Dr Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Hospital Ready to Open as Bomet Awaits Official Commissioning

BOMET, Kenya — Bomet County is on the verge of a major transformation in maternal and child healthcare following the completion of the Dr Joyce Laboso Memorial Mother and Child Wellness Centre, a Sh300 million, 300-bed Level Five health facility in Longisa.

The facility, which is located in the Ngungunyat area of Longisa Ward in Bomet East Sub-County, has been completed and is now awaiting official commissioning. Bomet Governor Prof. Hillary Barchok said the facility is ready to serve residents once the commissioning process is completed, with President William Ruto expected to officially open it in the coming weeks. 

The development marks an important stage in a project that has been viewed by county authorities as one of Bomet's flagship investments in healthcare. The new centre is expected to provide specialised referral services to mothers and children from Bomet and neighbouring counties while reducing the pressure currently experienced at Longisa County Referral Hospital.

A major investment in maternal and child healthcare

Governor Barchok announced the completion of the facility during an inspection tour on August 26, 2026. According to the governor, the Sh300 million centre is fully complete and ready for commissioning.

The facility has a planned capacity of 300 beds, making it one of the most significant healthcare infrastructure investments in the county. It is designed to strengthen access to specialised healthcare services and provide residents with treatment closer to home.

Barchok said the completion of the centre represents a major milestone in the county's efforts to bring quality and specialised healthcare services closer to the people.

The county administration has argued that the facility will also help reduce the financial burden faced by patients who currently have to travel long distances to access specialised medical services.

For families requiring maternal and child healthcare, the new hospital is therefore expected to become an important referral centre once operations begin.

Relief for Longisa County Referral Hospital

One of the central reasons behind the project has been the growing pressure on Longisa County Referral Hospital.

For years, Longisa has served as a major referral facility for Bomet residents and patients from surrounding areas. However, congestion and limited space have presented challenges, particularly in maternal and reproductive health services.

Earlier county planning documents identified serious pressure on maternity services at Longisa. One county document indicated that the maternity unit had a bed capacity of only 24 beds while occupancy had reached about 200 per cent. The county therefore anticipated that the Dr Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Wellness Centre would provide additional space, equipment and specialised personnel to handle complicated maternal and child cases. 

The new hospital is expected to take some of this pressure away from Longisa and allow the two institutions to play complementary roles in the county's healthcare system.

The project is consequently more than a new building. Its success will depend on whether it is adequately equipped, staffed and operationalised to handle the specialist cases for which it was designed.

From a proposed project to a completed hospital

The journey of the Dr Joyce Laboso facility has taken several years.

In April 2022, the Kenya News Agency reported that the proposed centre was being developed at Ng'ung'unyat in Bomet East. At the time, the project was described as a 200-bed ultra-modern Mother and Child Wellness Centre with an estimated cost of Sh300 million. It was intended to decongest Longisa County Referral Hospital and provide a broad range of healthcare services under one roof. 

The project was funded through a partnership involving the National Government's Kenya Devolution Support Programme, the County Government of Bomet and the World Bank, among other partners. 

As construction progressed, the facility's planned capacity and status evolved. The latest reports now describe it as a 300-bed Level Five facility.

The centre was named after the late Dr Joyce Laboso, Bomet's second governor, who died in July 2019. Her name has become associated with the county's effort to strengthen healthcare, particularly services benefiting mothers and children.

What happens next?

The most important question for residents is no longer whether the building has been completed, but when patients will actually begin receiving services there.

The latest information indicates that the hospital is ready for commissioning, rather than already operating as a fully commissioned public hospital.

Governor Barchok said President William Ruto is expected to commission the facility in the coming weeks. As of August 30, 2026, however, a specific commissioning date had not been confirmed in the latest reports reviewed for this article. 

This distinction is important for patients and families. Completion of construction does not necessarily mean that every department is already open, staffed and admitting patients.

Earlier in April, the Bomet County Government said it was equipping the new Dr Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Hospital and had advertised positions for healthcare workers across various cadres in preparation for the opening of new facilities. 

The recruitment and equipping process will therefore be crucial in determining how quickly the centre can move from a completed building to a functioning specialist hospital.

Expected impact on mothers and children

The hospital is expected to have its greatest impact on maternal and child health.

Specialised maternal and newborn services can be particularly important in emergencies, where delays in reaching an appropriate referral facility can increase risks to both mothers and babies.

By providing additional capacity in Bomet, the new centre could reduce the need for some patients to travel outside the county in search of specialist care.

County planning documents previously identified reproductive health services as an area constrained by shortages of space and facilities at higher levels of care. The planned Dr Joyce Laboso centre was specifically expected to provide the space, equipment and specialised personnel required to manage complications and improve maternal and child survival. 

For residents, the significance of the project will ultimately be measured not by the size of the building but by practical outcomes: shorter waiting times, improved access to specialist doctors, better maternity services, appropriate newborn care and faster management of emergencies.

A wider healthcare transformation in Bomet

The hospital is also part of a broader healthcare infrastructure programme in Bomet County.

In April, the county government said other inpatient facilities in Ndanai and Kapkoros had been completed and opened to patients, while construction and development of additional facilities continued across the county. The government also announced plans to recruit healthcare workers to ensure new facilities have adequate personnel. 

The development of the Dr Joyce Laboso centre also comes at a time when plans for further expansion of referral healthcare in Bomet are being discussed.

A recent report on a proposed Bomet Teaching and Referral Hospital noted that the planned institution could offer services including oncology, intensive care, renal services, accident and emergency care, maternity, newborn care, surgical theatres, orthopaedic services and specialist clinics. The proposed teaching and referral hospital would work alongside existing institutions, including Longisa County Referral Hospital and the Dr Joyce Laboso Memorial Mother and Child Hospital. 

If these plans progress, Bomet could gradually develop into a stronger regional healthcare hub serving patients from within the county and neighbouring parts of the South Rift.

Economic impact around Ngungunyat

The new hospital could also have an economic effect beyond healthcare.

Large public facilities tend to attract supporting businesses and services, including pharmacies, accommodation facilities, restaurants, transport services, medical suppliers and small businesses.

When the project was launched, Governor Barchok urged residents around the facility to take advantage of the investment by developing commercial properties and businesses in the surrounding area. 

The opening of a 300-bed specialist facility could therefore increase activity in the Ngungunyat and Longisa areas, particularly once healthcare workers, patients and visitors begin using the facility regularly.

The project is also part of a wider infrastructure development agenda in Bomet Municipality. In March 2026, the county highlighted several major projects, including the Dr Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Hospital, road improvements, water projects, affordable housing and other planned developments, as part of efforts to transform Bomet into a stronger economic centre. 

What residents should know now

For residents waiting to use the hospital, the latest position is straightforward: the facility has been completed and is ready for commissioning, but the latest available reports do not establish that it has already opened for full routine public operations.

The anticipated commissioning by President William Ruto is the next major milestone.

Once officially opened, residents will want clarity on several issues, including the exact departments that will begin operating, maternity and newborn services, specialist clinics, theatre services, emergency care, admission procedures, staffing levels, operating hours and how referrals from other hospitals will be handled.

The county will also need to ensure that the facility has a sustainable supply of medicines, equipment and qualified healthcare workers. A modern hospital building can only deliver its intended benefits when the clinical and support systems inside it are fully functional.

A new chapter for Bomet healthcare

The completion of the Dr Joyce Laboso Memorial Mother and Child Wellness Centre represents a significant moment for Bomet County.

The Sh300 million, 300-bed Level Five facility has moved from a long-running construction project to the final stage before opening. Its location at Ngungunyat and its focus on mothers, children and specialised referral services give it the potential to become one of the county's most important healthcare institutions.

For a county that has faced pressure on maternity and referral services, the hospital offers the prospect of additional capacity and improved access to specialised care.

But the real test begins after commissioning.

Residents will be watching to see how quickly services become available, whether the hospital is adequately staffed and equipped, and whether it delivers the promised reduction in pressure on Longisa County Referral Hospital.

For now, the message from the county government is that the facility is complete and ready. Bomet is awaiting the official commissioning that will turn the completed infrastructure into a working centre of maternal, newborn and child healthcare.

When that happens, the Dr Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Hospital could mark a significant new chapter in Bomet's healthcare story—and a lasting tribute to the late governor whose name it carries.