The center will get a brand new digital X-ray machine and five electric beds, said Dela Cruz in an interview on Tuesday.
He said they are also upgrading the health center’s laboratories
This became possible through the $380,000 grant the CNMI received from the U.S. Office of Insular Affairs.
“It is about time that we upgrade the system which is 26 years old so all the beds are old,” he said, adding that the Tinian Health Center has been attending to an increasing number of patients lately.
“We are having a significant number of patients in need of such treatment that requires the use of this equipment,” he said.
The laboratory upgrading, he added, includes a complete blood count machine.
Dela Cruz said he hopes that the people of Tinian would come and visit the health center as soon as the new equipment is in place.
He said the health center has two radiologists but they can also send X-ray results to Commonwealth Health Center doctors through the internet.
Dela Cruz also said the health center has 12 nurses whose salaries, he added, are not delayed.
He said only the payroll of non-essential employees is delayed. The nurses are paid on time, he said. He also hopes that by June they will have another doctor on board.
Right now, T Dr. Steve Lebamoff is the center’s only physician.
