Greg Cruz, president of the group, told Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham that the project should be investigated to bring justice to the people of the commonwealth whose access to a quality health facility is being jeopardized by “the greed of some people.”
“It is unfortunate that the Attorney General’s Office had long turned a blind eye and deaf ears concerning the $22 million dialysis center that is still not functioning due to politics and self-interest greed,” Cruz said.
An Independent senatorial canditate, Cruz said there appears to be gross negligence on the part of the Department of Public Health’s top officials.
He said one of the contractors involved in the failed project is an associate of a top health official.
The dialysis center was originally budgeted for just $5 million. Actual costs, however, jumped to $12 million by the time it was completed in 2006 due to numerous change orders. The amount further ballooned to $22 million in recent years.
In June, acting Health Secretary Pete Untalan told lawmakers that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration certification of the center’s reverse osmosis water system was forged.
In an Open Government Act request submitted to Untalan, Cruz asked the following questions:
• Who is the current contractor supplying and maintaining all hemodialysis equipment, instruments and medical supplies for CHC?
• Was their any public bid announcements?
• What is your involvement and affiliations and relationship with Pacific Biomedical Services, Inc?
• If the Commonwealth Health Center is not receiving the monthly water chemical analysis results for its hemodialysis reverse osmosis from Saipan Ice & Water Co. and the vendors, what guarantees do you have to ensure that chemical contaminants are not exceeding water quality standards?
• What happens when the reverse osmosis machine breaks down and CHC has to use its back-up from the other vendors?
• How will CHC know whether the water is safe for hemodialysis treatment?
• What are the consequences for the hemodialysis patients?
• Regarding the portable reverse osmosis machines, how often are the five carbon micron filters replaced? Can you provide records or data concerning the amount of zinc being injected into feed water supplies by your maintenance staff?
• Are your maintenance staff properly trained and certified to handle such injections?
• There were 572 medical devices and instruments listed under the Pacific Biomedical Independent contract agreement, but CHC’s inventory lists 853. Where are the 281 medical devices and instruments?
• Pacific Biomedical Independent stipulated in its signed contract that it did an assessment of the facility, including the materials needed to complete corrective actions. Why is CHC purchasing the materials needed for such corrective actions?
• Why is CHC obligated to shoulder the burden of the additional cost incurred by Pacific Biomedical?
