About Us
About Us
St. Joseph's is a Kenyan, staff-led community dedicated to providing dignified, affordable care to all at the lowest possible prices. The hospital, clinic, and nursing school are all part of Medical Mission Charitable Trust (MMCT), a Kenyan nonprofit organization founded in 2010.
Our team is St. Joseph's. That includes highly-skilled Kenyan doctor, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, nursing instructors, and other staff committed to serving those in need. We believe that everyone deserves access to life-changing health care, regardless of their status or financial situation. We welcome staff (and patients!) of all faiths and backgrounds.
MMCT helps fund care at St. Joseph's Rift Valley Hospital—located near the shores of Lake Elementita in central Kenya—as well as our medical clinic in Njoro. We work to advance quality medical education in East Africa at our competitive School of Health Sciences, which trains over a hundred nursing students at a time.
"The whole atmosphere at St. Joseph's Hospital is of a staff family who are dedicated to providing excellent and affordable care to the typical lower-income Kenyan family.
Staying rooted in this founding mission and vision has allowed us to grow and flourish."
—Dr. Bill Fryda
Building a sustainable healthcare model that served the people who needed it most has been our relentless focus for over two decades.
It started with the first MMCT hospital (called St. Mary's) in Nairobi back in 1999. Dr. Bill Fryda, a longtime medical missionary and Mayo Clinic-trained doctor, wanted to improve medical ministry. Working with many Kenyans, he dreamed up a system that prioritized locally-appropriate care from bright Kenyan doctors at prices that people could actually afford. A place where the poor could receive quality care and get the dignity of being able to pay for it.
Delivering quality healthcare that is "pocket friendly" (how many of our patients describe it) is what we still do today at St. Joseph's Rift Valley Hospital.
The team at St. Joseph's is empowered and motivated to deliver the best care to people who are seeking it. We make sure to actually help the needy. St. Joseph's healthcare and pharmaceutical prices are among the lowest in Kenya (very often the lowest). We find scholarships for those who can't afford even those costs, so they get the care they need.
The hospital is maintained using the tiniest of profit margins from running operations. We strive to keep expenses low, innovating on everything from patient paperwork to reduced administration overhead to lower-cost surgical methods.
We view donor funds as sacred. We prioritize this money carefully for major new projects, to upgrade needed medical equipment, and to expand our offerings to meet even more local needs.
Our Story
"A hospital for the poor doesn't need to be a poorly run hospital." — Dr. Bill Fryda
Meet the Team
The people are what make St. Joseph's such a unique place. Each staff member is committed to doing good work in their area, and working collaboratively to improve the health of their patients and community.
Many staff members live with their families on-site, or commute short distances from Nakuru nearby. Most of the senior staff members have been working with Dr. Fryda for decades, and are thrilled to be part of the team at St. Joseph's hospital and nursing school in Elementita.
