Guam Memorial Hospital breaks ground on major improvement project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2012
NOTE: The following is a joint release from the Office of the Governor and the Guam Memorial Hospital.
Governor Eddie Baza Calvo and Guam Memorial Hospital Administrator and CEO Joseph Verga congratulate each other at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning. The event commemorated the start of much-needed expansion and modernization work at GMH’s emergency room and critical and intensive care units.
Thanks to a plan Governor Eddie Baza Calvo initiated when he was a senator, the Guam Memorial Hospital will see both its emergency room and critical and intensive care unit (CCU-ICU) triple in size. This morning at the hospital, Governor Calvo led a groundbreaking ceremony to begin these much-needed capital improvement projects.
“These places are about life–both the joy of new life, and the concern over saving lives. I’ve experienced both at the Guam Memorial Hospital. I’ve also seen the hardworking men and women at the hospital do so much with so little,” Governor Calvo said. “I’ve been committed since my first day as a public servant to improving medical care on Guam. While it’s been a long day coming, I’m proud to be part of a team that is making this a true priority.”
Governor Calvo was joined at the ceremony by GMH Administrator and CEO Joseph Verga and Senators Tony Ada, Frank Blas Jr., Chris Duenas, Sam Mabini, Dennis Rodriguez Jr., Mana Silva Taijeron, and Aline Yamashita.
“I am honored to have joined GMHA in time to oversee this very exciting project. The people of Guam will receive emergency and critical care when needed in this brand new state of the art environment,” Verga said.
GMH expects the improved CCU-ICU to be opened in March 2013, while the ER is expected to open a year later. These projects will improve capabilities to provide safe, quality patient care; smoother and more effective patient flow; enhanced patient privacy and confidentiality; and more accommodating family waiting areas. These improvements are a direct reflection of the Governor’s and GMH’s dedication and commitment to its mission “to provide quality patient care in a safe environment.”
These projects are overseen by the prime contractor for GMH, dck pacific guam, LLC, and are a close collaboration between dck pacific; dck pacific’s designer Taniguchi Ruth Makio Architects; and GMH’s staff, management and Board of Trustees.
Project Specifics
Based upon the designs, which will be finalized this month, the ER will expand from its existing 5,400 square feet to approximately 15,000 sq. ft., while the CCU-ICU will expand from its existing 2,539 sq. ft. to 7,870 sq. ft.
The CCU-ICU will be expanded from an 8-bed Unit to a 14-bed Unit (to include two Isolation Rooms), with most rooms increasing in size to about 200 sq. ft., as opposed to the existing rooms at 120 sq. ft. The CCU-ICU will also have the space required to support the following critical functions: clean and soiled utility rooms; multipurpose conference room; family waiting room; nourishment and medication rooms; medical director and charge nurse rooms; MD/RN lounge; and medical supplies and equipment storage rooms.
The ER, which processes approximately 30,000 outpatient visits per year, will have two state-of-the-art trauma rooms; two multipurpose isolation & decontamination rooms; twelve state-of-the-art monitored examination stations; two non-monitored examination stations; one multipurpose exam room; one multipurpose suture/cast room; one satellite laboratory room; a large, external permanent decontamination system; and upgraded waiting, triage, registration, utility, storage, office and lounge rooms and areas.
Financing History
As a senator, Governor Calvo wrote the legislation that financed these projects. Public Law 29-19, which is the FY 2008 Budget Act, allocated $2,640,000 for GMH CIP and $2,000,000 for capital operating expenses, through a general obligation bond (GOB) authorization. This was later amended by P.L. 29-52 to allocate an additional $3,178,429 for GMH renovation, repairs and collateral equipment for the Emergency Room, from the savings of the refinancing of the 1993 GOB, Series A Bond.
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For more information, or to schedule an interview, call Troy Torres at 486-8887.