DISCUSSIONS are underway to expand the CNMI’s only hospital, according to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna.
“This topic is nothing new,” Torres said. “CEO [Muna] and I have been talking about it for years. Even the first time that I got into the administration, we talked about new beds, just putting as much priority as we can on our hospital. Now there’s an opportunity [for us to expand].”
The planning team, which consults with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes the governor’s Covid-19 Task Force chair and CHCC facilities director Warren F. Villagomez, Public Assistance Office head Patrick Guerrero, CHCC chief financial officer Perlita Santos, as well as CHCC doctors, nurses, and other staff members.
The team is also working on a plan for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, building a cardiology center, and other specific medical care facilities to address the CNMI’s pressing health issues.
Expanding the Intensive Care Unit, or ICU, is included in the plan.
“Currently, we have four [ICU] rooms. We’re hoping to definitely increase that,” Torres said.
“The commitment has always been there to assist in any way that we can. When the pandemic came, we looked at what the hospital [needed]. Immediately, we built a parking lot north of the hospital. To some, that’s not a big deal, but it is to those that are going to the hospital and now moving on to building a new hospital and other facilities.”
The expansion will tap into funds provided to the CNMI through the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA.
How much of these funds can be utilized, however, remains to be seen.
“It depends on the proposal that’s being made. There are some figures that the CEO and I have been looking into, but as we move forward, there will be more specifics to that figure,” the governor said.
Currently, the team is looking into expanding upwards, adding to the existing hospital.
“We’ve looked at several areas and it always comes back [to our] one hospital. It’s easier or better to expand upwards if we’re able to,” said Torres, and the CEO agreed.
The project may take three years, but in the meantime, the CNMI will be working on smaller projects to address the hospital’s needs.
“We don’t want to wait three years, but obviously, if that’s what it takes to get [a] comprehensive [report], then we should…utilize that [opportunity]. But in the meantime, I think that…maybe we can address one or two of the priorities and build a portion, if not extend the ICU rooms. Obviously, we would like to build our MRI, CT scan, hyperbaric chamber. Those are the things that we want to increase the capacity for our CNMI,” the governor said.
He added that there may be other special projects that will be recommended by Muna and CHCC doctors.
“I think we should act on their specific concerns and address those as we wait for the overall or comprehensive study,” Torres said.
CEO Muna, for her part, said, “The governor and I, and also Warren, because he is our facilities director, have been meeting and discussing these issues. The land across the street does belong to CHCC, so there is a plan. It’s an initial plan. We did request for an A&E and that was unfortunately denied by [the U.S.] Department of the Interior. But there’s an opportunity to go back to the table.”
She added, “With the pandemic and the president of the United States issuing a directive to expand the hospital, we do have a team that will be arriving next week to work with our team here. We are inviting our doctors and our nurses to brainstorm ideas of what can be done now, and address them.”
“As the governor stated,” Muna said, “we’ve been talking about having an MRI and expanding the hospital, expanding the ICU. For anyone that has come to CHCC, parking has always been an issue, so that’s something that we’re also looking into, multilevel parking. We’re also looking at offices. With the oncology department, we built it, then more people came, and now we need to expand. So, there’s a lot of opportunities to expand. People need it.”
Since October, Muna has been in charge of the CNMI medical referral program, which she said will be integrated into the CHCC system and its providers.
Muna said she has met with her counterpart on Guam, Guam Memorial Hospital Authority Chief Executive Officer Lillian Perez-Posadas, to strengthen their relationship.
“At the same time,” Muna said, “we need to make sure that we analyze what can be done here so that people don’t have to leave because there are a lot of individuals who want to be here and don’t want to leave for care, and so we want to make sure that people have better access to services, and so we’re working with the governor and trying to make sure that this happens.”
CHCC has a dialysis center, an oncology center, a pharmacy, an emergency room, and provides various medical services.
The healthcare corporation also oversees services offered at the Tinian Health Center and Rota Health Center.
