by Krystal Paco

Guam - The Department of Public Health announced today that it'd be making cuts to its senior citizens services. According to director Jim Gillan, the division that caters to the island's elderly has had to make due with $800,000 less than last year. Gillan says that DPHSS has approached contractors to reduce expenses because the division is overmatched - there's $400,000 in federal money and $5 million in local money.

"Until we get to the point where we have extra money, we're going to have to tweak our programs to make sure that the people who really, really need it get the services," he said.

The reduction in services will include suspension in center activities for shopping, fieldtrips, civic engagement and islandwide activities, monthly meetings for the elderly nutrition participant and senior executive councils as well as transportation to the island's twelve senior citizen centers once a week. "We tried to look at what programs are absolutely positively necessary," noted Gillan. "We won't reduce services for the medical needs like getting prescriptions or going to doctor's appointments."

According to Mangilao Senior Citizen Center manager Ana Gay, of the 70 seniors that utilize the central facility, more than 30 are bus riders. "It's only going to affect them one day a week, which is every Monday," she said.

Gay assures KUAM News that the centers will continue to cater to the island's elderly and still operate five days a week. "They do understand, but for some of them, it's going to be hard because no one will bring them over," she said. "Everywhere there is a cut, so we need to help out too so we're doing our part. As far as this cut, it's going to hurt but everybody's hurting at this time."