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Brief extension of health emergency declaration eyed
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Posted on Sep 21 2011
Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos is eyeing a brief extension of the emergency declaration for the Commonwealth Health Center as a result of unfulfilled goals for the hospital.
The emergency declaration, in place since July 21 this year, is expiring this week.
“We will assess if it [the declaration] satisfied all the financial obligations and if not, then probably we will have to extend it for a couple of weeks—maybe two or three more weeks,” he told Saipan Tribune during yesterday’s ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the Sadog Tasi Wastewater Treatment Facility in Lower Base.
The emergency declaration allowed the suspension of procurement regulations and the reprogramming of funds for CHC’s needs. Since July, $1.7 million has been reprogrammed to pay a portion of the debt the hospital owes its service providers, amounting to about $2.3 million.
In an interview last week with Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, he admitted that only a portion of the debt has been satisfied. He said an extension of the emergency declaration will be among the things he will discuss with Inos.
[B]Independent[/B]Starting Oct. 1, the health department will officially operate as a corporation pursuant to Public Law 16-51. Inos said yesterday that the Executive Branch is finalizing its nominees for the seven-member Commonwealth Health Corp. board.
“We’re close to finalizing the nominees to the board to be sent to the Senate in the very near future,” he said.
Inos refused to disclose the names of the prospective appointees.
Based on law, the corporation will have a seven-member board of trustees of which three members shall be ex-officio voting members. One member shall be the chief executive officer, to be selected by the board, the second member will be the nursing director, and the third is for the medical director. Four of the members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate—two will come from Saipan and one each from Rota and Tinian.
