‘We came to learn English and volunteer at CHC’

In a letter to the president of La Paloma Co., Joseph Santos, then-deputy secretary for Hospital Administration at the Commonwealth Health Center, said he looked forward to providing a “meaningful internship experience” to a group of Korean nurses.

He also said he looked forward to meeting the nine Korean nurses once they arrived in the Commonwealth, according to a letter sent by Santos to La Paloma president Jay Kim, dated July 2.

The nine nurses said they came to Saipan hoping to learn English and work as volunteers at CHC. Kim did not promise jobs for them at CHC, they said.

“I have a lot of experience in emergency situations,” said Rachell Yang, a nurse for 12 years in Korean. “…I want to speak English here and eventually in the U.S.”

According to the letter, Santos said CHC would require the nurses to be licensed through the CNMI licensing board prior to working at CHC. CHC would also have to examine their education backgrounds to ensure they have completed the basic studies of nursing. The nurses were also required to present a nursing degree, transcripts from their university and two reference letters.

All of the nurses have passed the NCLEX test and have applied for and received the CNMI board license. They are currently enrolled in a communications for nurses’ class each day from 4pm to 6pm, but would like to intern at the hospital in the morning, E. Roland Brown, their communications instructor, said.

The nurses paid $6,000 for the three months in the CNMI, which includes living expenses, rent for apartments, licensing fees, fees for classroom instruction and fees for a visa extension. La Paloma received a commission of $1,200.

The nurses arrived on island in September, and Sun-Hee Song, one of the nurses, said that Kim, after meeting with Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, told her that they would start at the beginning of October.

In a statement, Villagomez said an internship program needs to have sanctioned curriculum and staff, and CHC is not currently able to do that.

He said he is fearful to have the nurses’ work with patients if their English skills are not up to par, which could cause a delay in providing patient treatment.

“Three seconds makes a difference in peoples’ lives. That’s where my concern for litigation comes in,” Villagomez said.

Song, who has been a nurse in Korea for 20 years, said they do not want to be in charge of a patient, but to take part in clinical volunteer work.

Brown said the nurses are discouraged.

“They’re experienced nurses,” he said. “How can that not be a win-win for the hospital?”