A few comments on the CHC saga

Being a newcomer and an individual about to leave this lovely island with its beautiful people, I can’t help but comment on the continuous saga between the government and CHC. Let’s presume all people in the government, the CHC administration and employees, and the news media are noble people and with people of the island at heart and without any selfish interests (it is a bold presumption, I know), I need to make the following observations:

1) CHC, the only hospital on the island, is a creation of the government intended to fulfill one of the important government functions. And it is the function of the government to maintain its operation to serve the people. But based on the old stories from the Saipan Tribune, CHC’s financial difficulty existed some 20 years ago. And from observations inside the hospital, a well-designed and equipped hospital deteriorated in such a way that a Third World hospital might be better, despite the hard work and endurance of the workers there.

2) Anybody who has some knowledge of running a hospital—either government-run or private—knows it needs at least two years to turn around a money-losing hospital and put it in the black, especially since the payer-mix on this island is much lower than the mainland.

3) I wonder what was the thinking process of the policymaker to turn CHC loose with just $5 million in seed money, instead of the annual expenses of $43 million, and expect it to survive on Day 1. It reminds me of the story of the fed-up and irresponsible father who gave his 18-year-old son on his 18th birthday a hundred dollars and told him to be independent, knowing that he had spent for the son $10,000 annually. We have a not-too-smart son and an irresponsible father here.

4) Lastly, I’ve not seen a more dedicated group of health care providers: doctors, nurses and managing personnel in my 30 years of healthcare practice, for they continue to provide services to the people despite the deteriorated physical and financial condition of CHC. If we lose any number of them it would be a great loss to the island, and it would be hard to replace them.

I spent 11 months on the island and enjoyed every minutes of it, the weather, the people, my patients, co-workers, and the general public. I do wish our government will treasure this undiscovered gem.