Tinian Health Center treated, processed over 7,600 patients

Tinian Health Center resident director William Cing disclosed that the clinic treated and processed a total of 7,685 patients last year, including 1,401 who were seen at the emergency room after clinic hours and during weekends.
The center, a five-bed capacity clinic built in 1987, is the only medical facility on Tinian servicing its entire population of about 3,200. It has different sections including emergency room, outpatient clinic, records and admission, laboratory, x-ray and ultrasound, among other units.

Cing, in his annual report submitted to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. board, disclosed that THC posted a total of 371 patients referred for inter-island treatment at the Commonwealth Health Center.

Being a primary health facility, the Tinian Health Center deals with all kinds of cases and its regular clinic hours is from 7:30am to 4:30pm on weekdays. However, its emergency room is 24 hours open.

At present, the clinic has a total staff of 31 personnel including two providers, one doctor, one nurse practitioner, four registered nurses, five licensed practical nurses, and one nursing assistant.

The center’s pharmacy section, it was reported, had a total of 7,425 outpatient and 61 in-patient clients. The radiology department accommodated 700 patients and recorded 1,020 x-ray and ultrasound procedures last year.

The center’s public health division, meantime, had 3,120 patients who received breast and cervical screening, children’s developmental assistance, immunization services, and others.

Its Bureau of Environmental Health staffers, Cing disclosed, issued 113 sanitary permits and conducted food handler’s workshop to 342 applicants last year.

In terms of revenue and collection for 2013, the resident director reported that collections totaled $355,602 while payment of accounts through allotment was $90,944.

According to Cing, the transfer of Dr. James Toskas from Rota also gave much relief to the center’s lone provider and a great relief to the community of Tinian.

For many years, the clinic had been finding it difficult to get a permanent doctor for the island, prompting the corporation to transfer one of the two physicians at the Rota Health Center to Tinian.

Along with some accomplishments in 2013, Cing also revealed that the center experienced some challenges, primarily due to the lack of funds to sustain staffing needs and the replacement, maintenance, and repair of the center’s equipment.

THC needs an additional registered nurse, a cashier, an account clerk, and a social worker, he said.