14/08/2026
JOOTRH Board Turns Level 6A Status into a Roadmap for Better Care
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) is shifting focus from attaining Level 6A status to proving what the new status can deliver for patients, with the Board of Directors outlining measures to strengthen staff systems, specialised services and long-term planning.
Speaking during a meeting to introduce the Board to staff, Chairperson Dr. Charles Olang’o Onudi said the hospital’s elevation was only the beginning. He noted that JOOTRH had met the minimum requirements for Level 6A and must now sustain and improve on those gains.
“We have to be able to sustain what we have already achieved and improve on it,” Dr. Onudi said, challenging staff and management to maintain the gains while raising performance.
The Board has already made key resolutions to support that ambition. Among them is the absorption of staff into the hospital’s new structure, alongside approval for the introduction and maintenance of a staff pension scheme. Management has been tasked with implementing the pension resolution, with the Board expected to follow up on its progress.
A five-year strategic plan has also been completed at Board level, with management expected to translate it into annual work plans, targets and actions across departments. The plan is intended to give every unit a clear understanding of its priorities and contribution to the hospital’s broader direction.
For patients, the significance is practical: stronger workforce systems and clearer institutional priorities are intended to support more reliable and specialised care. Dr. Onudi called for JOOTRH to build capacity to provide services expected of a Level 6 facility, including reducing unnecessary referrals for services that can be delivered within the hospital.
Representing the Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr. Norbert Abuya, Deputy Director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, said the new status must translate into expanded services and patient-centred care. He highlighted patient safety, clean and safe environments, referral and counter-referral systems, waiting times and length of stay as key areas of focus.
Dr. Abuya also stressed that the Board and hospital leadership cannot achieve the strategic direction without the contribution of staff across departments. He said the priorities must be translated into individual workstations.
JOOTRH CEO and ex-officio member of the Board, Dr. Joshua Clinton Okise, is expected to lead implementation of the Board’s resolutions, while staff across departments will be central to turning the strategic direction into measurable improvements. Dr. Onudi said the Board’s role is to provide policy and strategic direction, while management implements the resolutions and government policies.
Other Board members present included Dr. Zablon Mokua, Ms. Grace Essendi, Mr. Elias Mokono and Riyaq Ahmed, who joined the engagement with staff as the Board outlined its priorities for the hospital’s next phase.
The Board’s engagement with staff comes as JOOTRH begins consolidating its Level 6A status. Its message is therefore straightforward: the elevation is not the finish line; it is the starting point for stronger systems, expanded services and better outcomes for patients.
