The first three nurses from Thailand hired by the LBJ Hospital are arriving this morning via Apia.
They are NCLEX certified RNs and will work on two-year contracts. They will initially be housed at Sadie Thompson Inn for a month until they secure their own housing.
According to LBJ CEO Dr. Akapusi Ledua, three more Thai nurses will arrive on August 29 and another three on September 2nd. By October, there’ll be a total of 16 nurses from Thailand. The goal is to hire a total of 30 nurses.
For now, the LBJ Hospital is putting on hold the hiring of nurses from the Philippines as the government there has put a hold on the hiring.
The recruitment of nurses from Thailand is being done through a health care advisory company that’s owned by an American man married to a Thai. The program takes the nurses through the NCLEX, or the National Council Licensing Examination, and after they pass, the company finds jobs for them off-island.
Dr. Ledua said the nurses from Thailand will be paid according to the hospital’s pay scale commensurate with their credentials plus other benefits, which contract employees from off-island receive.
