Our Founder
We owe Colonel Grogan a tremendous debt of gratitude on behalf of the rising generation. “Not only is the whole Hospital his gift to the children of East Africa, but his personal interest, drive and perseverance have been largely instrumental in thrashing the way through all the regulations and controls which make construction work such a nightmare to the ordinary citizen.” From a report on the progress of the Gertrude’s Garden Children’s Hospital, given by Mrs. F.O.B Wilson in January 1947, shortly before the establishment of the Hospital.
Gertrude’s Garden Children’s Hospital was founded in 1947, with the donation of some land by Colonel Ewart Grogan, pioneer extraordinary, in memory of his beloved wife, Gertrude Edith.
Charitable trust
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is a not-for-profit Children’s Hospital established in 1947.
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital (“the hospital”) is registered as a Trust, under the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) Act (Cap 264) laws of Kenya, and a Board of Trustees (“the board”) is vested with the legal mandate and responsibility to operate the hospital. Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is a not – for – profit organization, chartered with responsibilities to benefit humankind through providing health services, fostering good health, carrying out research, and teaching healthcare professionals. As such the hospital regards the community as the main stakeholder(s).The Board’s ultimate obligation is to safeguard and advance the mission of Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital and as well ensure the long term sustainability of the hospital.
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is the most established paediatric hospital in Eastern and Central Africa, providing healthcare to children in Kenya as well as those referred from neighbouring countries.
The hospital attends to over 400,000 patients annually through a network of 18 medical centers in and around Nairobi.
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is licensed to provide healthcare to children and teens up to 21 years of age, and provides the full range of healthcare services including preventive care, accident and emergency, outpatient care, inpatient medical and surgical care, and rehabilitation services. The hospital provides specialist care covering over twenty aspects of paediatric specialization, and also runs a teens’ clinic providing comprehensive healthcare to teenagers and young adults. Gertrude’s Children’s hospital is licensed and recognized as a Level 5 Healthcare Facility, a Tertiary Referral and Teaching Children’s Hospital. The hospital operates on a self-sustaining financing model through charging fee for services.
The hospital employs more than 750 professionals and works with over 200 independent practitioners to provide high quality healthcare services. The hospital allocates substantial resources towards staff training and development with greater emphasis on specialized training. The hospital has a fully accredited Ethical Review Board that oversees research activities which range from operations research to clinical trials. The Gertrude’s Institute of Child Health and Research which coordinates all training activities provides specialized training for nurses, fellowship trainings for doctors, as well as accredited short courses.
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital has put in place a very robust quality and safety program that ensures continuous improvement in line with internationally acceptable benchmarks. As a member of the Children’s Hospitals Association, USA, Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital benchmarks its care processes and outcomes with the best children’s hospitals in the world. Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital is the first paediatric hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa to be accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), USA. The JCI accreditation is the gold standard for best practices in healthcare quality, safety and management.
The hospital, through the Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation, works with different partners to provide much needed care to children from less privileged families. The hospital also works with local and international partners to establish highly specialized services.