FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (February 4, 2020- Hagåtña, Guam)- Bill 210-35 (COR), introduced by Senator Therese M. Terlaje, to appropriate $10 million dollars from the Hospital Capital Improvement fund for GMHA’s top three urgent projects which include the roof repairs, the electronic health record, and the electrical panel, was unanimously passed in today’s legislative session.

“With the passage of Bill 210 into law, I look forward to GMHA’s swift action to use the $10 million in funding to expand the Electronic Health Record system or address any of the other urgent repairs, pending the availability of additional funds.

The Army Corps of Engineers, in their preliminary outbrief, made it clear that whether we build a new hospital or repair the current one, costs for repair projects for the existing facility should be incorporated to obtain/maintain CMS accreditation for a 7-year window minimum timeframe.

Our sick and dying loved ones at the hospital deserve the best care we can give.

There is no higher priority use of government funds today than fixing our hospital’s leaking roof, electrical panel and elevators, and ensuring accurate medical records and CMS protections.

Funding the hospital is a unanimous policy of the legislature based on the clear mandate of the people,” stated Senator Therese Terlaje. 

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (February 17, 2020- Hagåtña, Guam)- Senator Therese M. Terlaje introduced Bill 294-35 (COR) today, to prioritize an additional $11 Million of improvements to the current Guam Memorial Hospital facility, above less critical expenditures in the current Executive Budget request for FY2021.

“All the revenue we receive as a government is meaningless if we cannot provide a safe place for our community during the most vulnerable times of our lives. Patients and their families deserve to walk into our hospital without seeing a leaking roof and wondering if the electrical panel, air system, or medical record system will put them at risk.”

According to the Chairperson of the Legislature’s Committee on Health, approximately $21 Million Dollars of priority projects are estimated in order to protect CMS Accreditation and to maintain patient safety pending construction of a new hospital, that may take up to five years to realize.

During FY2020, $10 Million was appropriated to GMH from FY2019 Business Privilege Tax revenues in excess of FY2019 appropriated revenues through Public Law 35-36 and Bill 210, which recently lapsed into law. The Governor’s FY2021 budget is $506,766 less than the total appropriated for FY2020 and again does not allocate funding for the known urgent capital improvement needs of the hospital.

Bill 294-35 will immediately dedicate an additional $11 Million to GMH capital improvement and equipment priorities from FY2021 revenues. This investment will allow for the adequate planning and thorough vetting of additional long-term construction plans for the hospital.

Highest priorities of the hospital include investing in the continued accreditation of the hospital by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and addressing the most urgent structural deficiencies, equipment needs, and infrastructure deficiencies of the current hospital facility.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (February 6, 2020) – The Crime Victim’s Rights Act of 2004 granted victims the right to be notified of certain developments in their cases, including changes to the defendant’s confinement status. Victims sometimes had not been notified, or when they were notified, it was after the defendant’s release. This is a gap in victim service delivery that deprives victims of this right, compromises victim safety, and causes a feeling of re-victimization.

“The Attorney General’s Office launch of the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) program is an important step towards closing the victim notification gap, and I look forward to prompt and continued expansion of the system, to include automatic notification of time of actual release.”

Victims will now be able to access and, if they choose, to be actively notified of court hearing dates and outcomes. They will no longer have to wait for phone calls or call themselves to obtain this information.

“Having timely, reliable information at their fingertips, on their computer or mobile device, accessible twenty-four hours a day, is vital to victim engagement, empowerment, and safety. I look forward to and will continue to support other measures to ensure victim safety and enhance victim service delivery.”  

To access VINE visit vinelink.com, download the VINELink APP or call 1-877-484-8463.

For more information feel free to call the Office of Senator Therese Terlaje at 472-3586, or email senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com.