HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — As mold and high temperatures have become a concern, Guam Memorial Hospital is making progress on getting its two chiller units operational.
But the aging units, both of which were damaged by the rolling blackouts that resulted from Typhoon Mawar smashing the island’s power grid in May, will ultimately have to be replaced, according to this week’s hospital board meeting. And it could take a year or more to get the new equipment.
The 450-ton chillers, comparable to large air-conditioning units, keep the hospital at a low temperature to prevent the spread of infection and keep vital medical equipment in good working condition.
Only one unit was online at the start of this week, William Kando, hospital associate administrator of operations, told board members during a recent meeting.
“So we have chiller number two that is operational, but it’s not operating very efficiently,” he said. “We believe it’s operating maybe at about 30% or 40% efficiency. Both chillers need to be cleaned; the tubes need to be clean in order to achieve the appropriate heat exchange. So we were bringing in our vendor that does the cleaning of the tubes.”
The non-operational chiller number one was expected to have some critical components replaced this week, Kando said, which would allow it to come back online. After that, chiller number two could be turned off and cleaned, hopefully bringing up its efficiency.
“But, you know, once we do clean them and get them operating, we still need to have these chillers replaced. They’re 11 years old, they’re beyond useful life. This will buy us the window of opportunity to start procuring those replacements,” he said.
The two units operate independently, and are meant to provide redundancy so the hospital is kept at a proper temperature.
GMH has already been buying up and installing a number of air-conditioning units until the chillers can get back online. Some of those areas include the operating room, in-patient hemodialysis, the labor and delivery ward, and the nursery, Kando said. The pharmacy warehouse and laboratory will both be getting large 36,000 BTU AC units to maintain their temperature.
According to discussion during the meeting, temperature and humidity in the operating room are being monitored on an hourly basis. Though the OR was near compliance a few weeks ago, recent rolling blackouts have had the OR falling short of those benchmarks.
Hospital Administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas added that Matson Navigation Co. has provided a refrigerated container to store some medical supplies and medication. An industrial hygienist also is being hired to come and inspect the hospital for any mold, Perez-Posadas said.
A waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be needed on the AC unit installations, she said.
Kando noted that procurement of a new chiller will take time.
“When we finally are able to start the procurement process for the new chillers, upon award we know it’s still going to be an 18 month- to 24-month project,” he said.
Reimbursement is being sought from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the chiller replacement, which was estimated in July to cost $7 million.
Perez-Posadas said a shutdown of the hospital was even being considered at one point.
“Unfortunately, that’s not an option for us,” she said. “We are the only government hospital, and so what am I going to tell patients? They’re gonna come in with chest pains, or they are going to deliver a baby. ‘Sorry, we can’t take you’? It’s just not practical. And so we continue to do as best as we can to make sure that we maintain infection control prevention and just patient safety.”
The Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
