HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Employees at the Department of Public Health and Social Services are calling for their return to the department’s former headquarters in Mangilao, citing the need for a home for DPHSS and the challenges its employees face providing services without a centralized location for staff and operations.
“If you ask anyone on Guam, ‘Where are the Public Health programs located?’ Not all of them will know where exactly all the Public Health programs and services are located. We continue to hear people going to (the) Mangilao building, but not knowing we are no longer there because the building is still standing, and no visual damage is noted,” Margarita Gay, the administrator of the DPHSS Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services, said Monday during a public hearing on Bill 222-37.
The measure, from Speaker Therese Terlaje, would reserve the headquarters property for immediate use by DPHSS.
Gay, who went on to discuss space and privacy concerns while now having to work at the Northern Region Community Health Center, testified supporting Bill 222.
Annette Aguon, the acting chief public health officer, said six DPHSS programs or sections are now renting office space in various locations on Guam, to the tune of more than $817,000 per year.
“Back then, we were (in) one village (and in) one building. … We are now in four villages (and) six buildings. And again, this is just for the Division of Public Health, which had central health services within the Mangilao facility,” Aguon said.
Similar to the testimony given by Gay and Aguon, much of the testimony Monday discussed the need to return DPHSS to Mangilao.
However, Bill 222 isn’t the only measure seeking to utilize the property.
Bill 221-37, from Vice Speaker Tina Muña Barnes and Sens. Chris Duenas and Joe San Agustin, would designate the property for the construction of a nursing annex for Guam Community College.
And, while DPHSS employees said the department needed to go back home, DPHHS Director Arthur San Agustin said there should be some sort of partnership with GCC so that the property can be maintained, but still be used by both entities to work collaboratively.
The former DPHSS headquarters suffered a reported electrical fire in late 2019, forcing the department to relocate divisions and services. The building essentially has stood unused since.
Department of Public Works Director Vince Arriola discussed the status of the headquarters building during Monday’s hearing.
According to Arriola, DPW will be publishing a request for proposals in the next two or three weeks, depending on approval from the Office of the Attorney General, to solicit the services of an architectural and engineering firm to perform a complete assessment of the building.
“The two schools of thought there is: Do we keep this building and do we renovate it? Do we rehabilitate it, bring it up to current building code and use it for offices, Public Health offices, whatever the case may be? … Or do we raze it and start anew?” Arriola asked.
Later, during his own testimony, Director San Agustin said officials first should see what happens with the assessment of the building, adding that it may need to be totally demolished, leaving a “blank slate” to work on concepts and designs with GCC.
“What is not in this legislation (Bill 222) is really what I would like to consider, that is putting a model that embraces and engages GCC and Public Health and Social Services to work together,” Arthur San Agustin said.
“I believe this is what we really should be talking about – how could we move forward collaboratively? Although we are here for Bill 222-37, there is Bill 221-37. … That is another piece of legislation, that when heard, will possibly impact the direction and outcome of the property of interest,” the DPHSS director added.
Monday’s hearing was only on Bill 222.
With the electrical fire having occurred in 2019, lawmakers on Monday expressed concern over the apparent lack of action on the headquarters property over four years.
“At the time, it looked like (the former DPHSS) director tried to get insurance coverage. It was denied, but (there’s) a pretty clear assessment on the minimal damage, it sounds like. And yet, this has not been pursued since you’ve been the director,” Speaker Terlaje told Public Health Director San Agustin during the hearing.
Arthur San Agustin said, from his arrival at DPHSS in July 2020 up to May 2023, the primary focus of the department had been the COVID-19 pandemic.
“From the time I started, there really was an emphasis placed on our COVID response, … and that consumed many, if not all parts of Public Health and Social Services,” Arthur San Agustin said.
“So in 2023, I submitted a letter, after discussing what the options are with Director Arriola, to formally request his assistance to evaluate the structure. … We’re looking at the options there. … We know there’s a shortage of workforce on Guam, so wouldn’t it be great if we could train and then have those very individuals perhaps do internship or … actually have practice settings in Public Health and Social Services,” the DPHSS director added.
Terlaje said she wasn’t denying that there are many potential uses for the facility, including workforce development, but she wanted to know if the Public Health director believed there was an urgency to reopen the Mangilao headquarters, particularly the clinic services.
Arthur San Agustin said he’s had conversations with division heads to look at rental spaces so the divisions can operate fully. While there may have been some decreases in services following the closure of the headquarters, the director mainly attributed that to COVID-19, adding that many DPHSS nurses were redirected as a result of the pandemic.
Give someone else a chance
Dr. William Weare, a retired DPHSS physician, testified against Bill 222, citing Bill 221 and stating that DPHSS hasn’t done anything with the building.
“When you have a big white elephant … and you have somebody that’s willing to do something with it, maybe you ought to give serious consideration to letting those people do it. I think Public Health has had their chance,” Weare said.
The former Department of Public Health and Social Services Central Facility is seen Monday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Mangilao.
