Previous Story
CHC to open out-patient clinic for children
|
Posted on Aug 27 1999
In a move to expand its community service, the Commonwealth Health Center has hired three more surgeons from the U.S. mainland, as well as open an out-patient clinic that will cater only to children’s emergency cases, said Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez.
Villagomez said the decision was made due to overcrowding of patients in the emergency room especially in the evening. He noted that parents have been complaining about the long wait they have to endure in the emergency room when doctors are busy attending to critical cases.
He said the clinic’s operation, which may begin in September, may be open three times a week until 9:00 pm. But services may be extended to five days and even include adult patients later on, depending on the need of the community.
“We are doing this because a great number of patients who come to the hospital at night are children who are not really emergency cases,” said Villagomez.
The delay in extending the hospital’s service was partly due to the lack of nurses and doctors. But Villagomez said three surgeons, including a gynecologist, will soon be arriving on the island to beef up the medical staff. Currently, there are 36 doctors in CHC.
Hiring of medical specialists from the mainland has been a priority of the department despite its limited budget in order to reduce spending on medical referral.
The department is needing $3 million more before the end of Fiscal 1999 to provide assistance to residents under medical referral program. Villagomez said the shortfall was due to the 50 percent cut in the amount appropriated by the government and the costly medical expenses incurred by patients referred to off-island hospitals.
