Kitovu Hospital

{{short description|Private community hospital in Uganda}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox hospital | name = Kitovu Hospital | org_group = Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau | image = | caption =  | logo =  | location = Kitovu, [[Masaka District]], [[Central Region, Uganda|Central Region]] | region =  | state =  | country = [[Uganda]] | pushpin_map = Uganda | coordinates = {{coord|00|20|36|S|31|45|28|E|region:UG|display=inline, title}} | healthcare = Private | type = Community | specialty = | standards =  | emergency = I | affiliation = | beds = 250 | founded = 1955 | closed =  | website = [http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/ Homepage] | other_links = [[Hospitals in Uganda]]<br/>[[Medical education in Uganda]] }}

'''Kitovu Hospital''' is a hospital in Kitovu, a neighborhood within the city of [[Masaka]], [[Masaka District]], [[Central Region, Uganda|Central Uganda]]. It is a [[privately held company|private]], [[community hospital]], serving the city of [[Masaka]] and surrounding communities. It runs a specialist program to repair [[obstetric fistula]]s, that was founded by Dr. [[Maura Lynch]]; one of about six centers in the country that can do so.<ref name="1R">{{cite web |title=About The Obstetric Fistula Unit At Kitovu Hospital, Masaka, Uganda |date=October 2014 |url=http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/departments/vvf-ward-obstetric-fistula-unit/ |publisher=Kitovu Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020 |author=Kitovu Hospital |location=Masaka, Uganda |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108045400/http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/departments/vvf-ward-obstetric-fistula-unit/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Location== The hospital is located in the neighborhood called ''Kitovu'', in the city of Masaka, in Masaka District, in the Central Region of Uganda. This location is approximately {{convert|7|km|0}}, by road, southeast of the [[Masaka Regional Referral Hospital]], the nearest regional referral hospital.<ref name="2R">{{google maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Kitovu+Hospital,+P.O.Box+413,+Masaka/Masaka+Hospital,+Alex+Ssebowa,+Masaka/@-0.3370905,31.7296948,14z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x19d78efa4685e92f:0x6959a7a70b48be92!2m2!1d31.7573017!2d-0.3442488!1m5!1m1!1s0x19d78ebb9db30b6f:0x3735f21041acd7db!2m2!1d31.7359321!2d-0.3293044!3e0 |title=Road Distance Between Kitovu Hospital And Masaka Regional Referral Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref> Kitovu Hospital is located approximately {{convert|133|km|0}}, by road, southwest of [[Mulago National Referral Hospital]], the largest referral hospital in Uganda, that is located in [[Kampala]], the [[capital city]] of that country.<ref name="3R">{{google maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Kitovu+Hospital,+P.O.Box+413,+Masaka/Mulago+Hospital,+Kampala/@0.0013684,31.6062674,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x19d78efa4685e92f:0x6959a7a70b48be92!2m2!1d31.7573017!2d-0.3442488!1m5!1m1!1s0x177dbb0f51509de1:0xea12334542674d8c!2m2!1d32.5761312!2d0.3380637!3e0 |title=Road Distance Between Kitovu Hospital And Mulago National Referral Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref> The geographical coordinates of Kitovu Hospital are:00°20'36.0"S, 31°45'28.0"E (Latitude:-0.343333; Longitude:31.757778).<ref name="4R">{{google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/0%C2%B020'36.0%22S+31%C2%B045'28.0%22E/@-0.3433333,31.7577778,392m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0 |title=Location of Kitovu Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref>

==Overview== Kitovu Hospital is a [[privately held company|private]], [[non-profit]], [[community hospital]] owned by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka]] and is accredited by the ''Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau''. The hospital is administered by the ''Daughters of Mary Sisters'', an indigenous religious congregation. The original planned capacity was 200 in-patient beds. However, as of January 2014, the hospital has more than 250 in-patient beds.<ref name="5R">{{cite web |url=http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/about-kitovu/history-development/ |title=History And Profile of Kitovu Hospital |publisher=Kitovu Hospital |date=2014 |author=Kitovu Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020 |place=Kitovu, Masaka, Uganda |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114031835/http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/about-kitovu/history-development/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The hospital has a comprehensive community based primary healthcare program, including an HIV/AIDS treatment center. Other specialized units include a regional blood bank, a [[neonatal]] care unit, a nutritional rehabilitation unit and a school for laboratory assistants. The hospital also serves as an ''Internship Hospital'' in collaboration with [[Makerere University School of Medicine]]. The area served by the hospital extends to the neighboring districts of [[Sembabule District|Sembabule]], [[Lyantonde District|Lyantonde]], [[Bukomansimbi District|Bukomansimbi]], [[Kalangala District|Kalangala]], [[Kalungu District|Kalungu]], [[Kyotera District|Kyotera]], [[Lwengo District|Lwengo]] and [[Rakai District|Rakai]].<ref name="6R">{{cite web |url=http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/about-kitovu/regional-information/ |title=The Regional Catchment Area of Kitovu Hospital |publisher=Kitovu Hospital |date=2014 |author=Kitovu Hospital |access-date=2 November 2020 |location=Masaka, Uganda |archive-date=13 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113113850/http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/about-kitovu/regional-information/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Kitovu Hospital has 31 beds dedicated to the treatment of patients with [[obstetric fistula]], also referred to as [[vesicovaginal fistula]] (VVF).<ref name="5R"/> There are only six or so hospitals in Uganda with the expertise to carry out the necessary surgery in these cases. Those hospitals include: (1) Kitovu Hospital (2) [[Mulago National Referral Hospital]] (3) [[Hoima Regional Referral Hospital]] (4) [[Nsambya Hospital]] (5) [[Kagando Hospital]] (6) [[Lacor Hospital]].<ref name="7R">{{cite web |title=The Uganda Fistula Care Project | url=http://www.fistulacare.org/pages/sites/uganda.php |publisher=Fistula Care Organization |date=2013 |author=Fistula Care Organization |access-date=2 November 2020 |location=New York City | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219014612/http://www.fistulacare.org/pages/sites/uganda.php | archive-date=19 February 2014 |format=Archived from the original on 23 February 2014}}</ref>

==History== At the invitation of the late [[Joseph Kiwánuka|Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka]] (1899 - 1966), the first African Roman Catholic Bishop in [[sub-Saharan Africa]], the Sisters of the ''Medical Missionaries of Mary'' (MMM) founded a First Aid Post at Kitovu, Masaka, [[Uganda]] in 1955. The institution initially offered out-patient services only. Later, in-patient services were introduced. The MMM Sisters administered the hospital from 1955 until 2001 when they handed over the running of the hospital to the current administrators.<ref name="5R"/>

==See also== *[[Masaka District]] *[[Hospitals in Uganda]] *[[Obstetric fistula]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://masakamedicalservices.org/works/kitovu-hospital/ About Kitovu Hospital] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140219023015/http://www.kitovu-hospital.org/news/ Developments At Kitovu Hospital] As of 13 December 2013.

[[Category:Hospitals in Uganda]] [[Category:Central Region, Uganda]] [[Category:Catholic hospitals in Africa]] [[Category:1955 establishments in Uganda]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Uganda]] [[Category:Hospital buildings completed in 1955]] [[Category:1955 establishments in the British Empire]] [[Category:Masaka]] [[Category:Masaka District]]