“We are at the mercy of the regulations that are not out yet,” Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez told Variety on Friday.
He said they are renewing the contracts of their nurses beyond November when the umbrella permits of nonresident workers expire. “But we do put in the contract a caveat that says this would be based assuming that the regulations would be out,” he added.
He emphasized the hospital’s need for nurses beyond November, even up to 2014 when the transition period for the implementation of the federalization law ends.
“The nurses we have are great folks and we need them. We’re still short. That [absence of regulations] is preventing us from recruiting more nurses,” he said.
He added, “While we are attracting some from the U.S., the bulk will be coming from the Philippines. Right now, there is just no way to bring them in to work here.”
Villagomez said they have around 180 nonresident nurses and majority are from the Philippines.
“Like every industry we are anxiously awaiting the regulations to come out so that we can process the [nurses’] documents, to maintain and keep them. We want to keep them,” he added.
“We are fully staffed in the ER. And we have another surgeon on board. We are fully staffed in the anesthesiology [department] and we have a new pediatrician coming in,” said Villagomez.
He said they are looking at midlevel providers to do out-patient services.
“We are actively recruiting,” but he added that unlike in the past they are limited to recruiting from the U.S. and those with J-1 visa status. They can no longer recruit from Canada.
Asked about the transformation of his department into a public corporation, Villagomez said it is now scheduled to happen on Oct. 1, the first day of the new fiscal year.
“The department will continue to function as is now…. We still need to turn to the central government for some support,” he added.
He expressed optimism that they would be able to veer away from that dependence and gradually achieve more autonomy and more fiscal responsibility.
“We also got to make sure that we are on top of the number of staff we have on the medical side because Medicare certification tells you how many staff you need here to properly run a healthcare facility. We are addressing that,” he said.
Villagomez has already met with Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz and will soon meet with Rota Mayor Melchor A. Mendiola to explain how the Rota and Tinian health centers — currently under the mayor’s office — will be the responsibility of the healthcare corporation.
End the uncertainty
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce echoed Villagomez’s sentiments regarding the delay in the issuance of the federal regulations for nonresident workers.
In his June 7 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano chamber president Douglas T. Brennan wrote, “The Saipan Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of our membership, our business community and the thousands of employees and their dependents and residents, beseeches the Department of Homeland Security to please deliver us from this uncertainty. This is so unfair to so many that have made their corporate and literal lives here.”
Brennan said people need to plan their lives, companies need to plan and estimate their investments and budgets, and the combination of those determine the economy of the CNMI. “How can businesses and residents expect to live and survive when they are unaware of what is expected of them just 195 days around from now?”
Over the last decade, Brennan said the CNMI has suffered economic hardship due to global forces beyond the islands’ control, the demise of the garment industry and the decline of the tourism industry. He also said the recently imposed federal authority over wage and immigration jurisdiction resulted in unintended economic consequences. All these consequences in the last decade, Brennan said, have been documented in the U.S. Government and Accountability Office report.
For Brennan, “available, trained and dependable human resources for businesses in our isolated island economy has always been a challenge for those choosing to invest in the CNMI. Businesses here have become dependent upon meeting their trained and skilled labor needs outside the CNMI. Following guidelines similar to any U.S. jurisdiction, firms here can only recruit from abroad when there is no one available within the CNMI, or any other U.S. area.”
He said CNMI businesses are adjusting to the new rules and regulations as a result of the changes brought about by the federalization law, or U.S. P.L. 110-229.
With the Transitional Worker Program commencing on Nov. 28, 2009, some employers have already assisted their workers in petitioning for new federal employment visas, said Brennan.
He added, “A great number” of employees would not qualify for the employment visas but would be allowed to stay in the CNMI through the transition period.
“These employees, and the companies that employ them, are painfully awaiting the issuance of those DHS transitional commonwealth-only worker regulations. It is 25 weeks until the CW-1 regulations take effect and we have not a hint of when they will be issued,” said Brennan.
