Located along Thika Highway, Kenya, lies Ruaraka Uhai Neema hospital. Uhai Neema has been providing both in- and outpatient healthcare services since 2009. The hospital had a clear goal in mind before they contacted SafeCare, which was to ensure high quality services. However, staff were not sufficiently committed, nor was the evaluation of outcomes according to any standardized indicators. Consequently, business was stagnating. It was at this time that management sought an external partner to help them unlock the hospitals business potential. When elaborating on why they chose SafeCare to do this, Gabrielle Beaco, the CEO of Uhai Neema hospital explains: “We knew where we wanted to be, but we had no idea how to get there. SafeCare helped us to not only identify problems but offered tools to address them using clear, standardized procedures and protocols.”

Elaborating on the biggest shift observed since contracting SafeCare, Gabrielle explains: “SafeCare helped us view our operations in a new light and made us see the need for guidelines across departments, including administration.” The Quality Improvement Plan was implemented stepwise to ensure maximum impact in a way that was viable both in terms of finances and human resources. These steps have helped the hospital to achieve real, tangible change by improving both patient and business outcomes: “The changes I have personally seen, and that have been objectively measured have been major. Adhering to the new guidelines have reduced mortality and morbidity rates in the maternity ward and pediatric service. In fact, SafeCare also helped us expand these services and increase patient flows’’.

Seeing approximately 300 patients a day, the facility has now grown in leaps and bounds. When asked about her experience with the SafeCare methodology Gabrielle states “What makes the program exceptional is that it urges continuous improvement. We plan, act, implement, reassess, and plan again. Our initial goal was to get to SafeCare level 5, and now that we have achieved this, we are aiming for international accreditation. SafeCare have been invaluable in helping us, and I am excited to keep growing and improving our services.”