The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has finally earned a reputation of being a suitable employer of primary and midlevel providers, according to CHCC chief executive officer Esther Mu\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
CHCC\u2019s vow to recruit and retain adequate and quality staffing has been maintained over the years since it first started in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was evident with the full staffing of primary care physicians and midlevel providers at Commonwealth Health Center. As a Medicare-certified primary care facility, CHC hospital assured the community of its obligation to provide primary care specialties of internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, and general practice for its hospital services,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n
For primary care services, the hospital provided 60,000 outpatient services and consistently provided inpatient care services at 90 percent or at higher capacity in 2014.<\/p>\n
CHCC now has seven internal medicine physicians, allowing the hospital to reopen the internal medicine clinic.<\/p>\n
CHCC\u2019s pediatricians have also increased from three to six.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis increase allowed for the pediatricians to extend their service at the Rota and Tinian Health Centers and the Kagman Community Health Center,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n
CHCC also has a fully staffed surgery department.<\/p>\n
According to Mu\u00f1a, CHCC also hired more pharmacists and respiratory therapists to ensure the availability of services at the hospital, including a laboratory director\/pathologist. The laboratory director is responsible for maintaining CHCC\u2019s laboratory conditions and its certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a primary care hospital, we had successfully filled all provider vacancies, meeting primary care needs. As a Medicare-certified dialysis facility, we also have the only nephrologist in the CNMI,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a said that having the reputation of being a suitable employer for providers is a significant milestone for the corporation because it goes in line with the standards that they are striving for their patients\u2014the same standards required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cCMS regulations state that the medical staff is accountable for the quality of care provided to patients and that the governing body must \u2018ensure the criteria for selection based on\u2019 individual character, competence, training, experience and judgment,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulations further state that \u2018under no circumstances that professional privileges in the hospital are dependent solely upon certification, fellowship or membership in a specialty body or society.\u2019 So even if they are board-certified or they are members of a specialty body, CHCC must vet physicians based on the criteria before granting them privileges to practice at our facility,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a said that following regulations is necessary because \u201cthis is the standard that CHCC must maintain for all our patients\u201d and they cannot put even one patient at risk by deviating from that standard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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