SENATOR Sixto Igisomar on Thursday told the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. advisory board and management to resolve the conflicts between them so the islands’ only hospital can move forward and improve its services.
Igisomar, a member of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, expressed his dismay over the present situation at the hospital.
“It’s really unfortunate that we are here, and I wish that there was more harmony. The CEO and the leadership of the board have both failed. I just hope they can come together and work together. I cannot tolerate such behavior. I don’t understand this. We have a law that allows us to evaluate the CEO, that tells us what we can do and what we cannot do so we cannot keep on waiting. If the CEO has an issue then fix it, the hospital needs to move forward.
“There’s a joke that says we go to the hospital to die, but it cannot continue to be a joke — what do we need to do to move forward? We need to have a solution. Fix it. You’re the ones pulling the cord — you have the board, the CEO and the governor, so don’t ask the Legislature to change the law because it might not work for you. Let’s work together.”
Igisomar and other lawmakers met with the advisory board for more than three hours yesterday. Lawmakers met with CEO Esther Muna on Wednesday.
Board Chairman Jack Torres, Vice Chairman Pedro Dela Cruz, members Anthony Raho and Roy Rios appeared before the lawmakers with CHCC Director for Medical Affairs John Doyle.
COMMONWEALTH HEALTHCARE CORP. ADVISORY BOARD VICE CHAIRMAN PEDRO DELA CRUZ SPEAKS WHILE BOARD CHAIRMAN JACK TORRES, RIGHT, BOARD MEMBERS ANTHONY RAHO, 2ND LEFT, AND ROY RIOS, LEFT, LISTEN DURING A MEETING WITH LAWMAKERS ON THURSDAY. PHOTO BY CHERRIE ANNE E. VILLAHERMOSA
Rep. Angel Demapan noted that the board itself is not unified in its position, making it harder for lawmakers to address the issues.
He advised the board to use the provision in Public Law 16-51 that allows the board to evaluate the CEO’s performance.
Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro, chairwoman of the House Committee on Health and Education, echoed Demapan’s advice and told the board that can evaluate the CEO.
But Dela Cruz said Muna prevented them from calling a meeting.
They said the last meeting they had was in May 2014.
But board member Anthony Raho, a former employee of CHC and director of the pharmacy for 16 years, said it’s not true that Muna prevented the board from meeting.
He said the chairman can always call a meeting whenever there is a need to do so by having four voting members agree to it.
He said he was in favor of calling for a meeting and for conducting an assessment of Muna’s performance but, he added, the board did not do it.
Rep. Edwin Propst said there is a serious problem with the billing system of CHCC.
Rep. Glenn Maratita asked Dela Cruz why Tinian and Rota were excluded from the salary increase to which Dela Cruz answered: “You are asking the wrong person. You should ask the CEO herself.”
Sen. Arnold Palacios said he was the co-author of P.L. 16-51, which created CHCC as a public corporation, and he now feels sad that the hospital is in such bad shape.
He said the intent of the legislation was to establish an autonomous hospital.
But Dela Cruz noted that the statute doesn’t fit the present situation.
In an interview he said: “It’s hard when you have members of the board who happen to be employed and are afraid to bite the hand that feeds them. They cannot speak out against the CEO because they might be fired.”
Doyle disagreed.
Raho, for his part, said some board members expect drastic changes.
“Change will not happen overnight. When the transition happened in 2013, it was a complete disaster. No bank account, no transition report. Nothing. There are lots of issues that I would like to bring up but there’s also some good things happening at CHCC. There are a lot of problems, and it’s overwhelming but they’re not going to be solved overnight. We have to work together to accomplish goals, but the conflict between the board and the
CEO has added to the problem.”
The other lawmakers who were present during the meeting were Sens. Justo Quitugua, Steve Mesngon and Teresita Santos, Reps. Edmund Villagomez, BJ Attao and Francis Taimanao.
