Arley Gutierrez Long: Tinian’s Florence Nightingale 

This family portrait shows Arley Gutierrez Long posing with her husband, Philip, their identical twins Isa Haa’ni and Cielo Citllali, and their son Tasi Thomas. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The desire to guarantee the health and wellbeing of anyone and everyone is what drives Arley Gutierrez Long to care, to love, to serve.

A nurse practitioner by profession, Long is the sole provider at the Tinian Isla Community Health Center, serving a community of 2,044 men, women and children. Added to the list is her role as a mentor to women and the youth is her extended role as friend and mother, an advocate of women’s rights and youth sports, and one of the driving forces behind Tinian’s food bank, the Ohala Foundation. Daunting? Not for this Latina who has made Tinian her home in the past 27 years.

Long is tireless in her pursuit of making sure that those around her are enjoying the quality of life they deserve. “What makes me happy? For me it’s always been about giving, listening, standing up for those who didn’t know how. …Those who were discriminated…who felt alone…the helpless. …I want to see them flourish, recognize their self-worth, and provide them an equitable opportunity.”

Loyal by nature, Long believes in the principle of building relationships and the altruistic pursuit of engaging and giving back to the community. “Through these relationships, you learn to remain humble and stand up for injustice, discrimination and disempowerment. Keep your faith in God and familia is everything. Lastly, giving up is not an option. If there’s no way, find one.”

Long’s affinity for the Tinian community began in 1997 when she became a nurse practitioner at Tinian Public Health. On her first day at work, she and two other nurses had to take drastic measures to prevent the outbreak of tuberculosis in the community. “I took it upon myself to initiate an urgent response. I was determined to do my best with only three of us in Public Health with limited supplies, scarce safety gear, and a rundown car that held the door shut with tie wire and no air conditioning. That was my introduction to N95 masks and the start of a TB program on Tinian.”

As a family and women’s healthcare nurse practitioner on Tinian, Long has seen people in their most vulnerable state—those suffering from obesity, diabetes, and heart disease—which are the top three highest rates of comorbidities in patients. Then there was the spike in the number of teen pregnancies in 2000 that Public Health was able to address, thanks to the program “Baby, think it over,” which Long herself researched and implemented.

Armed with an innovative approach to the delivery of quality healthcare, Long was instrumental in the passage of local legislation that gives Advance Practice Registered Nurses the authority to practice with full independent authority and without supervision by a licensed physician. A health crisis was averted, thanks to Long who was then the vice chair of the CNMI Board of Nursing. Together with the CNMI Nursing Board and other nurses and physicians, Long tirelessly lobbied and help educate local stakeholders to get the bill passed.

As a result of this bold move, the CNMI today is ahead of Guam and Hawaii in implementing this measure. To date, there are now 26 states, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories that have full independent practice authority, and counting.

Her support for youth sports also stems from her nursing practice. A firm believer in prevention, Long, together with her brood of four, actively participated in the Tinian Premier Football Club. Together with the other women volunteers in the community, the soccer program ran for eight years, with Long promoting it as a way to counter chronic health issues, mainly obesity, among the youth,

And now, Long and her family have established the Ohala Foundation, which is a Tinian-based food bank that services 1,000 families on island and on neighboring Rota. With her husband, three children and some community and youth volunteers, the group banded together to respond to the community’s urgent need for food supplies in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yutu.

“[Super] Typhoon Yutu exposed the vulnerability of our islands. During its aftermath, no one was providing food for Tinian and that is when we decided to set up the food bank. We depended on military and Red Cross assistance. When they left, we were still in the process of rebuilding and most people still did not have jobs nor any source of income, so the community was really left wanting.” said Long.

Officially registered as a nonprofit organization in 2020, Ohala is overseen by a board of directors chaired by Long’s husband, Philip Mendiola Long, while her two daughters serve as co-vice chair. Her son is the board secretary while Long herself serves as the board’s treasurer.

Regular food distribution takes place every two weeks on Tinian and beginning in April, monthly in Rota. Ohala gives out more than 150 bags that have seven-days’ worth of food, a recipe, and a meal program that makes different recipes with the food provided.

Anyone in need of food assistance can seek help at the Ohala Foundation. Long said the foundation intentionally did not place a financial requirement so that more families can quality for the program. “Avoiding qualifications allows us to catch families that are in need who otherwise have no way to buy groceries.”

This policy has left Ohala open to the criticism that some people may be taking advantage of their generosity. Long acknowledges that there may be truth behind the comments, but they are not one to judge. “We never turn people away.”

In order to sustain the program, Ohala constantly seeks help from the community and the foundation is grateful for the generosity of its supporters—be they private individuals or companies—but the need is great and it needs to be filled.

“We need more help! We are extremely grateful to our donors who are generous and realize the true need. The donations need to be consistent. Most donations are once a year or twice a year. We need to increase our cash flow bi-weekly,” Long said.

To help, donors are encouraged to donate $5 or $10 a month via PayPal through Ohala’s website at https://www.ohalafoundation.org/donate

“Creating Ohala was a very humbling experience for me and my family. We are truly blessed and we have taught our children to give back. It is an overwhelming feeling to give back and contribute to your community and to society. We enjoy what we do and volunteering gives us a sense of purpose,” said Long. She said the inspiration behind the foundation are her three children, whom the Longs have raised with compassionate hearts and the spirit of altruism.

For this Watsonville, California native, her career in the healthcare field and her volunteer work has brought her personal rewards that she is proud to share. “I’ve learned the importance of choice and mutual respect… developed skills and abilities which encourage equal opportunities…blessed to take part in society. I lead a humble life, advocating for many causes. …It’s the only way to highlight yours and others’ perspectives to the wider community and act as a catalyst for change. If I ignored my ability to advocate, I’d be missing out on critical support for many important issues.”

Long credits her family who has supported her in her journey. Together with her husband, Philip, a prominent Tinian businessman, they have raised identical twins Isa Haa’ni and Cielo Citllali, both of whom are freshman Harvard University students and Tasi Thomas, who is currently a sophomore student at Stanford University.

Just like the founder of modern nursing, the heroine Florence Nightingale, Arley Gutierrez Long used her knowledge, her determination and her compassion for change and reform to make her community a much better place to live in.