Dela Cruz
“Although there are a wide range of health care services that exist in the CNMI, there remains a gap to accessible, affordable and acceptable services to treat complex conditions locally. Our biggest disadvantage is the absence of medical specialists to treat chronic and complex health conditions. Therefore, expensive off-island medical referrals are still the norm.”
Redie A. Dela Cruz
Human resources and administration manager Alter City Group Inc.
Young
“Guam’s health care system needs serious improvement on when a patient is seen. Sitting four hours in a waiting room is too long. That, and the time it takes to pick up a prescription is also starting to lag. There needs to be a better system. Restrictions on where we can be seen have a lot to do with the backup and lag time. We almost have no choice but to wait long hours, even with an appointment, because our insurance only covers visits with a few clinics.”
Kristine “Kai” Young
Marketing specialist Micronesia Renewable Energy Inc.
Sablan
“In recent months, I know several people who have required urgent care. With the addition of the Guam Regional Medical City, I know they were thankful to have options. Having reliable choices goes a long way in terms of how we perceive quality of life on Guam.”
Janiece A. Sablan
Executive director University of Guam Endowment Foundation
Adams
“I have seen gaps in a lot of the health care. I pay for the highest coverage, and it seems that I have to pick and choose, and there are no dermatologists here on the island anymore, so I had to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and find someone on island […]. I would have to say thank goodness for urgent care because they are really good, and they can treat a variety of problems.
Dental has a lot of problems too. I had a tooth problem, and because I needed it pulled, I had to go to one dentist and then to have it replaced [by a] different dentist and then one other diagnosed the problem. [There were] three dentists and I had X-rays by two and to go to the third I had to pay for X-rays again, even though I had in my hand the X-rays from the first. […] I have to wait six months for my insurance to cover it now because I only get to use two different dentists per year.”
Christopher P. Adams
Executive chef LeoPalace Guam Corp.
Sanchez
“There are more providers, more clinics. The challenge is that costs continue to rise. From a business point of view, the premiums go up, but since there are more providers, there are more choices on the island.”
Simon A. Sanchez II
Vice president and general manager Clean Care Laundries
