The Rota center currently has six nurses, three of whom are from the Commonwealth Health Center, and eight nursing assistants, Santos said.
The Rota center continues to deliver basic healthcare services to the community, she added.
Santos said the 10 nonresident nurses and one laboratory technician hired through the Saipan Employment Agency & Services have stopped reporting for work due to the non-payment of their salaries and the lack of a new contract.
As of yesterday, Santos said the government owed SEAS $195,000 for the salaries of nurses and auxiliary medical staff.
The contracts of the five of the nine Rota nurses hired through SEAS expired last month.
The four other nurses, Santos said, opted not to continue working for the center due to liability issues.
“I understand the plight of those nurses,” she added.
As of yesterday, Efren Atalig, chief of staff of the Rota mayor’s office, said they were not aware of any new contracts signed by the SEAS nurses.
The SEAS nurses have not renewed their contracts with the company.
Atalig said Rota Mayor Melchor A. Mendiola was assured by acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos that the “government is committed” to address the island’s nursing crisis.
Ayuyu met with the nurses and the mayor in the morning of July 8.
In the afternoon, Ayuyu requested the SEAS-hired laboratory technician to inform the nurses that they could continue working while the government was resolving their case.
But Santos said there was miscommunication and improper channeling of the information, and the nurses decided to stop reporting for work.
This month, she said, the municipal government has no more funds from the poker license fees since there has been no renewal of permits.
Santos said she will ask her colleagues in the Legislature to secure funding for Rota’s nurses.
SEAS paid the nurses $8.93 or $9.20 an hour. Nurses directly hired by the CNMI government receive $11 to $16 an hour, not $16 to $18 as earlier reported.
