Last July, Public Health officials visited the Rota Health Center to look into its problems, including the “situation” of its nursing department.
Villagomez said Rota Mayor Melchor A. Mendiola and RHC resident director Crispin Ayuyu are aware that funding “is the bottom-line” of the nursing crisis.
If funding is available, he said Rota can continue hiring the nurses through the manpower agency or even directly.
At the Commonwealth Health Center on Saipan, he said, nonresident nurses are directly hired by the government to control the cost and maintain the equity of the salary.
“It’s different when they are hired through manpower because you don’t control those employees,” he said.
Of the 12 nurses and laboratory technician on Rota, 10 are hired through the Saipan Employment Agency & Services, which has funding problems due to the government’s failure to pay on time.
The contracts of five Rota nurses have already expired.
When asked if his department has funding to hire these five nurses, Villagomez said they may have to continue working with the manpower agency.
“There are no [government] positions allotted for Rota and Tinian because they are not directly hiring nurses,” he said.
The nonresident nurses on Rota and Tinian can be hired directly by the government if there is available funding, he added.
