IN-PATIENT EXPANSION: ONCOLOGY

In August of 2023, TLP launched The Caitlin O’Hara Community Health Clinic—our first major expansion—to address critical healthcare gaps including unpaid health workers, hospital strikes, and shortages of essential medications. The Clinic was launched as a proof of concept to test a fundamental set of assumptions:

  1. Engaging communities from the start fosters greater participation, retention, and utilization of healthcare services. 

  2. If you build a high-quality facility, staff it with dedicated health workers, pay them well, and give them autonomy and respect, they will provide exceptional care.

  3. When patients are treated with dignity, and have access to trusted, accessible healthcare, they are more likely to engage in their own healthcare, follow through with screenings, and complete prescribed treatments. 

  4. Education, screening, and treatment are equally essential components of a comprehensive continuum of care model - ultimately leading to better health outcomes.

This model has surpassed expectations and has been endorsed by the Kenyan Ministry of Health. Since opening in August 2023, the clinic has provided care to 8,072 patients, who have returned for a total of 21,215 visits, demonstrating that closing critical gaps leads to sustained health-seeking behaviors and improved outcomes.

With our initial assumptions validated, we are now expanding into in-patient care to address urgent issues in maternal health and oncology care.

Our needs assessment identified breast, cervical and prostate cancers as the most prevalent in Kenya. While these cancers are largely preventable and treatable when detected early, access to screening and treatment remains critically limited—especially in rural areas like Laikipia County. In many low- and middle-income countries, cancer cases often go unreported and are diagnosed at advanced stages, drastically reducing survival rates. Laikipia County currently has no cancer treatment facilities, forcing patients to travel for hours to receive care. This center will bridge that gap by providing comprehensive cancer services, including education, early screening, advanced imaging, diagnostics, and life-saving treatment, ensuring timely intervention and improved health outcomes for the community.

IN-PATIENT EXPANSION: MATERNAL HEALTH

Approximately 30% of the women at our Health Clinic currently deliver at home. The Leo Project anticipates supporting over 1,000 births annually, ensuring more women receive the skilled medical care they need and maternal mortality rates are reduced. The rate of neonatal deaths in Kenya is 18 per 1,000 live births. Newborn services are scarce in Laikipia County, and there are no neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in the Mount Kenya region which spans across 9 of the country’s 47 counties. The inpatient hospital will offer comprehensive services including antenatal and postnatal care, labor and delivery suites, two state-of-the-art operating theatres, a NICU, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), two high-dependency units for at-risk mothers, and a dedicated kangaroo care unit to optimize neonatal outcomes.

As we launch our fundraising efforts, we are seeking like-minded partners and donors to join us in developing The Caitlin O’Hara Community Hospital. To learn more or to join this effort, please reach out to Jess Danforth, Founder and Executive Director (jess@theleoproject.org) and Lucy Crawford, Director of Strategy and Development (lucy@theleoproject.org).