Torres, R-Saipan and chairman the Senate Committee for Health and Welfare, told Variety that he is following up on his request which will provide CHC with magnetic resonance imaging and computerized axial tomography.
Torres also met recently with CHC medical referral director Ronald Sablan to discuss the current cost of medical referrals.
The senator said he wants to minimize off-island trips for local patients by providing the CNMI’s only hospital with necessary equipment.
Torres said he already discussed this concern with Babauta during Interior’s forum on economic and labor development at the Fiesta Resort & Spa last month. He said he believes that the Interior official “cares about our healthcare in the CNMI.”
In his letter to Babauta, Torres said MRI and CAT scan are critical elements in the diagnosis and treatment of patients but CHC does not have them.
As a result, a large number of CNMI patients are being transferred on a regular basis to Guam for these kinds of services.
If CHC has the equipment it needs, the CNMI government can reduce its medical referral costs.
The machines, Torres said, cost about $1 million, an amount “beyond the capacity of our government.”
