Healthcare Corp. COO Phillips’ contract expires

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. did not renew or extend the employment contract of chief operating officer James Phillips.

Juan N. Bababuta, chief executive officer of the corporation, confirmed in a phone interview yesterday that he made that decision and signed on May 31 a memorandum informing Phillips of his end of contract.

Phillips’ last day to work was last Thursday and was given thereafter a two-week leave with pay.

“I hired him for six months, he served the six months. I thanked him for his service and I gave him two-week notice with pay,” Babauta said.

Calls made by Saipan Tribune to Phillips were unreturned as of press time yesterday.

Asked if the corporation had the option to renew or extend Phillips’ contract, Babauta said, “It was for six months. I had the option three months ago to terminate it if I wanted to but it was for six months and he served the six months.”

When requested to describe Phillips’ performance during his contract, Babauta replied “I don’t want to go into that.”

According to Babauta, he initiated with the corporation board discussions about Phillips’ employment “weeks and months ago.”

“The board knew that this decision was coming and it was not a surprise,” he added.

Board chair Joaquin Torres, in a separate phone interview, confirmed that Babauta brought up Phillips’ contract to his attention.

“He mentioned it to me and to [board member] Roy [Rios]. I don’t know about the others whether he did discuss that with them,” said Torres.

Torres noted, however, that he has yet to see Phillips’ contract so he wouldn’t know the terms or the expiry date, which makes him uncertain if the contract was terminated or not renewed.

According to Torres, he was not satisfied with Phillips’ performance as COO of the corporation. Initially, he was “pretty impressed” with what Phillips brought to the table regarding his plans to turn the hospital around in terms of revenue.

Torres said Phillips discussed putting together a coding, billing, and collections team for the Commonwealth Health Center “before the ICS came along,” referring to the Idaho-based company sole-sourced to provide billing and collection services for the island’s lone hospital.

The contract, however, was deemed not lawful by the Office of the Attorney General which issued a cease and desist order barring ICS and the corporation to proceed with the deal that is currently under investigation.

“I thought he was doing okay in the beginning but then later on, he was not delivering on the things that he promised,” said Torres. “I think there was some dissatisfaction on the performance. What he says and what he delivered were miles apart.”

Torres said he would recommend hiring another individual to fill the vacated post. “I would support hiring of a person who has prior experience in a hospital environment. There’s budget for Mr. Phillips, there should be budget for his replacement.”

Asked if there are plans to find a replacement for Phillips, Babauta said he plans to fill the position “eventually.”

“It depends on our financial situation,” he added.