Guam Cancer Trust Fund awards $110K to Guam Memorial Hospital
The Guam Cancer Trust Fund approved at its monthly meeting on March 24 to award $110,000 to the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority for use in fiscal year 2021.
The Guam Cancer Trust Fund is a special government fund created by Public Law 30-80 in 2010 that receives a percentage of taxes collected on tobacco products via the Healthy Futures Fund. The University of Guam administers and manages the fund, overseeing its distribution to organizations that provide patient-directed services in regard to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and other services that may be required to access treatment, such as off-island transportation and temporary housing.
The Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, which has been providing inpatient chemotherapy treatment and other cancer-related outpatient services through its oncology program for 37 years, will utilize the funds to purchase cancer-related medications, fund a local oncologist, provide patient cancer care, and provide prevention training and education for families.
This award follows the trust fund’s March announcement of $946,122 awarded to five other nonprofit cancer organizations. Its fiscal year 2021 awards come from its $1 million appropriation for 2021 and carryover funds from previous years.
The Guam Cancer Trust Fund Council comprises two UOG members—vice provost for Research and Sponsored Programs and professor Rachael Leon Guerrero, who serves as chairperson, and Associate professor Yvette Paulino—and community members Cathy Rivera Castro, Faraz Ouhadi, Peter Sgro, and Ken Leon Guerrero. (PR)