Refurbished Kerugoya Hospital New Born Unit now the best in region

The Mountain Journal

Kerugoya General Hospital is celebrating ongoing health sector
reforms at the county that have led to reduced neonatal mortality rates
following refurbishment and equipping of a New Born Unit (NBU).

 The deaths of infants have gone down from 22% in 2013 to 8% with
medics hailing Governor Anne Waiguru for the notable improvements in medical
services.

 With the facility treating and discharging about 200 babies
every year, Kirinyaga county government aims at reducing all preventable
neonatal deaths.  

 Kerugoya NBU has been refurbished and well equipped with modern
equipment, making it the best in the county and part of neighboring counties.

 The unit offers specialized neonatal care to ill or premature
babies delivered at the hospital or referred from other facilities, offering
great relief to mothers who could earlier be referred to Kenyatta
Hospital. 

 The facility that can now accommodate up to 40 babies is
equipped with critical facilities such as incubators, CPAP machines,
Phototherapy machines, fluid pumps, oxygen splitters, light meters, radiant
warmers, oxygen concentrators, sanction and resuscitating machines among
others.

The equipment is used for treating and
supporting the babies until they attain the right weight to survive on their
own.

Governor Anne Waiguru has said that
provision of quality healthcare for the county residents has been at the center
of her administration’s service delivery. 

She said that Kerugoya Hospital is
poised to be the region’s wellness hub where top-notch medical services will be
provided. She said that the county government is committed to the improvement
of child healthcare services to reduce neonatal mortality rates.

The NBU Nurse Manager, Nancy Mburu, said
that among the babies admitted at the unit are those born premature, with low birth
weight, those born at term but have conditions such as jaundice or infections.
Babies recovering from complex surgery are also admitted at the unit.

Pre-term babies are those born before
attaining 1,800 grams where they are nurtured until they attain at least 2,500
grams after which they can be further managed by the outpatient pediatric
clinic.

Since not many hospitals provide
specialist neonatal services, Kerugoya NBU receives many referrals from public
and private health facilities in and outside the county.  The nurse says that so far, the facility is
the best equipped in the region.

At the unit, some babies can be seen
lying on the beautiful modern cots, others in the incubators and others under
the phototherapy machine. This is a machine where babies with severe jaundice are
placed a very bright light usually with soft eye pads or special box over their
heads to protect their eyes. Others are on breathing machines and feeding tubes
and connected to monitors.

Mburu said that since a baby’s immune
system isn’t fully developed, the healthcare team plus the mothers observe
strict hygiene rules that include washing hands and changing into sanitized
shoes when around the unit. All other infection control policies are followed
to the book.

 She added that at times they have had to
admit babies rescued after being abandoned by their parents where they give
them the required nursing care or treatment before they are released to
children’s homes or other caregivers.

 The unit has also incorporated Kangaroo
Mother Care (KMC) where mothers are taught how to keep their babies warm
through body contact and how to breast them after they are weaned off the feeding
tubes, before they are discharged from the hospital.

 “The transitional care allows mother and
child to bond. Sometimes the size of the baby can intimidate their mothers, but
we are here to support them and show them how to independently take care of
their bundles of joy, which then increases their confidence”, said Mburu.

 The in-charge, who has won the Nurse of
the Year Awards thrice, said that the greatest reward for those working at NBU is
seeing mothers going home with healthy babies.

Some of the mothers who have benefitted
from the unit include, Beatrice Wairimu, a 23 years old mother whose baby was
born premature weighing only 660 grams.

Her baby’s weight further dropped to 450
grams marking a long stay at the hospital for mother and child. The baby has
now greatly improved and attained 1700 grams and is learning to suckle on his
own. The mother could not hide her joy at the progress, expressing hope that
she will soon be released to go home with her son. She is currently at the
Kangaroo Mother Care.

“My baby and I have been treated so well
at the hospital and nurses here are very kind and committed to walking the
journey with us” she said. She was admitted in July, and hers is one of the
smallest babies that the unit has successfully nurtured.

Another mother whose baby is admitted at
the NBU is Belinda Wanjiru. Her child developed complications at birth and has
been undergoing treatment for the past one month. “When my baby came here she
was not responsive but I have seen great improvement and I hope we will soon be
going home.” Said the mother of two.

The NBU is manned by a healthcare team
of one pediatric doctor, two Medical Officers and 10 nurses. Before the unit
was established, babies in need of specialized neonatal care could be referred
to Kenyatta National Hospital. Such referrals were not only expensive but could
also cost the life of a baby since critical time could be lost in between the
referral process.

The NBU is thus one of the most
essential components of the county’s healthcare service, with Governor Waiguru
saying that mother and child healthcare is set to get better with the
completion of the upcoming Kerugoya Level Five Hospital which has a
state-of-the-art maternity wing and NBU.

www.themountainjournal