Dr. Charlotte Aguti Ongom’s Vision for the Future
Dr. Ongom came aboard in May of 2024 to lead Bwindi Community Hospital.
Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) welcomed aboard Dr. Charlotte Aguti Ongom as its new Executive Director in May. Dr. Aguti is a medical doctor with a well-versed background in public health with experience in monitoring and evaluating large health care organizations. She has worked in clinical practice, management, and research. She most recently served as Deputy Director of Research Outreach and Community Services at Kampala University Teaching Hospital, and Executive Director of Kampala International University Teaching Hospital in Ishaka, Busheny District, one of the largest private hospitals in Uganda by capacity.
“I have known about BCH for some time,” said Dr. Aguti, “I am exceedingly grateful to be here. Running a non-profit hospital in Uganda is filled with challenges and joys. My initial effort will be to encourage the hospital’s teams with strategic leadership so they can visualize what they need to do to work successfully.”
BCH has a high level of donor support, but Dr. Aguti wants to see the hospital shoulder the majority of the operational costs in the future. She sees this key metric as a priority to enable the hospital’s continued growth and increased service offerings. In order to achieve this goal, she will lead the hospital in five areas of change (below).
Staff restructuring and retention
Dr. Aguti plans to hire specialized clinical staff in its four main clinical areas. As a teaching hospital she intends to utilize interns through Ugandan Medical and Dental Practitioners Council. Staff recruitment and retention will also improve when BCH is able to provide a local nursery and elementary school to serve the hospital staff families. Currently, some specialists and other healthcare workers find themselves separated from their children, having them attend high-performing schools in well-resourced areas outside the Bwindi area.
Stock management
Dr. Aguti plans to increase stock efficiency with centralized ordering, use of alternative medicines, improved monitoring and reorganization.
Insurance and pricing reform
Dr. Aguti will build upon BCH’s eQuality Health Insurance with some important changes. “Other hospitals in Uganda offer similar health insurance, but they come with certain exclusions and inclusions and a pricing schedule. Currently BCH has a mission to treat everyone with very few limitations.” Changes will create fair pricing, while maintaining primary care and allowing for the most needy patients to access subsidies and waivers.
Profit and loss center restructuring
Dr. Aguti plans to reorganize the hospital’s current single profit and loss center into multiple centers to bolster transparency and accountability.
Research reform
Dr. Aguti will improve the way research is conducted at BCH. “BCH condcucts a high level of research for a hosptial of it’s size, but there are no policies on the strategic nature of its research or how hospital staff is being utilized in these areas. Current research offsets some costs, but it is not always clear how the research helps the hospital,” says Dr. Aguti. “We need to initiate our own research areas and seek grants where it makes sense for the hospital.”
With these needed changes Dr. Aguti emphasizes the core mission of the hospital. “All of the patients who come to the hospital have spaces that need to be filled. Although they try to fill them with the wrong things, they can only be filled by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual health is so very important. Yes, we treat but it is God who is the healer. He is our founder and maker, and as a facility that is grounded in Christ, that truth has to be fostered and encouraged. Collectively as a hospital, we recognize that we have been given much, and we feel the responsibility to build on that and to continue to make BCH a center of excellence. After all, it is true that to everyone who has, more will be given.”
