I had the pleasure of visiting Kijabe, Kenya Feb 4-13, 2026.
My primary purpose was to support the work of the Anesthesiology Department while Dr. Matt Kynes is on home assignment in the US. An additional goal was to work with some of the 9 anesthesiology residents, most of whom I joined in clinical care, educational programs and bible study. I was delighted to work along-side Dr. Eunice Kageha and Dr. Rebecca Dufe, the first two graduates of the PAACS Anesthesiology residency program, who are now consultants in Anesthesiology at Kijabe and hopefully soon-to-be faculty members for the PAACS Anesthesiology residency program. They were members of the first class of graduates of the CANECSA curriculum, and Dr. Eunice received an award for the highest scoring candidate of all the CANECSA graduates from 12 different countries!
In addition to supporting the residents, anesthetists and Dr. Greg Sund, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with several PAACS surgical residents and consultants. I spent time supporting the new neurosurgery program and also met with other local champions at Kijabe including David Shirk, ED of Friends of Kijabe and Dr. Britney Grayson, Chief Medical Officer of Bethany Kids. Work on the new housing construction project for residents is underway, and the first phase is projected to be completed by the end of 2026.
At the weekly Chapel program, I learned that in 2025 Kijabe had a total of 67 residents and 224 visiting learners and there were almost 10,000 surgical procedures performed at Kijabe hospital!
Elizabeth Drum MD, FAAP, FCPP, FASA
Secretary
Board of Directors
