DEIS healthcare needs projection disputed
Thursday, 10 December 2009 23:39 by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff
THE population surge on Guam resulting from the troop buildup will require more medical professionals than the numbers projected by the military in its draft environmental impact statement, according to Peter Sgro, president of the Guam Healthcare Development Foundation.
According to the draft impact study, Guam will need only 15 more doctors and 91 additional nurses to serve the increased population in 2014, the peak year for construction boom.
“That seems much lower than what the healthcare demand of our community would need assuming an increase in population of over 60,000 people,” Sgro said. “As far as the private hospital development is concerned, we are running recruitment and retention numbers based on industry efficiency ratios of 2.5 to 3 employees per hospital bed.”
Sgro said the total number of additional needed employees, including doctors, nurses, technicians, management and administration, would run between 500 and 600, based on a 200-bed capacity hospital and depending on the combination of general and specialty services that will be provided.
Guam Memorial Hospital is the only public hospital that serves the civilian population. The Naval Hospital caters to the military community.
Sgro’s foundation is seeking to build a private hospital that will provide medical specialty care, supplementing the services offered by GMH.
“Manila based developers are responsible for securing the financing for the hospital, securing the investors in the project and purchasing the property where the development will take place,” Sgro said.
Developers Cezar Quimbao, Chairman of the Board of Guam Healthcare Development, Inc. and Jorge Yulo, President of Guam Healthcare Development, Inc., join Sgro in Pittsburgh for a series of meetings to address recruitment matters for the new hospital, design of the new hospital.
“We have recognized for the past two years that one of the biggest challenges in developing a hospital is the ability to staff it with doctors, nurses, technicians and other necessary employees,” Sgro said. “This is why we have continued our recruiting efforts since in the development of any hospital, the recruiting process often begins well in advance of completion of the design phase.”
The foundation continues to build relationships with reputable healthcare systems in an effort to recruit doctors, nurses, technicians and other medical professionals to Guam.
“This process has been ongoing now for the past years with visits to not just the states, but also with healthcare systems in Japan and the Philippines that maintain pools of doctors that are U.S.-board certified,” Sgro said.
“Although the establishment of these relationships in an effort to secure doctors, nurses and other medical professionals is important even without considering the military buildup, the realities of a growing population makes our efforts that much more important,” he added.
Pending in the legislature are two bills that seek to address the shortage of medical professionals on Guam by offering debt-payment incentives to physicians who are practicing off-shore. Under the proposed program, the government would cover the payments of target physicians’ medical student loans. The program would tap the Healthy Futures Fund.
Showing posts with label Nurses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nurses. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Healthcare needs to increase 26%
Healthcare needs to increase 26%
Wednesday, 09 December 2009 04:52 by Jennifer Naylor Gesick | Variety News Staff
IN 2014, the peak construction year for the military buildup, Guam will need additional 15 doctors and 91 additional nurses to maintain the current service ratios in the healthcare service, according to the draft environmental impact statement. The additional healthcare professional needs account for a 26 percent increase.
Guam is already designated a medically under-served area due to the current low healthcare provider to general population ratio. The draft report acknowledges the military buildup will exacerbate the healthcare problem on island.
Guam currently falls below the national average in terms of healthcare provider to general population ratio. The service ratio for the number of physicians to the population of Guam is 1 doctor per 2,821 people. The service ratio for the number of nurses to the population of Guam is 1 nurse per 453 people.
The draft impact report anticipates that short- and mid-term medical staffing requirements would increase over current requirements as a result of increased population.
When construction activities are completed, the number of additional doctors and nurses drops to two and 12, a two percent and three percent increase, respectively, according to the report.
Still, the impact study states that these numbers are needed only to maintain the currently low ratio of doctors and nurses to population.
Without corresponding increases in healthcare providers, there will be severe potential health and safety impacts, the study says.
The military promises that “these impacts would be mitigated by assisting GovGuam in funding for health services personnel.”
Without more providers people may have to endure longer wait and response times, fewer or no available providers on island for chronic or acute issues. Complications or death from delayed treatment may be a result of not enough health care providers. Patients may even be required to travel off-island just to receive adequate treatment.
The Guam Memorial Hospital, the only civilian hospital, currently has a 208 bed capacity; 159 acute care beds, 16 bassinets, and 33 long-term beds located in our Skilled Nursing Facility. The availability of beds for actual admissions, however, varies from time to time in accordance with the availability of fully trained and licensed staff.
Naval Hospital is the primary medical provider for military members and their families. The facility admits 2,000 patients annually and delivers 300 babies in a typical year.
The Guam Healthcare and Hospital Development Foundation founded by businessman Pete Sgro is hoping to build a private hospital that will supplement the medical and healthcare services for the island’s civilian community.
Wednesday, 09 December 2009 04:52 by Jennifer Naylor Gesick | Variety News Staff
IN 2014, the peak construction year for the military buildup, Guam will need additional 15 doctors and 91 additional nurses to maintain the current service ratios in the healthcare service, according to the draft environmental impact statement. The additional healthcare professional needs account for a 26 percent increase.
Guam is already designated a medically under-served area due to the current low healthcare provider to general population ratio. The draft report acknowledges the military buildup will exacerbate the healthcare problem on island.
Guam currently falls below the national average in terms of healthcare provider to general population ratio. The service ratio for the number of physicians to the population of Guam is 1 doctor per 2,821 people. The service ratio for the number of nurses to the population of Guam is 1 nurse per 453 people.
The draft impact report anticipates that short- and mid-term medical staffing requirements would increase over current requirements as a result of increased population.
When construction activities are completed, the number of additional doctors and nurses drops to two and 12, a two percent and three percent increase, respectively, according to the report.
Still, the impact study states that these numbers are needed only to maintain the currently low ratio of doctors and nurses to population.
Without corresponding increases in healthcare providers, there will be severe potential health and safety impacts, the study says.
The military promises that “these impacts would be mitigated by assisting GovGuam in funding for health services personnel.”
Without more providers people may have to endure longer wait and response times, fewer or no available providers on island for chronic or acute issues. Complications or death from delayed treatment may be a result of not enough health care providers. Patients may even be required to travel off-island just to receive adequate treatment.
The Guam Memorial Hospital, the only civilian hospital, currently has a 208 bed capacity; 159 acute care beds, 16 bassinets, and 33 long-term beds located in our Skilled Nursing Facility. The availability of beds for actual admissions, however, varies from time to time in accordance with the availability of fully trained and licensed staff.
Naval Hospital is the primary medical provider for military members and their families. The facility admits 2,000 patients annually and delivers 300 babies in a typical year.
The Guam Healthcare and Hospital Development Foundation founded by businessman Pete Sgro is hoping to build a private hospital that will supplement the medical and healthcare services for the island’s civilian community.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
UOG May Have to Cut Programs
UOG may have to cut programs
By Brett Kelman
Pacific Daily News
October 14, 2008
Yesterday, University of Guam associate professor of nursing Kathryn Wood said her department had no choice but to grow in the near future. The coming military buildup will increase Guam's need for nurses and the UOG faculty must increase to cope.
"The nursing program is in critical condition and that is not a cliché. It's the truth," she said.
Wood spoke out yesterday at a UOG faculty meeting led by President Robert Underwood.
On Friday, Underwood announced that the Legislature didn't fund "growth initiatives" that would have allowed the university to prepare itself for the buildup.
The military buildup will bring at least 30,000 service members, dependents and laborers to Guam over the next few years, according to Pacific Daily News files. Wood said UOG nurses will be needed.
"Because of the nursing faculty shortage worldwide, if you can go down the street to another nursing program and get a job, why would you uproot and come halfway around the world to an area you are not familiar with?" she asked.
"(Nurses) don't have to all be from here, but we know there will be consistent care if people come into the system, they are with us and we don't have to worry about needing to scramble each year to hire," she said. "We want to have a stable health-care system."
Wood said the nursing program has had the largest increase in enrollment of any program on campus in recent years. More than 80 people have applied to the college this year and more than 60 should be accepted, she said. Unfortunately, for the first time, the shortage of professors may force the program to cap how many students the nursing school accepts, she said.
Wood said the nursing college employs six full-time faculty members and at least as many part-time members. The part-time faculty members work at full-time nursing jobs.
"They are getting tired," she said. "And the full-time faculty are pulling overloads every semester. We can't keep that pace up to produce more nurses. We are stretched to the limits."
Wood said a study by the nursing college determined that UOG needs to produce about 60 nurses a year to meet local demands.
This year UOG will only graduate about 20 nurses, she said. Last year 39 graduated.
To cope with the military buildup, UOG will have to graduate about 80 nurses per year, Wood said. To do so, it needs to fill two empty positions and hire about four more professors.
Underwood's growth initiatives included the hiring of six new professors for the college.
Shortfalls
During a presentation Friday, Underwood said the funding cuts affected almost every part of UOG's budget. In total, UOG requested about $40.5 million but was only appropriated about $31.2 million. Financial aid for Regent scholars, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Marine Lab graduates weren't funded. Yesterday, Underwood said the programs may be phased out.
"We will try to find a way to continue the programs for at least another semester," he said. "But over the long haul, unless they are funded specifically, they will no longer exist."
Underwood's growth initiatives would have spent $1.4 million on new faculty and supplies to help develop Guam's professional workforce, including the hiring of 21 new faculty members.
UOG requested another $1.5 million to raise faculty salaries to "recruit and retain the best minds" to lead Guam's development, Underwood said.
Yesterday, history professor Donald Platt said the university would struggle to recruit competitively without more funding. Platt is the chairman of the UOG Faculty Senate.
"If the growth initiatives aren't funded, we will be able to survive, but we can't improve much," he said. "We can't attract faculty."
Underwood asked faculty members to brainstorm over the weekend about how the university could save money to pay for some of growth initiatives. Although the Legislature didn't give UOG any money to expand, he hoped to still spend about $300,000.
"Every society that is on a growth cycle invests in its human beings. Every society that is in decline will always cut education," he said.
Lee Yudin, Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, suggested UOG might allow its current professors to teach more classes so fewer new hires were needed.
"It allows us a little bit of flexibility to offer more classes to our students when we deal with not being able to hire," he said.
Underwood said UOG could sustain its current population of 3,200 students, but may not be able to handle growth without more funding.
"While we are an open enrollment institution, we may face the day where we can't admit everyone we'd like to a given program at a given time," he said.
Underwood said he will weigh input from his faculty and propose a balanced budget to the UOG Board of Regents. He said the budget must be reviewed by Oct. 23.
Funding
Yesterday, Sen. Eddie Calvo said he tried to provide more funding for the university in his original budget bill, but the money was moved elsewhere. Calvo is chairman of the Committee on Finance. He is running for re-election.
Calvo said his original bill provided an additional $400,000 to the university. Had that bill passed, UOG would still have been short of its no-growth base budget and growth initiatives still would have been unfunded.
Calvo said he supported Underwood's goal of transforming the university into a factory for local professionals, but he had to prioritize the university's operations costs.
"We had to focus on meeting that base," Calvo said. "You are in need of a stable institution before you start to expand to the types of service and growth initiatives ... requested."
If Guam's "revenue picture" changes because of additional spending by tourists or the military, the Legislature could revisit the budget, he said. The Legislature also could re-appropriate funding from another agency, or the governor could use transfer authority to move money to UOG, Calvo said.
By Brett Kelman
Pacific Daily News
October 14, 2008
Yesterday, University of Guam associate professor of nursing Kathryn Wood said her department had no choice but to grow in the near future. The coming military buildup will increase Guam's need for nurses and the UOG faculty must increase to cope.
"The nursing program is in critical condition and that is not a cliché. It's the truth," she said.
Wood spoke out yesterday at a UOG faculty meeting led by President Robert Underwood.
On Friday, Underwood announced that the Legislature didn't fund "growth initiatives" that would have allowed the university to prepare itself for the buildup.
The military buildup will bring at least 30,000 service members, dependents and laborers to Guam over the next few years, according to Pacific Daily News files. Wood said UOG nurses will be needed.
"Because of the nursing faculty shortage worldwide, if you can go down the street to another nursing program and get a job, why would you uproot and come halfway around the world to an area you are not familiar with?" she asked.
"(Nurses) don't have to all be from here, but we know there will be consistent care if people come into the system, they are with us and we don't have to worry about needing to scramble each year to hire," she said. "We want to have a stable health-care system."
Wood said the nursing program has had the largest increase in enrollment of any program on campus in recent years. More than 80 people have applied to the college this year and more than 60 should be accepted, she said. Unfortunately, for the first time, the shortage of professors may force the program to cap how many students the nursing school accepts, she said.
Wood said the nursing college employs six full-time faculty members and at least as many part-time members. The part-time faculty members work at full-time nursing jobs.
"They are getting tired," she said. "And the full-time faculty are pulling overloads every semester. We can't keep that pace up to produce more nurses. We are stretched to the limits."
Wood said a study by the nursing college determined that UOG needs to produce about 60 nurses a year to meet local demands.
This year UOG will only graduate about 20 nurses, she said. Last year 39 graduated.
To cope with the military buildup, UOG will have to graduate about 80 nurses per year, Wood said. To do so, it needs to fill two empty positions and hire about four more professors.
Underwood's growth initiatives included the hiring of six new professors for the college.
Shortfalls
During a presentation Friday, Underwood said the funding cuts affected almost every part of UOG's budget. In total, UOG requested about $40.5 million but was only appropriated about $31.2 million. Financial aid for Regent scholars, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Marine Lab graduates weren't funded. Yesterday, Underwood said the programs may be phased out.
"We will try to find a way to continue the programs for at least another semester," he said. "But over the long haul, unless they are funded specifically, they will no longer exist."
Underwood's growth initiatives would have spent $1.4 million on new faculty and supplies to help develop Guam's professional workforce, including the hiring of 21 new faculty members.
UOG requested another $1.5 million to raise faculty salaries to "recruit and retain the best minds" to lead Guam's development, Underwood said.
Yesterday, history professor Donald Platt said the university would struggle to recruit competitively without more funding. Platt is the chairman of the UOG Faculty Senate.
"If the growth initiatives aren't funded, we will be able to survive, but we can't improve much," he said. "We can't attract faculty."
Underwood asked faculty members to brainstorm over the weekend about how the university could save money to pay for some of growth initiatives. Although the Legislature didn't give UOG any money to expand, he hoped to still spend about $300,000.
"Every society that is on a growth cycle invests in its human beings. Every society that is in decline will always cut education," he said.
Lee Yudin, Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, suggested UOG might allow its current professors to teach more classes so fewer new hires were needed.
"It allows us a little bit of flexibility to offer more classes to our students when we deal with not being able to hire," he said.
Underwood said UOG could sustain its current population of 3,200 students, but may not be able to handle growth without more funding.
"While we are an open enrollment institution, we may face the day where we can't admit everyone we'd like to a given program at a given time," he said.
Underwood said he will weigh input from his faculty and propose a balanced budget to the UOG Board of Regents. He said the budget must be reviewed by Oct. 23.
Funding
Yesterday, Sen. Eddie Calvo said he tried to provide more funding for the university in his original budget bill, but the money was moved elsewhere. Calvo is chairman of the Committee on Finance. He is running for re-election.
Calvo said his original bill provided an additional $400,000 to the university. Had that bill passed, UOG would still have been short of its no-growth base budget and growth initiatives still would have been unfunded.
Calvo said he supported Underwood's goal of transforming the university into a factory for local professionals, but he had to prioritize the university's operations costs.
"We had to focus on meeting that base," Calvo said. "You are in need of a stable institution before you start to expand to the types of service and growth initiatives ... requested."
If Guam's "revenue picture" changes because of additional spending by tourists or the military, the Legislature could revisit the budget, he said. The Legislature also could re-appropriate funding from another agency, or the governor could use transfer authority to move money to UOG, Calvo said.
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