New CHCC board holds first meeting

The newly constituted board of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. held its first public meeting last Friday, with the corporation’s chief executive officer, Esther Muña, giving them an update on what has been happening at the agency.

“This is a good chance for the board to get organized to familiarize themselves with the duties and know the scope of their responsibilities because the board represents the community and the stakeholders of the healthcare system [on] Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.” Muna said.

Present at the meeting were board chair Lauri Ogumoro, vice chair David Rosario, and members Leticia Reyes, David Rosario, and William Cing of Tinian.

The meeting was highlighted by the drawing of lots pertaining to the tenure or number of years each member will serve on the board. The determination of the years of service is a requirement of the law and must be upheld. Ogumoro will serve six years, Rosario will serve six years, Reyes four years, Cing four years, and Dr. Larry Hocog of Rota four years. Hocog drew four years by default because he was not able to attend the meeting.

“There’s a good team at CHCC and we want the board to help them because this is our community hospital. We are looking at providing governance to them, not a day-to-day management and operation but we want to see what we can do to build the hospital for the community. It’s here and it’s working but we can always improve. That is what the [board] is part of,” Ogumoro said.

From the time of the CHCC board members’ confirmation to the transition, they will be provided with information and data about the hospital, operations, finances, activities by Muña.

“They need to be organized, they need officers as well as getting the lottery of terms. That lottery of terms was necessary because PL-19-78 requires it and it provides a working relationship between the chair of the board and the CEO so that things will have a smooth transition into their new roles six months from now,” Muña added.

As board chair, Ogumoro said she would make sure that the programs the board will make and have will redound to the benefit of the community. “Being the chair carries a lot of responsibilities and a daunting task. My job is to work with the CEO for the community because this is our hospital,” she said.

“[Our] immediate project is to get ourselves organized and learn from the different areas in the hospital…and we will determine what are the most important goals to be able to move forward,” Ogumoro added.

The next board meeting is on July 20, 5:50pm at the CHCC administrative conference room.

Unlike the previous board, which had a purely recommendatory role at CHCC, this new board will have power over the corporation, with Muña as its direct employee.