Two members of the Board of Directors of the LBJ Tropical Medical Center, Chairman Mualeava Dr. Afili John Tufa and Vice Chairman Fonoti Douglas Jessop, have submitted their resignations to Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula.
The Governor had asked all five members of the board, in an April 2 letter, to resign so that the administration could begin the process of submitting nominations to the Fono for confirmation.
The Governor requested that the board members give the newly elected Pula and Pulu administration the opportunity to allow other members of the community the same chance to serve as they have had during the previous gubernatorial administrations.
Chairman Mualeava said that after the letter from the Governor requesting the board’s resignation and “other political pressures directed towards the board,” he decided to step away and honor the Governor’s request. He said this would allow the Governor to transition his people to the board seamlessly.
Mualeava, who joined the board in March 2023 and became chairman in May of last year, feels proud of the work that the board has been able to achieve.
He listed some of those achievements:
- Hiring nephrologists from a nephrology group from Hawaii for the Dialysis Unit; they will be providing services on-site
- Hiring a radiologist certified to read both CT scans and MRI images
- Hiring more physicians for the ER Department
- Installation of a new CT scan machine; LBJ was without a CT scan for many months
- Improving various policies around procurement, hiring, and finance
- Improving digital connections with IT/MIS, Electronic Health Records, and data management
- Initiating various ARPA projects, including a new ER/ICU Building, which will also have a room for a new MRI, a new cafeteria, morgue, and chapel, roof replacement, new training facility, and others
- Purchasing new generators for a new central power plant for LBJ
- Improving the water tank system to supply clean water to critical units
The outgoing board chairman said that the many infrastructure improvements they put in place should bear results in the coming months.
The other members of the LBJ Board are Representative Faimealelei Anthony Allen, Dr. Patrick Pedro, and Afamasaga Dr. Talifa.
Rep. Faimealelei has vowed that he will not leave the board until his term expires, which is not for several months.
