Over the past 19 years, Lwala Community Hospital has become a center of excellence—in 2025, the hospital served more than 82,000 patient visits, a 74% increase since 2020 and nearly triple the volume of a decade ago. As the hospital grows, its influence extends beyond its walls. By training and mentoring the next generation of health workers, piloting innovations that are adopted by government, and setting standards for facilities across Kenya, the hospital is shaping the health system itself.
Building the health workforce of tomorrow
Lwala Community Hospital has become a place of learning, where health workers are trained and mentored to deliver high-quality, compassionate care.
“When our hospital staff train and mentor other health workers, we carry not only our clinical skills but our commitment to treating patients with dignity. This is what we are known for.”
- Karen Lisa Boyi, Clinician In-Charge, Lwala Community Hospital
The hospital’s role as a training and mentorship hub continues to grow. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, universities, and training colleges, the hospital welcomes students and health workers from across Kenya and internationally, training over 130 people in 2025 alone. This role was further affirmed in early 2026, when the Clinical Officers Council—the professional body overseeing the licensing of clinical officers in Kenya—approved the hospital as a training site for clinical officers.
Beyond hosting trainees, our clinical team is sharing our expertise more broadly, facilitating national and county-level trainings in emergency maternal and newborn care and cascading best practices to other public health facilities. Through this work, Lwala Community Hospital is not only strengthening its own care—it is helping to build a health workforce that carries these standards of care into communities and facilities across Kenya.
From innovation to government adoption
For years, Lwala Community Hospital has also served as a testing ground for new ways to deliver health care, generating evidence and partnering with county and national governments to adopt and scale what works.
In 2021, the hospital partnered with the International Childbirth Initiative to introduce a birth companion model that provides emotional and physical support throughout the maternity journey. This approach includes traditional birth attendants—trusted caregivers who have supported mothers for generations but are often excluded from the formal health system. This work is now shaping policy. In late 2024, the government of Migori County launched its Birth Companion Inclusion Strategy, building on Lwala’s efforts to formally integrate traditional birth attendants into the health system. This laid the groundwork for Lwala, county government, and traditional birth attendants to co-create a birth companion training package; Homa Bay and Lwala have similarly co-developed a countywide inclusion policy and training package now awaiting final approval.
This approach—testing innovations in partnership with communities, generating evidence, and driving government uptake—demonstrates Lwala’s ability to create lasting, system-wide change.
Raising the standard of care
Lwala Community Hospital is also raising the standards of care for all of our patients. The hospital recently scored 94% on the Kenya Quality Model for Health—the national standard for measuring quality of care in facilities—an increase from 64% in 2024. To evaluate the quality of our services, Lwala also uses SafeCare, a global third-party certification system that helps health facilities measure and improve their services. In 2025, the hospital achieved its highest-ever SafeCare rating, earning a Level 5 certification and receiving the SafeCare Award for Outstanding Commitment to Quality of Care.
“This is a testament to our investment in quality health care. Our visibility is increasing as we continue to raise our standards.”
- Dr. Chadwink Ochieng, Medical Officer, Lwala Community Hospital
This commitment to training, innovation, and quality of care are felt by the people Lwala Community Hospital serves every day. 97% of women delivering at the hospital report compassionate, dignified care; 94% of patients report satisfaction with hospital services, an increase from 84% in 2019; and access to essential services continues to expand, with 3,000 ultrasounds provided to pregnant women in 2025—a record for the hospital. These gains reflect not only improved access, but growing trust in the quality and consistency of care.
Lwala Community Hospital’s impact does not stop at its gates—it is helping to build a health system where high-quality, dignified care is the norm across Kenya.
