Indiana University Health hosted three leaders from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kenya this month as part of a continuing executive exchange program between the two health organizations.
The Indiana visit by Dr. Philip Kirwa, CEO; Christine Tonui, director of operations; and Ann Chemworsio, human resources and training & development director, follows similar visits to MTRH in Kenya by members of the executive team and leadership of IU Health over the past several years.
The executive exchange program is designed to enable the two organizations to learn from each other across operational and administrative functions necessary to effectively run hospitals and health facilities including supply chain management, leadership development, change management, protocol and digital implementation.
“My visit to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital was an invaluable experience,” said Melora Ferren, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, vice-president of learning and development at IU Health. “The dedication of the hospital leaders to advancing healthcare and their commitment to patient-centered care left a lasting impression on me. The insights and collaborative spirit we shared during our time together continues to inspire my work as a healthcare leader.”
IU, MTRH and Moi University formed a partnership in 1989 that is now known as AMPATH Kenya and involves 15 other academic health centers around the world. A key feature of the partnership is bidirectional exchange of students, staff and faculty to learn from each other.
While in Indianapolis, the MTRH leaders had the opportunity to visit Riley Hospital, Methodist Hospital, University Hospital, Arnett Hospital in Lafayette and Frankfort Hospital. They learned about various aspects of IU Health clinical care and operations including the pediatric intensive care unit, interventional radiology, burn unit, wound care and the simulation center. Many of these initiatives are underway or contemplated at MTRH in Kenya.
Dr. Kirwa expressed gratitude to the development partners: “I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all our development partners--individual, organizational, and corporate--on behalf of the people of Kenya, particularly those within our catchment population. Through your support, we have been able to make healthcare services at our hospital accessible, high-quality, and affordable to everyone, regardless of their financial position.“
“Further, we were happy to meet a few of our partners and establish new collaborations for staff exchange programs, infrastructural development and improvements in enhancing care. We look forward to long-term partnerships that would bring us closer to realizing Universal Healthcare Coverage in western Kenya and beyond,” added Dr. Kirwa.
“The immense lessons learned will change service delivery at our hospital,” said Chemorsio. “It was wonderful to see the level of healthcare in Indianapolis with wonderful, spacious structures and the employment of state-of-the-art equipment.”
While the trip to Indianapolis was a first for Dr. Kirwa who was named as MTRH CEO just this year, for Tonui it was a return to familiar surroundings. As one of the original leaders of the research and sponsored projects office at AMPATH in Kenya, she lived in Indianapolis for training in the 1990s. She spoke about the experience during the Tusker Tales event which also gave her a chance to reconnect with many AMPATH supporters she has known over the years.
In addition to the facility tours and learning about the IU Health development course for emerging leaders, Tonui valued the interpersonal opportunities of the trip as well. "I truly appreciated the continued building of new and existing relationships with the IU team,” she said. “The Tusker Tales event brought me new friendship and it was lovely to see friends I had last interacted with too many years ago. Listening to all the Tales, it is clear that the AMPATH program had and continues to have a big impact in our professional and personal lives.”
