The doctor is in at new Garapan clinic

As a young girl, Dr. Norma Ada loved Science subjects in school and had no fear at the sight of blood, having been a descendant of local and Japanese healthcare providers of the pre-war era.

Now a medical doctor, the New York-trained Ada specializes in internal medicine and pediatrics, using her extensive experience to treat patients at a clinic that she recently established in Garapan.

The new clinic, located at the ground floor of the MH-II Building, the former site of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., is the fruition of a dream, coming after about seven years of serving at the Commonwealth Health Center, where Ada was a physician for the Pediatrics and Medicine departments and medical director for the Chronic Disease Program.

“It’s the right time for me,” she said. “I’ve gained a lot of experience and I wanted to switch my focus to spending more time as a clinic-based physician than being in the hospital in-patient ward.”

“My strength is based on being an outpatient physician, spending more time with my patients on a one-on-one basis and keeping them from being sick,” she added.

Being a native of the island, Ada said she and her business have long-term commitments to serve the local community. She could also provide medical advice in Chamorro to elderly local patients.

Ada had dreamt of becoming a doctor since childhood. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1989, Ada went on to complete her studies at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans in June 1993.

Ada then spent four years of residency at the University of Rochester in New York from 1993 to 1997, gaining extensive training in internal medicine and pediatrics. She then came back to Saipan and joined the Commonwealth hospital.

Ada attends to walk-in patients, conducts child immunization and school physical examinations, and provides diabetes and asthma education, among many other services. She plans to expand her services to include X-ray and minor surgical procedures later this year. She also plans to partner with off-island doctors to bring sub-specialty services to Saipan, such as plastic surgery, urology and dermatology.

“All my life, I wanted to be a physician. I’m here to stay, with a long-term commitment to the island,” she said. “I love being a doctor. It’s never boring, always challenging and generally patients are appreciative of the services a physician provides. As an island and as a community, we can still continue to also emphasize preventive medicine, especially with the high diabetes, heart disease and cancer rates in the CNMI.”

Ada’s clinic opens daily from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm.