Tenwek

 “Tenwek Hospital’s 300-bed facility is widely recognized as one of the Premier Mission hospitals
in the world.”

Franklin Graham

 

Franklin Graham is correct. Tenwek hospital is truly one of the best and most famous mission hospitals in East Africa.  There is a sense of community here.  As at Litein the living quarters of all the physicians and hospital staff are within close walking distance of the hospital.  I often saw parents and children playing together around their front lawns.  

Visitors
Visiting medical personnel are very common at Tenwek.  Their door is wide open for what specialists and physicians have to offer the patients and the training programs.  The hospital staff is very friendly, and used to visitors.  Numbers are down this year due to Covid.  

Guest House
There is a beautiful guest house for visiting physicians, nurses and medical students.  There is a common area where all visiting physicians, nurses, students and their families can have meals together. It’s a great chance to meet and make good new friends, from all over the country, at different stages of life.  Mr. Emanuel is an excellent full-time cook who makes sure all visitors are well fed.  In fact, his cooking is so good that many visitors gain weight during their visits.  This is playfully referred to as ‘the Tenwek Ten’, as in pounds!

Liberty University Medical Students
I was very inspired to meet a large contingent of graduating 4th year medical students with two of their experienced attending medical staff during their month-long rotation at Tenwek.     Their excitement and energy was palpable.  This is a great place for a medical student rotation.

The waterfall and power plant
The Nyangores River flows along the southern border of the hospital, and creates a large waterfall.
In 1987 this was harnessed to provide the hospital with its own electrical power source.  Amazing.

Tenwek Hospital was first built on a hillside in the 1930’s through Christian missionaries.  It is nearly 7000 feet above sea level.  When you enter the hospital through the staff entrance in back, it’s an uphill walk.  I could feel it!   Even though it is near the equator, the weather is cool “sweater weather”.  
Tenwek is a compact place and makes the most of the space.  The operating rooms are spacious and the resident lounge/work area has a reference bookcase that rises nearly to the ceiling.  Surgical procedures that cannot be done in smaller hospitals can be done at Tenwek: esophageal cancers and heart problems can be treated there.  

And I met some very outstanding people during my short two-week stay there. well-developed training programs in Internal Medicine, General Surgery and Orthopedics are among the best in the country.  This hospital is creating the future leaders in Medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.  For example, the four surgeons that I worked with at AIC Litein Hospital were all trained at Tenwek.  The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons guide and mentor these training programs.