The Chairman of the Board of the LBJ Hospital Authority, Dr Malotumau Tuiolesega told the House Health Committee yesterday that the hospital is not ready to deal with a Covid case.
Responding to a question from committee chair, Rep Andra Samoa if the hospital is ready if there’s a positive Covid case in the community, Dr. Tuiolesega said his reply as a medical doctor and after touring the facilities and inventorying the equipment is….
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The answer is, not ready.
Dr Tuiolesega was specifically referring to doctors.
He said an initial inspection in March shortly that there were no special masks for medical personnel called rebreathers. “
“Now those have been ordered through the nurses,” he said.
The board chairman reported that there are enough ventilators but the question is, “are the doctors and nurses trained in using them. The answer is no.”
He said it’s an emergency need and he as chairman is making it a priority to get the hospital and medical personnel ready to treat a Covid case.
The hearing also covered the cat scan which has been down for several months.
Dr Tuiolesega reported that the cat scan was repaired and it worked however the images are not clear because of a problem with a tube in the machine.
He said the LBJ CEO is trying to source one from Guam however if none can be found a new one has to be manufactured.
The only two places where the manufacturer, Philips, makes them are. India and Europe.
The board chairman said it would take two months before a new tube will get here
He testified the cat scan is now 8 years old, but equipment such as this should be upgraded or replaced after five years,
To avoid a repeat of the current situation where the hospital has been without a cat scan for an extended period, he recommended its best is to buy a new one.
CEO Faumuina John Faumuina informed the committee that they are in the process of buying a new cat scan. He also reported that the hospital is acquiring a new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine which costs $2 million. The hospital has made a payment of $million for the MRI.
Faumuina explained that they need space to install the special equipment before technicians can travel here to install them.
