In an email to Variety, the patient’s parent complained, “How is it [that] the [Commonwealth Health Center] cannot run cultures because they haven’t paid their bills and no one is totally freaking out? My daughter was sick and by time we got out of ER, DLS [Diagnostic Laboratory Services] was closed…even so we would have missed their cutoff to send things off island.”
Variety tried to verify this at the laboratory last week but was referred to the office of the secretary of the Department of Public Health where no one was available to discuss the issue.
An email to Public health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez remains unanswered.
This reporter brought this issue to the administration.
Acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ legal counsel Teresa Kim said: “Despite declining government resources, hospital payments are always prioritized.”
She added, “I believe the incident referred to in your email is an isolated case.”
The Variety separately interviewed the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee: Saipan Republicans Ralph DLG. Torres and Pete P. Reyes.
The senators said they were aware of the concerns raised by patients who are frustrated over the lack of services at the island’s only hospital.
Reyes said they have been calling the attention of the Department of Public Health secretary to look into these problems.
“We ask what’s going on and what can we do to help,” Reyes said.
Torres said, “We [ask them] what we can do to make sure it is resolved. At the same time we are following through what has been done.”
Once the hospital becomes an autonomous public corporation, the senators said it will be able to better address these issues.
“CHC will be run and operated like a business,” said Reyes.
But Torres said lawmakers will continue to “be there to assist because we don’t want to just give it to them. ‘OK, now you are a corporation, run it.’ We are saying ‘You are a corporation at the same time we also acknowledge those issues are still there. We are here to assist and do what we can to continue to provide healthcare.”
