The National Health Service Corps will deploy four more doctors and three nurse practitioners on the island aimed at easing the shortage of medical professionals in the Northern Marianas according to Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez.<\/p>\n
The NHSC will shoulder the salaries of the yet to arrive doctors\u2014two obstetrician\/gynecologists, a pediatrician and a family practitioner\u2014and nurses. It will also pay for the cost of relocation of the person and his family members.<\/p>\n
The NHSC is a program under the US Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n
“We put out an application and they (NHSC) gave us a list of physicians that we can contact and see if they are still available to come up here. NHSC will pay for their site visit here,” Villagomez said.<\/p>\n
“But like our overall approach to recruiting, new personnel are screened for their commitment to a challenging position and an interest in learning about and contributing to our community here in the Commonwealth,” he added.<\/p>\n
The health secretary said they expect to have the doctors on board the soonest in light of the CNMI’s growing population.<\/p>\n
CHC Director of Medical Services Dr. James Hofschneider and Human Resources Administrator Betty S. Johnson are currently reviewing a 16-page list of prospective candidates for the next cycle which runs from April 1999 to March 2000.<\/p>\n
About 12,000 patients go to the CNMI’s only hospital \u2014 the Commonwealth Health Center \u2014 every month. However, the hospital has only over 30 doctors.<\/p>\n
Except for the family practitioner who will be assigned to the island of Tinian, the rest of the yet to arrive medical professionals will work at the Saipan-based CHC.<\/p>\n
Only two obstetricians attended to over 1,500 babies born last year, including some 200 delivered via cesarean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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