Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, who heads the transition team, said their 15 members have been divided into different committees to focus on areas that must be studied thoroughly to ensure that the islands’ only hospital can become a more self-sustaining public corporation.
“We’re working now in identifying areas to make the smooth transition. We have 15 members on the team that will look at the finances, human resource, medical staff and services, areas,” Villagomez told the Variety in an interview.
He added that his team is working closely with Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos’s office.
Under Public Law 16-51, or the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Act of 2008, the Department of Public Health is mandated to turn the public hospital and the clinics on Rota and Tinian, including the Community Guidance Center, the Children and Women’s Clinic, and the inter-island medical referral services, into a healthcare corporation as early as January of this year.
This was deferred, however, to June due to problems with logistics and not enough time to prepare for the transition.
As of last year, the hospital had close to 200 nurses and an undetermined number of doctors.
By June, several doctors are expected to be on board — a full-time surgeon, three anesthesiologists, a pediatrician and a full-time psychiatrist.
The public corporation will be run by a board.
On average, the CNMI government spends about $19 million a year to send patients off-island because the hospital doesn’t have the necessary facilities or medical professionals to treat certain diseases.
