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Health chief argues for bigger hospital
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Posted on Dec 04 1998
Health Secretary Joseph K. Villagomez yesterday said the need for a bigger hospital becomes obvious with the rise in the population of the CNMI.
A plan to construct a new Department of Health building has been in the pipeline, and he hopes that the government will make it a priority.
A meeting has been set for next week to discuss the project, he said.
“It’s part of the CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) and is one of the top 20 projects. I hope that it will go easily. We’re meeting next week to finalize the projects,” he said.
The new building, planned to be constructed in Navy Hill, will house the department’s administration office and the Division of Public Health.
The department’s present site will then be freed up for the hospital’s use.
DPH is occupying about two-thirds of the hospital building’s ground floor.
Once DPH is relocated, the hospital will also be renovated.
Villagomez said the renovation will not only expand health care services but tests the soundness of the 12-year-old structure as well.
He said the hospital has survived strong typhoons and earthquakes, and the possibility that its structural foundation may have been weakened could not be ruled out.
“It’s already a 12-year-old facility and we’re using it for a population that is three to four times higher than what it was intended for,” Villagomez said.
The hospital receives an estimated 10,000 patients per month. That’s about half the ideal number it was to serve when it was built in 1986.
