by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The Guam Memorial Hospital board of trustees' approval of closing the outpatient component of the Hemodialysis Unit has paved the way for GMH to stop losing more than a million dollars a year. On Wednesday evening the board approved management's request to initiate the process of closure, which is expected to take between six and eight weeks.

The cost-cutting measure is just one of several actions being taken by the new hospital management to get GMH's finances back in the red. Chief Financial Officer Siva Karuppan explained to the board that the hospital is losing big money as it bills approximately $1,800 per patient day but Medicare, Medicaid and MIP only reimburses about one thousand dollars per patient.

He told KUAM News, "Our expenses per patient day is also about $1,700 per patient, so if you really look at it, we really don't collect 100% on the dollar and our actual expenses amount to $1,700 - so what that actually should do is encourage us as management is try to reduce expenses across the board wherever we can see reductions."