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Villagomez: Local Nursing Board will improve
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Posted on Dec 26 2008
With the recent relocation of the Women’s, Infants and Children’s program to its own building on Navy Hill, Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez hopes the added space and staff help will ease complaints against the Saipan Board of Nursing.
The Board is tasked with approving professional certifications for nurses but many applicants complain of calls going unanswered or returned.
Currently, Villagomez said, there is only one full time staff member to answer phones. But with the WIC relocation he is hoping to move the Nursing Board to the main hospital, which will allow greater flexibility in answering phones.
“If one staff member is not there, other people can be covering to answer phone,” he said.
The bulk of the calls come from the mainland United States and some people are not cognizant of the time difference, he added.
“But that’s not an excuse and should not be an excuse,” Villagomez said. “We should be able to answer all those calls and address those needs, and we are moving in that direction. Things should be resolved by next year.”
Many nurses from the Philippines regularly e-mail the Saipan Tribune seeking help from the newspaper because, they write, they do not know what else to do.
Villagomez said the new budget allows for increased staffing in order for the Board to answer all the phone calls. But, he added, even if the budget isn’t passed the hospital will improve the situation.
