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CHCC prioritizes infectious diseases in shelters
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has been on high alert regarding communicable diseases in shelters due to the lack of proper water sources for hygiene.
According to CHCC Public Health medical director Dr. Phuong Luu, the corporation is working to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, such as diarrhea and others, in shelters.
“We finished shelter outreaches early last week. We went to all 13 shelters, and we have a daily event-based reporting,” she said, adding that with the daily reports, CHCC is able to use medical professionals to quickly address a health situation.
“Even one or two cases can spread [throughout the shelter],” she said.
According to Luu, her team was able to respond to reports of head lice, pink eye, diarrhea, and more “right away.”
Since then, Luu noted, the corporation has also been holding free medical clinics in villages.
According to Esther Muña, CHCC chief executive officer, CHCC’s federal partners were on island even before the typhoon hit Saipan and Tinian.
“We have this great partnership [with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] and we have been working and trying to make sure that we have the services here [on Saipan], and really trying to make sure that everything is okay,” she said.
The main concern now is the lack of water since it poses problems for hygiene.
