by Jolene Toves

Guam - Concerns have been raised about the Guam Memorial Hospital's recent hiring of a pathologist. A complaint was filed with the Attorney General's Office alleging the hospital had paid the director of the lab before he even officially started working at GMH.

Hospital administrator Joseph Verga says the new pathologist was never paid before his first day on the job, which was March 4. Dr. Mohamad Hani Alsabban, however, was technically hired at the hospital since his contract was signed back in January and approved by the board and the AG's Office.

Verga explains that was done because the previous acting lab director quit when he was denied a $40 an hour raise and a complaint was made to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which then gave GMH 30 days to find a replacement or risk losing the lab's certification. The administrator adds the hospital has already responded to the complaint.