Prospects touted for private hospital

A privately-operated hospital that is being proposed in As Perdido is being touted as a means to reduce the number of off-island referrals and keep patients on the islands.

In a brochure provided by Dr. Gene Eagle-Oden, who authored the brochure with Dr. Gary Ramsey, it said the proposed Marianas Specialty Referral Hospital seeks to provide medical specialty services that are not currently offered in the CNMI that result in medical referrals.

The brochure, which is an economic impact analysis of the project, identifies Dr. Leon Li as the project’s developer and states that the hospital aims to reduce medical and insurance costs and eliminate the inconvenience and travel costs of off-island medical referrals.

A separate statement that Ogden sent to the media says the project has received positive feedback, that Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang does not oppose the new hospital and had written the CNMI Legislature and the CNMI Zoning board to approve the finals plans for the new hospital. It also quotes the Commonwealth Health Care Corp. As having asked the CNMI Legislature to ensure that the specialty referral hospital be accredited by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The proposed 50-room in-patient hospital plans to provide specialty services such as hyperbaric chambers for diabetic and pre-amputees; orthopedics services; cardiovascular treatments; oncology; neonatology; infertility treatment; a wellness clinic with the latest advancements in natural modalities, naturopathy, and homeopathy that complement allopathic and orthodox medicine; and an outpatient clinic.

The hospital does not intend to provide emergency medical services with ambulance transports and birthing of off-island mothers.

“MSRH developers believe that CHCC is a very fine well-equipped hospital with a highly trained staff of nurses and doctors that are already satisfying the needs by providing these services to the residents of Saipan,” the statement adds.

The hospital is proposed to be built in As Perdido, right by the Mango Resort. Last Monday, the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation passed a bill that would allow hospitals to operate in village commercial zones. That would essentially pave the way for MSRH to be allowed to operate at the proposed site in As Perdido.

The bill essentially allows private hospitals to operate on village commercial zones, or zones that are generally reserved for leisure establishments due to its close proximity to resident areas.