Blantyre Adventist Hospital wins award in USA

Blantyre Adventist Hospital (BAH) has scooped first position on quality improvement at the Global Health Conference at Loma Linda Medical University in the United States of America.

The hospital was among 40 other institutions of the Seventh Day Adventist that submitted their stories on quality improvement, and delegates at the conference voted for it as number one.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a press conference organised by the hospital, BAH chief executive officer Kirby Kasinja said the hospital did not just win the award based on the theoretical story but also what the hospital is currently implementing.

He said: “The story we told is a reflection of what is happening on the ground there. If you take a look at the hospital, you will see that all aspects are being addressed. You talk of paperless and cashless transactions, a new dental facility, a painted Out Patient Department, renovated and well-equipped hospital. So when the delegates read our story, they agreed to vote for our hospital as the best on matters of quality improvement.”

He added that the award is a sign that the hospital is working hard on raising standards of health services delivery.

The award follows a similar recognition by the Malawi Chartered Institute of Customer Management, which ranked the hospital first in providing health services in 2017.

Kasinja attributed the hospital`s achievement to the in-depth surveys that the hospital carries out to improve on its service delivery.

“We use a tool called Fishbone to analyse, plan, come up with interventions and to break down several aspects to establish the source of the problem. When our results are not acceptable, we start all over again until we ensure that the patients are receiving the best health care,” he said.

Minister of Health Atupele Muluzi on September 7 this year officially opened a remodeled dental facility at the hospital which has been equipped to meet western standards.

The Global Health Conference attracted 300 delegates from various countries globally.