, a specialist medical and diagnostic centre. They showcased the range of tests that their centre has to offer, fielding questions on both the cost to the patients and the efficacy of these tests. This was followed by a presentation from Shaaban Levi, an AstraZeneca representative, who went through the benefits of Symbicort, an inhalant indicated for asthma and COPD.

The nurses CME was the start of a multi part CME (it will take place over the course of a few weeks) on infant and child care in Kenya. These CME’s will all be presented by one of SCH’s nurses, Cecillia. The focus of the CME are to recognize danger signs in infants and children under the age of 5 to help reduce the statistic that for every 1000 births in Kenya 52% of children die before the age of 5.