Saipan Republicans Senate President Pete P. Reyes and Speaker Arnold I. Palacios at the same time asked Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to address the public health crisis.
The two said the oversight hearings are not politically motivated but are rather service oriented.
“We are aware that the commencement of oversight proceedings could be perceived as political posturing, particularly during an election year. At the same time, we are sure that you agree that the situation at CHC is now so acute that any and all remedial measures must be explored. Not only are patients potentially at risk, so too are payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs,” they said.
The two said although Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez is unable to discharge his official duties due to medical reasons, qualified interim managers should be available to ensure that public health programs are carried out.
In a joint letter to Fitial, the two said staffing shortages at CHC, regular physician turnover and low employee morale, have contributed to the poor quality of health care services in the CNMI.
“Commonwealth residents are reluctant to seek treatment following a series of unfortunate and high-profile reports of accidents involving CHC patients. The modest resources of the Department of Public Health are continually drained by expensive off-island referrals, the practice of engaging medical headhunters and an inefficient billing system,” Reyes and Palacios told Fitial.
They added: “Finally, the CNMI government continues to pay out malpractice judgments that in many cases could be avoidable under proper operating conditions.”
CHC is the only hospital in the CNMI. Facilities and technology at this 86-bed hospital are very limited, thus, patients in need of critical medical treatment must be sent overseas.
Reyes and Palacios told the governor that the Legislature is ready to act on pending legislation establishing CHC as a public corporation. No specific dates were given yet for the oversight hearings this week.
