CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna said 12 of them are from Northern Marianas College, seven from South Korea and eight from the Philippines.
“We’ve always been trying to increase our staffing of nurses and prior to the news of the LPNs, we already had this [series of hiring] in the pipeline,” she added.
Earlier, CHCC announced that the U.S. Department of Labor had denied the Temporary Labor Certifications for the CW-1 renewal petitions of 17 licensed practical nurses or LPNs and one radiologic technologist.
Because their CW-1 permits expired on Sept. 15, they are required to exit the CNMI in 10 days.
To prevent a possible workforce shortage at CHCC, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Sept. 14 asked U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to expedite the processing and approval of the TLC of the 18 healthcare workers — 13 licensed practical nurses on Saipan, four LPNs assigned to Tinian Health Center, and a radiologic technologist of Rota Health Center.
In a press briefing on Friday, the governor said he had not yet received a response from the U.S. Department of Labor.
“Our contact in [Washington] D.C. will be following [up on it],” the governor said. “[We] have been trying to reach out to see how we can help our nurses here. I hope that we can get a response soon and have theses nurses stay on our island,” Torres said.
“They play a great role. We continue to support nurses. I hope that this [situation] also gives [us] an opportunity…to understand how important and how critical [the nursing] occupation is,” he added.
In an earlier interview, Muna said CHCC has applied for a more permanent status for its nonresident healthcare workers, but the process is “taking so long.”
She said they are seeking employment-based visas for these employees, but the process is taking so long.
