‎Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital will mark more than a century of providing healthcare services on September 28, with a series of activities including free paediatric surgeries and community health screening. ‎
Hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr Bernard Murithi said the centenary celebrations would be a major milestone for the institution, the county and the health sector, noting that the facility had served residents of Meru and patients from neighbouring counties for decades.
Murithi said about 100 paediatric surgeries are expected to be conducted from September 28 to 30 by paediatric surgeons drawn from across the country.
He said the children undergoing surgery would be admitted to a newly completed ward block, marking an expansion of the hospital’s services and bed capacity.
“We are happy to report that once the surgeries are done, we will take those babies to the new ward, which shows the extensive expansion of our services,” said Dr Murithi.
He said the new ward block had been awaited for nearly eight years and would help the hospital increase its bed capacity as it works towards attaining Level Six status. ‎
The hospital will also conduct free community screening, with residents expected to benefit from screening for non-communicable diseases, cervical cancer and breast cancer. ‎“The community will feel appreciated that day,” said Dr Murithi.
He said stakeholders from across the county, including the governor, would be invited to grace the celebrations, while current and former members of staff, including retirees, would also be honoured for their contribution to the growth of the institution.
Murithi said the hospital’s history dates back to the 1920s, when it started as a small clinic during the colonial era at a facility that had previously served as a military base. ‎
He said the institution had since transformed from a single clinic into a major referral facility serving thousands of patients. ‎
“100 years means everything to us. It doesn’t matter who is here today or tomorrow. Those who were here 100 years ago made their mark, and it is for us, the current generation, to make a mark so that in the next 100 years people will remember and celebrate us,” he said.
The CEO acknowledged that the hospital had faced various challenges over the years but said the institution had continued to overcome them and expand its services. ‎
“Like any other institution, we have challenges, but through them, we have been able to overcome them. Each day we find ourselves where we deserve to be. It is not a walk in the park,” he said.
Murithi said the centenary celebration was therefore not only about marking the hospital’s history but also recognising the contribution of generations of healthcare workers who had helped build the institution.

He said the celebrations would provide an opportunity for the community to celebrate an institution that had played a significant role in saving lives and providing healthcare services for more than a century.
‎by Dickson Mwiti