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Health care upgrades save RHC thousands
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Posted on Sep 15 2008
[B]ROTA[/B]—Key upgrades to the Rota Health Center here have brought major advances in medical technology to this small island and saved the center and its patients thousands each month in costs they otherwise would have spent seeking off-island treatment.
In a letter sent to RHC management earlier this year, medical director Dr. James Toskas says that since the upgrades—such as the addition of ultrasound equipment and a laboratory, a project spurred by the island’s mayor, Joseph Inos—the health center has saved thousands each month. That money, he added in an interview Monday, is being poured into improving the care Rota’s people receive in other ways.
“The planning here was for the future, not just now but 10, 15 years down the road,” said Toskas.
Nine months ago, the laboratory where Toskas and his staff now conduct medical tests to diagnose and treat the island’s sick was nonexistent. Many of Toskas’ patients, he added, had to travel on their own to Guam or Saipan for even basic tests. The same held true for Rota’s pregnant women and anyone in need of an ultrasound screening.
“Now we literally save the patients of Rota thousands of dollars a month by not having to send them off to Saipan for an ultrasound or lab work,” Toskas said. “With all that we’re saving, we can use the money to improve the health care of the community rather than to fly people around.”
The new equipment has lengthened the list of options RHC staff have when treating emergency cases, Toskas added, noting that while the Coast Guard’s emergency flights to Guam are paid for with federal money, airlifting patients when necessary to Saipan can cost up to $5,000.
“We can do almost anything here in terms of health care needs other than something like surgery, major surgery,” he said. “We can do a lot more deliveries because we can see everything we need to see. We can do our laboratory tests. We can handle most cases.”
Toskas credited Rota’s mayor and RHC’s Resident Director Julian Calvo for their efforts in bolstering the center’s ability to provide medical care to the 65 patients on average its staff see each day.
Meanwhile, RHC has recently branched into providing home health care to patients on Rota with the aid of the local Department of Public Health, Toskas said. The new program provides Rota’s homebound sick and elderly with house calls from the center free of charge.
