HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Doctors testifying at Wednesday’s oversight hearing on alternative sites for a new public hospital argued it should remain in Tamuning, where most medical officials already live, and essentially rejected the idea that the hospital needs to be part of a medical complex.
Constructing a medical complex has been a major goal of the governor’s administration.
Key components to the project include the new hospital, a public health center, a facility for the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, a veterans administration facility, and facilities for other health care services.
Dr. Thomas Shieh, a longtime obstetrician-gynecologist, said many health officials would disagree that a public health center should be next to the hospital. That kind of facility would better serve out in the villages, he added, for residents who don’t have access to transportation.
The doctor went over the various other facilities, which are found in the 2022 Guam Medical Campus Master Plan, providing reasons as to why they do not need to be next to a new hospital.
The consensus among the medical community appears to be to maintain a hospital in Tamuning, where the current Guam Memorial Hospital stands.
As argued by Shieh, Dr. Hoa Nguyen of the American Medical Center, and Dr. Jonathan Sidell, president of the medical staff at GMH, a primary reason for keeping the hospital in Tamuning is that a lot of medical staff already live in the village, and response time is crucial when providing emergency care services.
“Most of my colleagues and my patients are down in Tamuning. … Every minute counts, and we cannot afford to have the hospital in Mangilao,” Nguyen said Wednesday, on why he spoke against placing a new hospital in Mangilao, when it could have been advantageous to him, since the largest AMC clinic is in that village.
Eyeing Ypao Point
The Eagles Field area of Mangilao was once the preferred site for the medical complex project, but has now been taken off the table due to various issues and controversies.
One of the sites identified as most viable was Ypao Point in Tamuning, the site of the old GMH, which is now gone. While the area would be big enough to accommodate a new 161-bed hospital, it isn’t large enough for the entire proposed medical complex.
The entire parcel is about 35 acres, but only about 25 acres are usable, excluding a fault line and properties reserved for cultural facilities, according to Director Joseph Borja of the Department of Land Management.
Those 25 acres also don’t count the easement that would have to go on the property, Borja said.
“Presently, the property only has one access, and we don’t recommend only one access for that lot,” he added.
In contrast, the Eagles Field area was about 102 acres, or 112 acres when including land for easements.
Ypao Point also has various environmental issues.
The property is under the jurisdiction of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission, and during Wednesday’s hearing, CLTC Administrative Director Alice Taijeron said she opposed taking Ypao Point away from the commission.
“Prior to this, I had been in discussions and planning with our CLTC team for the issuance of an RFP (request for proposals) for Ypao Point for a commercial lease,” Taijeron said. “Revenue generated from a lease from Ypao Point will go toward the building of infrastructure in many of our residential and agricultural properties. Infrastructure has been an ongoing challenge for the CLTC, and to take Ypao Point away would be another obstacle toward the progress that CLTC is trying to make.”
Lawmakers and stakeholders continued with the hearing into the night.
Ypao Point as seen from Two Lovers Point on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in Harmon.
