THE Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations conducted a public hearing on Tuesday for Dr. Angelica C. Sabino, the governor’s nominee to the CNMI Health Care Professions Licensing Board.
Sabino is a respected professional holding certificates to practice dentistry in Minnesota, Georgia, and the CNMI.
She served as a general dentist in Georgia from 2004 to 2016 before moving to the CNMI in 2016.
She is currently the chief dentist for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, and a member of the American Association of States and Territorial Dental Directors since 2019.
Sabino is a Marianas High School alumna who holds a bachelor of arts in biology from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated with a doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She is certified in basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the dental practice.
Sabino thanked CNMI BPL/HCPLB Executive Director Esther Fleming for encouraging her to be nominated to the board.
“I will try my best to be of service to the community of the CNMI,” she said.
CNMI BPL/HCPLB chair and Brabu Pharmacy owner and general manager Ted Parker provided testimony in support of Sabino’s nomination.
“She has been here for quite some time, even though most of her career has been spent in the states. She has a very, very excellent education from the University of Minnesota, and I believe that her capacity to assist us in matters concerning the dental profession will actually be very, very good, so she has my full support for this nomination,” Parker said.
Committee members present for the hearing were its chair, Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz, vice chair Victor B. Hocog, and Senate Vice President Justo S. Quitugua.
Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan and Sen. Karl King-Nabors were both excused.
Cruz, Hocog, and Quitugua expressed their delight in seeing a Marianas student returning home to serve the local community.
Quitugua then asked Sabino if, given her administrative role at CHCC, she would have the time to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a CNMI BPL/HCPLB member.
“To be honest, that’s the one thing that I was concerned about when I spoke to [Executive Director] Fleming because I’m the only one at CHCC right now,” Sabino said. “But time is something that you organize and you schedule. You fit everything that’s important into that time schedule. Right now, that’s how I manage my clinics. Even going to Rota and Tinian, you make time for it. So, there will be a time for the board meetings, yes. [Fleming] assured me that it’s at least once a month or so. That’s something that I would have to fit into my busy schedule, so I will make time for it. In other words, yes, [I will have time],” Sabino said.
The committee will now deliberate and make its recommendation to the full Senate body at the next scheduled session.
Dr. Angelica C. Sabino, center foreground, appears before the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations during its public hearing on Tuesday in the Senate chamber.
