The dormitory is part of a multi-year plan to help the school fill the critical shortage of nurses in Kenya.

HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA, June 3, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A long-awaited groundbreaking in Kenya signals the start of a new nursing dormitory at the Clive Irvine College of Nursing in Chogoria. As a department of PCEA Chogoria Hospital, the nursing school is accredited by the Nursing Council of Kenya and currently enrolls 184 students. The dormitory will expand the nursing school’s capacity and help fill the critical shortage of nurses in Kenya.

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony that took place on 21st February 2021 were Rt. Rev. Dr. Julius G. Mwamba, Moderator of the 22nd General Assembly, Rev. Paul Kariuki, the Deputy General Secretary of the 22nd General Assembly, Mrs. Catherine Munene, the CEO of PCEA Chogoria Hospital, hospital administrators from PCEA Kikuyu Hospital (Mr. Jamhuri Joel), PCEA Tumutumu Hospital (Mr. Hudson Kinyua) and Maua Methodist Hospital (Mr. Justus Marete).

The new dormitory was made possible by a grant from USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (USAID/ASHA) and the American people. The Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF) was responsible for obtaining the funding and will administer the grant. Engineering Ministries International was also pivotal in its role in providing the plans for the new dormitory.

The dormitory will house 60 additional nursing students within the college grounds. This is advantageous to the students as they can access the clinical areas for practice after attending class in the evenings. Construction is expected to complete in December 2021. MBF’s donors also provide scholarship assistance for 24 of the nursing students at Chogoria this year and have helped almost 90 students graduate over the past five years. These are students who would otherwise not be able to achieve their dreams of becoming nurses.

This project is the second phase of a plan to expand the school’s capacity from 200 to 500 students and upgrade the school’s facilities which are currently in the old hospital built in 1922. The master plan calls for a new library and skills laboratory and more classrooms. The renovations and expansion will help provide the education Kenyans need to acquire Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees.

The new dormitory construction will help the school continue to attract new students and fill the nursing gap in the country where there are only 1.2 nurses per 1,000 people, compared to 14.5 in the USA. MBF's Center for Global Nursing Development focuses on training and empowering the nurses at Chogoria and other mission schools. Clive Irvine Nursing School has produced some of the best nurses in Kenya.

“The Clive Irvine Nursing School has a long history of equipping nurses to serve patients throughout Kenya. We are committed to expand and upgrade the school to graduate more nurses who are even better prepared to provide quality healthcare,” said Catherine G. Munene, CEO of PCEA Chogoria Hospital.

The school and the hospital are Christian faith-based organizations located in the Tharaka-Nithi County Eastern Kenya. The hospital currently has 295 beds and treats 120,000 patients annually, serving a catchment population of over 2.8 million people. The mission hospital and nursing school in Chogoria provide essential healthcare services for adults and children in the area.

Said Andrew Mayo, CEO of MBF, “I am incredibly pleased for the people of Kenya. Another step has been taken toward building nursing capacity for their country. We know the impact that an adequate number of well-trained nurses can have on healthcare outcomes. We will continue to work hard alongside PCEA to see that impact materialize in Chogoria."

About Clive Irvine College of Nursing
Clive Irvine College of Nursing is a middle level college accredited by the Nursing council of Kenya and Tveta offering Diploma in Kenya Registered Community Health Nursing for 3 years. Visit PCEA Chogoria Hospital’s website to learn more: www.pceachogoriahospital.org/nursing/college-of-nursing.

About MBF
MBF (the Medical Benevolence Foundation) is an international Christ-centered medical mission organization. MBF has served over 140 developing world hospitals, clinics, and nursing schools in 34 countries. Based in Houston, Texas, MBF is registered as a 501(c)3 organization in the USA. Visit MBF’s website to learn more: www.medicalmission.org.

Donna Childress
Medical Benevolence Foundation
+1 817-909-8919
dchildress@mbf.net
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