The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has responded to Sen. Paul A. Manglona\u2019s (Ind-Rota) call for an update on Rota\u2019s inoperable dialysis center, explaining that they are \u201cnot in the financial position\u201d to move forward with its opening.<\/p>\n
CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muna responded to Manglona\u2019s letter in February, where he stressed that the facility\u2019s opening was long overdue and a delay that has shifted costs to Rota patients who have to seek treatment on Saipan.<\/p>\n
Muna\u2019s March 4, 2016, letter explains the \u201cmajor\u201d renovations, repairs, and qualified personnel the dialysis center would need before opening.<\/p>\n
Muna said that should CHCC undertake making the facility safe and ready for dialysis services\u2014by making the necessary renovations and repairs and begin recruiting critical personnel that meet the required qualifications\u2014\u201cit will cost CHCC millions of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCHCC is currently not in the financial position to move with such undertaking,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
However, Muna said they aim to look for opportunities that can help them fund the project, which was completed sometime around 2009, \u201cin the future.\u201d <\/p>\n
Manglona told Saipan Tribune yesterday that Muna was on Rota Monday to meet with Rota Mayor Efraim Atalig and the Rota delegation on the issues of medical referral, the hemodialysis project in question, and other health issues.<\/p>\n
Muna also sent technical staff to assess the hemodialysis facility, Manglona said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCEO Muna assured the members that she will be giving us in a few weeks a break down on the cost to upgrade the facility as well as the staffing necessary to run the facility,\u201d Manglona said in an email. \u201cFrom there we will do a cost-benefit analysis. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate her sincere concern on the health issues affecting our residents here on Rota,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u2018Major\u2019 renovations needed<\/strong><\/p>\n Muna, in her letter, listed the concerns that \u201cprevent CHCC from moving forward\u201d with the opening of the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n On water treatment, Muna said there must be evidence that the water used for dialysis center meets the water treatment standards of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and that it is \u201cbiologically and chemically acceptable.\u201d <\/p>\n Muna said the reverse osmosis machine that is currently in the facility would need major repair or replacement in order to meet the standards.<\/p>\n She also stated that \u201cmajor\u201d renovations are needed to ensure compliance of the physical environment, with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.<\/p>\n Qualified personnel will also be needed as stated in the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonnel assigned to work in the facility must hold the qualifications in credentials and actual experience working in dialysis facility,\u201d Muna said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe facility must have adequate laboratory services that provide tests of moderate complexity,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Muna notes that the Rota Health Center laboratory is not equipped to provide tests and would again require major renovation, additional qualified personnel, and adequate equipment to meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments\u00a0or CLIA requirements.<\/p>\n Like Manglona, Muna said she desires to assist Rota residents in their dialysis services; however, critical areas were missed when the facility was constructed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to note that prior to opening any health care facility, it is critical to ensure the facility is safe, functional, and sanitary and the patients and staff are prepared for emergencies,\u201d Muna said.<\/p>\n \u201cCompliance with regulations for dialysis services is significant for reimbursing and in ensuring financial sustainability of the program,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The $1.5-million dialysis center was built through federal Capital Improvement Project money. (With reports from Dennis B. Chan)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has responded to Sen. Paul A. Manglona\u2019s (Ind-Rota) call for an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[2383,666,10185,3577],"class_list":["post-222583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","tag-capital-improvement-project","tag-chcc","tag-clia","tag-rota-health-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}