Tumutumu Hospital
Kikuyu, Kenya
Tumutumu Hospital is situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya between
Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range. It is 130 km north of Nairobi, and
is at an altitude of 5,900 feet. The mission site was chosen in 1908 by
Drs. Henry Scott and Arthur of the Church of Scotland. Outpatients were
first seen in 1909 and inpatient work commenced in 1910. Since 1956.
Tumutumu has been one of the three mission hospitals in Kenya sponsored
by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). The hospital now
consists of a number of one story buildings, with 203 beds, and is
surrounded by lawns, flower beds and trees. The majority of the
population served are Kikuyus -- the largest tribe in Kenya — and the
language spoken is also primarily Kikuyu. Most local people are small
scale farmers.
Tumutumu hospital serves as a teaching hospital as well as providing the
surrounding rural community with preventive and basic curative health
care. Although medical care is available in this particular area from
government services, patients come to Tumutumu because of the quality of
nursing care, the availability of drugs, and the holistic patient care
given at the Tumutumu Hospital. There are growing numbers of admissions
yearly, now over 7,000 per year. Over 50,000 outpatients are seen
yearly, as well. The hospital provides excellent maternal and child
health care in the form of prenatal, family planning, and well-baby
immunization clinics as well as treatment of minor trauma and routine
tropical diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
It is also well equipped to care for complications of common childhood
illnesses such as measles and whooping cough and gynecological and
obstetrical problems. Its community outreach activities focus on some of
these same primary health care programs through operation of eight
dispensaries. An AIDS prevention program has been developed as well.
Tumutumu provides training to approximately 100 nursing students
annually. In these hospital and outreach settings, the program is able
to give student nurses very practical, hands-on training.
The Medical Benevolence Foundation is raising funds for medical
equipment and charity care at this facility.
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