Senator proposes urgent care outpatient center

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Hoping to alleviate the current strain imposed on the hospital's emergency room, Senator Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. has introduced Bill 158, which creates an urgent care outpatient medical center at the hospital. The legislation would help provide revenue for Guam Memorial Hospital that has been dealing with flatlining finances. 

The chairman of the Healthcare Committee says this new center would see patients with cuts, coughs, colds, and high fevers allowing those with real emergencies to be seen at the hospital ER. Rodriguez is recommending that the outpatient center be housed in the current first floor administration wing of GMH.

"That's a huge wing that's used just for administration," the senator explained. "If we think out of the box and we look at maybe putting an urgent care right there and moving the administration upstairs, maybe the 4th floor or somewhere around there, it would really work out because then you create a place where it will be revenue generating as well."

The legislation seeks to obtain proposals from interested companies, private medical centers or groups of physicians who would like to operate such an urgent care outpatient medical center at the hospital.