Gerties News Issue 55 | Sept. 2015

Gertrude's News

GERTRUDE'S CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL WINS THE 3rd EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP NETWORK (ELNET) AWARDS

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital was this year’s top recipient of the ELNET Mark of Ethics, an award for Ethical Leadership and Business Awards.

ELNET is a non-profit making organization that has been in existence since 2005 seeking to reach out, to equip and engage the top 20% leaders of integrity to spearhead Kenya’s holistic transformation.

ELNET designed the moral foundation and values for Kenya’s Vision 2030 which were endorsed by the National Economic and Social Council, helped develop Kenya’s National Values and Principles and contributed to Chapter 6 of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.

ELNET has trained over one thousand valuebased mentors in universities, communities and churches and also partnered with communitybased training centres for youth in Siaya on the 17,000 acre Dominion Farm, in Yatta’s smallholder economic improvement project by CIM and with ICFEM’s holistic development model now in four counties of Western Kenya.

ELNET has also contributed to Kenya’s business sector transformation by carrying out Ethical Assessments for eight leaders and organizations and through monthly Business Leaders Fora.

With 11 branches as well as the main hospital in Muthaiga, Gertrude’s Children 's Hospital was assessed with respondents in seven categories namely: board, leadership, peer businesses leaders, staff, suppliers, customers, and even competitors.

This assessment took place between December 2014 and May 2015, leading to an average

ethical perception index of 5.89 out of 7.00 on a 7-likert scale perception index, based on the 15 Principles for Ethical Business developed by the ELNET Business Group.

Congratulations!

The ELNET Mark Of Ethics Certificate that was awarded to Gertrude's Children's Hospital after emerging top awardees with an average ethical perception index of 5.89 out of 7.00

Dear readers,

Word From The Ceo

would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our 55th Issue of our informative and inspiring Gertrude’s News magazine. I am happy to report to you that this year we held our inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Charity Golf Tournament in Mombasa. The event was successful with a total of 18 teams taking part in the competition. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the participants and the sponsors who participated part in this noble project.

The hospital was additionally awarded the ELNET Mark of Ethics after scoring an enormous 84% pass mark in the competition. I was also awarded as the best performing CEO after scoring a pass mark of 88%. This was not an individual achievement but a combined effort of all my staff in ensuring better customer delivery and government compliance.

Smart work equals great results and it is for this reason that I would like to encourage everyone who has contributed to these great achievements to continue with the same spirit.

Thank you.

Gertrude's Children's Hospital wins the 3rd ELNET Awards

• Saidia Furaha Medical Camp

Third UN Global Road Safety week

• Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital joins the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA)

• Mater Hospital Heart Run 2015

• The inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Annual Charity Golf Tournament, Mombasa

• Mombasa Golf Tournament Pictorial

• Smile Train Goes to Mandera

• Why Children Misbehave Hospital Activity Report

• Coughs and Syrups for Childrens use

from page 1

Congratulations to the Chief Executive Officer of Gertrude's Children's Hospital, Gordon Otieno Odundo, who was also the top recipient of the best CEO of the year award. From their assessment, the ELNET team commented that Mr. Odundo combines his global, professional and personal background to the health sector and offers leadership in the delivery of appropriate programs and services.

He abhors selfish ambitions, works wholeheartedly, shuns bribery personally and is involved in creating a corruption-free society. He was the recipient of the 2015 ELNET Mark of Ethics with a pass mark of 88%.

Observation & Recommendations:

(i) The highest score was at 6.28 for the summary statement “Obeys government and other authorities” while the second highest (at 6.21) was “Gives back to society by remembering the less fortunate” and the third highest (at 6.18) “Refuses to elicit, accept or pay bribes” Well done!

Based on feedback from respondents in seven the categories, the ELNET team of assessors identified Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital as an ethical business with an ethical perception rating of 84.1%.

The ELNET team of assessors commits to continue working with Gertrude's Children's Hospital in its areas of improvement and also challenges the hospital to use its current strengths to influence ethical business in the health sector.

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital Participates In Saidia Furaha Medical Camp

On Saturday 9th May 2015, Gertrude’s Kitengela clinic in partnership with Raiser Resource Group held a medical camp for Saidia Furaha Children’s Home located three kilometers from Kitengela town.

The activities of the day included Triage, doctor’s consultation, laboratory and pharmacy services, VCT and adolescent counseling.The kids were also entertained with different games which included face painting, bouncing castle and dancing.

The day was a great success as we watched the kids all smiles. A total of 270 both children and adults were treated. The management of the children’s home thanked Raiser and Gertrude’s team for their generosity and dedication.

CEO Mr. Gordon Odundo receives his personal award for the ELNET Mark of Ethics 2015 accompanied by his wife Njeri Otieno from Mr. Lee Karuri, Chairman, Home Afrika.

Gertrude's Children's Hospital staff pose for a photo together with representatives from Raiser Resource Group during a medical camp for Saidia Furaha Children's home in Kitengela town

Gertrude's Hospital Foundation joined the rest of the world to mark the third UN Global Road Safety Week held on 4th to 10th May 2015. This year, the theme for the Global Road Safety week focused on children and Road Safety. Prior to the National event day, the Hospital Foundation held campaigns to sensitize the public on child road safety in different locations. The campaigns were held at the Hospital in Muthaiga, Nairobi Chapel and at General Kago Primary School in Thika.

Members of the public as well as the hospital staff posed for photographs with different road safety messages. This was a partnership between Gertrude's Hospital Foundation, a member of the Save Kids Worldwide and World Health Organisation.

The national event was commemorated on 7th May 2015 at General Kago Primary school in Thika, Kiambu County. The day was presided over by the Director General of National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Mr Francis Meja who said it was important and very urgent to create road safety awareness in all schools in Kenya. “Inculcating a culture of road safety amongst children is very important as they grow knowing road safety measures,” he added.

Sunshine Smiles Clinic Produces An Educative Film For Adolescents

HIV is sadly the leading cause of death among the adolescents in Africa and the second leading in the world. Poor treatment leads to the increased mortalities and have been found to be associated with poor adherence, peer pressure, disclosure, boarding schools and psychosocial issues.

It is against this backdrop that the Sunshine Smiles Clinic team came up with a film initiative acted by the staff themselves aiming at educating the adolescents on disclosure, adherence and sexual/reproductive health. The play aims at highlighting the challenges the adolescents go through and the best possible ways of overcoming them.

The team hopes that the film clip will not only be helpful to Sunshine Smiles Clinic adolescents but will be shared with other policy makers for education purposes.

Leaders, pupils and Gertrude's Children’s Hospital staff display their road safety messages during the 3rd UN Global Road Safety week

Judy and Janet, who are some of the characters in the play, performing in a scene.

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital Joins Network Of Children’s Hospitals

26th June 2015,Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital was accepted for membership into the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) — the voice for more than 220 children’s hospitals. As champions for children’s health, CHA advances public policy enabling hospitals to better serve children and build awareness of child health issues. It is the premier resource for paediatric data and analytics driving improved clinical and operational performance among its member hospitals.

“Participation in the Children’s Hospital Association offers us access to a network of institutions and people who understand the unique health care needs of children,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Gertrude's Children's Hospital, Mr Gordon Odundo. “We look forward to collaborating with our peers and the children’s hospital industry and adding our voice to advocate on behalf of all children.”

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is a charitable trust, and is the most established paediatric hospital in East and Central Africa now with 100 beds, 11 outpatient centres within Nairobi, suburban Nairobi and recently also in Mombasa as well as a professional training centre – “the Gertrude’s Institute of Child Health and Research.

“We are pleased to welcome Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital and look forward to its active involvement,” said Mark Wietecha, Children’s Hospital Association president and CEO. “Our hospital members are the backbone of the pediatric health care infrastructure. With them, we are committed to providing the highest quality care and developing innovative solutions to impact the future of children’s health and health care.”

Children’s hospitals represent less than five percent of all hospitals and provide a disproportionately large share of the paediatric acute clinical care. Children’s hospitals are also vital centers of primary and specialty paediatric medical education and are leaders in paediatric research.

About The Children’s Hospital Association

The Children’s Hospital Association advances child health through innovation in the quality, cost and delivery of care. Representing more than 220 children’s hospitals, the Association is the voice of children’s hospitals. Formed in 2011, Children’s Hospital Association brings together the strengths and talents of three organizations: Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA), National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.). The Children’s Hospital Association has offices in Washington, DC, and Overland Park, KS.

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital Participates In Mater Heart Run 2015

Thousands turned up for this year’s Mater Heart Run initiative on Saturday May 23rd, an annual event whose aim is to assist children from families who cannot afford the cost of cardiac surgery.

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital participated in the event with a total of 40 staff taking part in the 10 kilometre walk. Mater Hospital CEO Agnes Chege said the eleventh edition of the Mater Heart Run is targeting to raise Sh110 million to perform 135 heart surgeries and 105 catheterizations, in addition to conducting 21,000 screening on students.

“We have heard numerous success stories, with children fitted in the programme growing up to

enter the medical field, excel academically and become stars in the world of sports, in fact one of our star ambassador is one of our nurses,” she said. “We have had all kind of cases coming through the programme, from children who have been abandoned in dustbins and some from the most remote part of the country who cannot afford to raise even the bus fare for their surgery.”

Speaking during the flagging-off of the eleventh edition of the Mater Heart Run, Chege said the hospital also hopes to expand the surgeries to adults. “We have a vision not only to touch a child’s heart but to expand the programme to treat adults with cardiac problems."

Muthaiga Residents Association Golf Tournament 2015

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital took part in the Muthaiga Residents Association Golf Tournament held at Muthaiga Golf Club on Friday, July 3rd, 2015.

The hospital sponsored a hole as well as offering medical checks to the participants of the tournament. The participants were checked for Body Mass Index (BMI), blood sugar, nutrition counselling, and blood pressure checks.

Over 100 participants visited our tent and were offered medical checks most of whom commended the hospital for the services it provided.

Players use the wet face towels provided by Gertrude's Children's Hospital staff during the Muthaiga Residents Association Golf Tournament 2015 held at Muthaiga Golf Club.

Participants walk along Ngong Avenue as they take part in this year’s Mater Heart Run initiative held at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.

The Inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Charity Golf Tournament In Mombasa.

Vipingo Ridge Golf Club in Kilifi County was host to the inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Annual Charity Golf Tournament, played on 19th May 2015. Over Kshs. 1.2 Million was raised and will go towards funding the treatment and support of the needy and disadvantaged children throughout Kenya.

Speaking during the event, Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Chairman, Les Baillie, said, “The money raised will go a long way towards offering much needed help for those needy children who come to the Foundation for support.” One in every 19 children born in Kenya dies before his/her first birthday, while one in every 14 children does not survive to five years. Thus, 60 per cent of infant deaths in Kenya occur during the first month of life. The above statistics have been worsened by the lack of access to healthcare. On average, one million children are born in Kenya annually. Less than 10% of these children have access to the medical services they need. Through this initiative, the aim of the Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation is to increase the number of beneficiaries in order to contribute towards the reduction of child mortality.

Out of the 61 competitors, Mr. Steve Gitau emerged the overall winner with a total of 40 points Stableford followed closely by Mr. David Ngunjiri and Mr. J. Wamunyua with 37 and 35 points respectively. Ms. Victoria Karuga was the overall lady winner with a score of 31 points. The teamprize winning team consisted of Mr. William Kaguta, Mr. Shawn Driedger, Mr. Jim Siro and Mr. Joseph Wanjohi.

The event was successful thanks to our sponsors: Hotpoint Appliances Limited, Serena Beach Resort & SPA, Turtle Bay Beach Club, Leisure Lodge Resort, The Sands Chale Island, Safaricom Limited, Jubilee Insurance, Stanlib, Imperial Bank, Tarakibu Architects, Kenya Commercial Bank, ConsolBase Limited, Kenfright limited, Mabati Rolling Mills, Express Shipping Logistics (ESL- EA), Puryhydro Systems, Intraspeed Arcpro, Kaluworks, One Stop Shop, AWC Advocates, Portcross Limited, Phillips Limited, Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, The Sands at Nomad, Unilinker Limited, Training Centre in Communication, G North & Sons, Security Group, Wincomp Limited and Bounty Limited. We would like to to thank our sponsors for making this great event a success.

Mr. Steve Gitau receives the overall winner's prize from Gertrude's Hospital Foundation Chairman, Les Baillie, during the inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Annual Charity Golf Tournament, played at Vipingo Golf Club on 19th May 2015.

Team 1: D. Williamson, J. Phillips, S. Williamson, David Mitchell.

Team 2: C. Angell, W. Ussai, W. Rading

Team 3: Kenfreight: B. Weyn, P. Bletterman, P. Krijnen

Team 4: Kaluworks: N. Savla, K. Shah, B. Garbea, Q. Pirshal

Team 5: ConsolBase Ltd: A. Khaku, A. Khaku, A. Molu, M. Khaku

Team 6: R. Cherickel, N. Shah, R. Dharani

Team 7: F. Marques, Bonanno, Marco

Team 8: Tarakibu Architects: Sydney, G. Odundo, D. Kimani

Team 10: M. Waweru, K. Mwige, M.Thumbi, S. Gitau.

Team 12: J. Wamunyua, P. Gathuri, J. King’ori

Team 11: Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation: M. Round-Turner, L. Baillie, S. Round-Turner, A. Round-Turner

Team 13: M. Blasetti, C. Ritchie, J. Latter, A. Ritchie

Team 14: AWC Advocates: E. Miano, S. Muchene, M. Mwangi

Team 15: Shawn Driedger, Jim Siro, J. Wanjohi, William Kaguta

Team 16: B. Phillips, R. Robbs, T. Boulton, D. Ngunjiri

Team 9: T. Davidson, A. Davis, D. Mitchell, J. Cavanagh

Field Action

A

Team 17: Sue Knight, Mandy Sinclair

caddy takes a sip of the Orange water during the inaugural Gertrude's Hospital Foundation Golf Tournament in Vipingo Golf Course, Mombasa.

Team 18: Vicky Kanga, Njeri Otieno

Bruce Phillips takes a swing during the inaugural Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Golf Tournament in Vipingo Golf Course, Mombasa.

Smile Train Goes To Mandera

9month old Ayub Noor was born into a large extended family in the semi arid region of Mandera. The area of Bula near the administration police camp is a relatively normal and peaceful community that does not have access to specialized medical services. When he was born, many wondered what could have been the cause of his severely disfigured face. Ayub had a cleft lip and palate and was experiencing difficulty breastfeeding because the milk would pour out of his mouth sometimes.

Having three brothers and three sisters all normal, puzzled the mother as to what had gone wrong with Abdi. Many parents have not been able to pin point a specific cause or trigger. This is because there are many causes. The most common are:

• Genes inherited from the parents. Either the mother or the father can pass on genes that cause clefting, either as an isolated defect or as part of a syndrome that includes clefting as one of its signs.

• In some cases, babies inherit a gene that makes them more likely to develop a cleft, and then an environmental trigger actually causes the cleft to occur.

• Exposure to certain substances during pregnancy.

• Cleft lip and cleft palate may be more likely to occur in pregnant women who smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and take certain medications.

Ayub was booked for surgery through the Smile Train programme and underwent a successful procedure. He went back home completely transformed and will grow like any other child full of confidence and energy.

mwangi @j_mwangi Apr 23

@GertrudesHosp yesterday we got extremely good service from the @ g4skenya customer service agent at your muthaiga branch. Very grateful

By Consolata Wahome, Counselling Psychologist

Imagine if someone you feel close to, asked you for a favour, wouldn’t you go out of your way to help? If someone you don’t feel connected with asks a favour, wouldn’t you be less inclined to assist? Children feel the same way. When they are experiencing a strong connection with us, they naturally want to maintain that harmony by listening and cooperating.

The way we connect with our children colours our parenting experience more than anything else. If you do this, parenting will be an experience of joy rather than a sometimes tiresome duty. Establishing this connection starts when we become aware of our children’s four emotional needs and the importance of meeting them. These needs are:

1. Need for power: A family is a system where every component (father, mother, child) has a role to play hence their views need to be sought and respected. If there are changes (Home, cars, school) that may take place, children’s input is a must. We help children feel powerful when we offer choices, ask their opinion or allow them to feel that they are leading us into an activity.

2. Need to be heard: As parents we need to speak with our children, not to our children. We speak to our children when we fail to give personalized attention to them. We speak with our children when we stop doing other things and focus on them, hold their hands, make eye contact when they are speaking to us and when we get down to their level to communicate with them.

3. Need to feel important: Children feel important when parents take the time to ask and consider their opinion and spend time happily

connecting with them, indicating what we value and giving it and them our undivided attention.

4. Need to feel loved: Children like adults more than anything want to feel loved for who they are, not because of what they do or achieve. They need to feel that they are loved unconditionally simply because they exist; no matter how they are behaving.

The Root Cause Of Misbehaviour Misbehaviour happens when children inappropriately seek to fill the hunger for the four core needs. Power struggles erupt when children feel powerless. They may often scream for attention when they feel they are being ignored. In your next interaction with your child, instead of asking yourself, "how can I get my child to behave well?" Ask yourself, "what is my child trying to tell me?" Jump at the chance to discover your child’s need, and then work towards meeting it.

When your child knows that a fulfilling connection with you is readily available, it is like a highspeed Internet line to your heart that’s always ‘live’. Children soon know that they can easily tap into the power of your love and get connected. They feel better about themselves, and naturally feel less needy, and as a result, often behave in a way that’s less demanding. They feel "powerful”, listened to, important, and loved.

And for you the parent, you enjoy the peace of mind that comes from the knowledge that your children are happy, less demanding, selfrestrained, and more connected to you

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital Food Safety Management Training

Gertrude's Catering staff pose for a photo together with The Head of Nursing, Ms. Emily Nguu (Centre), holding their certificates of attendance

As part of the Hospital’s overall objective of providing the highest quality services to our customers, Gertrude's Children's Hospital catering department got ISO 22000:2005 - Food Safety Management System Certification in 2009 which gave 100% assurance to our customers that the food we serve is safe for consumption. Over the years much has changed in the food industry including new hazards due to changes in climate, farming practices, processing, etc.

In line with this, a one week training course was held for the Food Safety Team facilitated by Quality Experts, SGS (KENYA) with the aim of keeping them at par with the industry's best practices and emerging food safety issues and how to deal with them. This will go a long way in facilitating the team to update our current standard to meet set requirements.

One More Visit At One More Day Children Centre

Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation in partnership with CHADIK continues to provide quality healthcare and bring hope to the less privileged communities in Laikipia County. One More Day children’s home was started in 2009 by a well wisher from the Czech Republic. The home currently has 146 children ranging from newborns to 21 years. The Foundation supports them through provision of clothing. Monthly health screening for the under fives is usually done by the Doldol District Hospital staff at no cost.

We saw the home during our monthly visits in May and identified their need for good clothing among many other things. We therefore wrote a brief memo to staff at Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital requesting clothing and got a good response.

In June we visited the home to donate what we had received. Fortunately, the Vice President of the home was present. She was so excited with the donations. It was amazing to see the smiles on the children's faces.We hope to continue with this partnership by giving health talks and conducting monthly health checks.

We thank the staff in Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital for their support.

Gertrude's Children's Hospital staff with the children and their staff from One More DayChildren's Home in ther new clothes.

Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital Participates In Walk To Beat Epilepsy

Gertrude’s Children's Hospital took part in a 10 Km Epilepsy Walk at Uhuru Park organised by The Kenya Association for the Welfare of People with Epilepsy on Saturday 27th June 2015,.

The event saw a total of eight Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital staff take part in the walk. The hospital offered ambulance services to all participants ensuring it was a safe and healthy walk.

Two Schools, Two Days, All By Gertrude’s Hospital Rongai Clinic

On Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th June 2015, Gertrude’s Hospital Rongai Clinic took part in a school outreach in two different schools Ongata Academy in Rongai and Greenyard Academy in Ngong.

They offered first aid services to both schools. They were able to distribute fliers and market the clinic as well as taking up the challenge in the fitness activities by doing aerobics and joining in the races.

Participants take part in a fitness activity during the school outreach where Gertrude's Rongai Clinic took part

Gertrude's Hospital Clinics Participate In Hillcrest Family Fun Day

Hillcrest Family Fun Day was held on Sunday July 28th 2015 at the Hillcrest School in Karen.

Gertrude’s Lavington Clinic in conjunction with Rongai and Nairobi West clinics participated in the event where the following services were offered: blood pressure check, BMI (Body Mass Index), blood sugar checks, nutrition counselling and first aid.

A big number of people both adults and children turned up for the services most of whom commended Gertrude’s for the opportunity to participate.

Dr.

Gertrude's Children's Hospital volunteer team poses for a photo during the Epilepsy Walk at Uhuru Park

Bisase Moraa of Gertrude's Rongai Clinic administers a BMI check on a client during The Hillcrest School Family Day Out

COUGHS AND COLD SYRUPS FOR CHILDREN USE

By Dr. Imran Khares MDTeam Leader Muthaiga

With the advent of unauthorized chemists and over the counter medication, doctors caring for children are faced with a big dilemma of where to begin, when parents bring a child who has suffered coughing endlessly and taken a series of antibiotics, or even a cough expectorants. Unlike adults, children are unable to expectorate voluntarily and therefore coughing becomes an essential mechanism to eliminate any congestion of the chest and finally for the child to swallow. Interfering with the active processes of the cough and lung "housekeeping" will allow the chest to remain congested and can lead to processes such as Pneumonia.

Evidence indicates that children's cold medicines don't really help. They also pose a real risk of side effects, particularly to young children. This can make parents both confused and anxious when we have used trusted and greatly advertised brands -only to feel cheated by a system that contradicts itself.

Which

kids' cough medicines are in question?

• Cough suppressants (dextromethorphan or DM)

• Cough expectorants (guaifenesin)

• Decongestants (pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine)

• Certain antihistamines- such as brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine maleate, and diphenhydramine [Benadryl]

You might not recognize these drugs by name, but these are the active ingredients in many brands of kids' cold and cough syrups commonly available in chemists. Taking too much cold medicine can produce dangerous side effects. Accidentally giving a child a dose that's too high can be very risky. Parents might also use two different brands of cough syrups at the same time, not realizing they contain the same ingredients, or may incorrectly measure a dose if they get up in the middle of the night to soothe a child.

What can I give my kids for a cold or cough?

1. Seek immediate medical attention if your child is three months of age or younger at the first sign of an illness.

2. Reduce fevers by using appropriate medication such as acetaminophen (Paracetamol). (check with a doctor) Never use Ibuprofen in infants under the age of 6 months or if your child is vom iting or dehydrated.

3. Consider using honey for coughs or sore throat for kids, but only if they are older than one year.

4. Try administering saline drops or spray to clear thick mucus out of your child's nose.

5. Give your child plenty of liquids to increase their hydration and help thin mucus.

6. Use a warm humidifier in your child's room to add moisture to the dry cold air.

7. If your child wheezes, seek medical attention earlier than later. Other treatments may be need ed to help decongest and open airways.

8. To ease congestion, keep the child's head elevated when resting.

The good news about colds and coughs is that children get over them just as quickly without medicines. We in Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital therefore strongly recommend against giving over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to children.