The Riley Mother Baby Hospital of Kenya is a much needed facility and the only one of its kind in all of Africa. It is the vision of James (Jim) A Lemons, MD. Lemons led the way over a 15 year period to see the hospital open on March 29, 2009.

The Riley Mother Baby Hospital in Kenya can accommodate 12,000 deliveries a year. It has operating rooms for Cesarean deliveries, and it has the first functioning NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) in all of East Africa. Additionally, the hospital:

• Is part of the academic center for Moi University School of Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine. The hospital supports the training of medical students, residents, and other staff in state-of-the-art obstetric and neonatal care.
• Enables clinical research. This research is essential to answer basic questions regarding the cause and prevention of problems occurring during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the neonatal period.

The hospital is a visible and tangible commitment to the care of women and children. In many developing countries, women and children are the least of the least. "This hospital affirms the value placed upon women and children Kenya," Lemons states. Much love and care went into the building of the hospital itself. Each of the beautiful bricks that side the hospital was hand chiseled out of stone. There are terrazzo floors, state of the art windows, wonderfully crafted railings, and beautiful hand blown glass globes that hang from the ceiling of the atrium – one for every member country of the United Nations.

Lemons named the hospital in honor of Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana which in turn was named in memory of the Indiana children’s poet James Whitcomb Riley. Riley Hospital for Children has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families. It is a place of hope and healing and Riley Hospital continues to be recognized as one of the top children's hospitals. Having achieved many distinctions, the hospital is one of the premier pediatric research facilities in the nation.

The hospital has the full support of the Moi University Medical School, the MOI University Dean, the MU Teaching Hospital Director, the Minister of Public Health and the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty and Dean. The hospital is staffed by Kenyan nurses, physicians, nutritionists, social workers, administrators, and others.