Children emergency cases will be referred to the Aichi Children Hospital and Medical Center, also in Nagoya, Villagomez said.
CHC’s experience with the Nagoya hospitals has been very positive, said Ronald D. Sablan, the Department of Public Health’s medical referral services manager.
Following Continental’s decision to end its Manila-Saipan flights, CHC has asked federal immigration authorities to provide visa waivers “for medical transit purpose only and for no less than 24 hours prior to arrival on Guam,” Sablan said.
Each approved visa waiver request for Manila medical referral patients will eliminate the need to take the Japan or Korea routes, Sablan added.
“This is very welcome news especially if we are dealing with a stretcher or oxygen patient,” he said.
According to Sablan, the medical referral services aims to refer patients to the best and closest medical facilities available within the region without jeopardizing the delivery and quality of care.
He said an average of 530 CNMI patients are referred to off-island hospitals.
CHC sends an average of 30 patients every month to Guam, eight to Hawaii and 16 to the Philippines, depending on the medical providers’ appointment confirmation and the airlines’ authorization to board, Sablan said.
Occasionally and depending on the nature of the patients’ cases, he added, CHC refers one or two patients to the U.S. mainland, Japan or Korea.
He said U.S. citizen patients referred to Manila hospitals can board a Continental flight from Guam via Cape or Freedom Air from Saipan.
If the patient is on stretcher or requires oxygen, CHC will have to fly him to Guam using a helicopter, which “is very expensive,” Sablan said.
For Manila-bound patients who are not U.S citizens, CHC has to redirect their booking through a Northwest Airlines connecting flight in Japan or an Asiana Airlines connecting flight to Korea.
This means an extra flight plus the long layover, which is a setback for those experiencing pain and discomfort, Sablan said.
