by Krystal Paco

Guam - With the Guam Regional Medical City qualifying certificate approved, one senator is looking to get the new hospital to give back to the island's growing needs for behavioral wellness programs.

In a release today, Senator Aline Yamashita writes to Guam Economic Development Authority business development manager Christina Garcia requesting that part of the GRMC's reciprocity contributions be to give back to such initiatives.

Yamashita notes that in the last two years alone, 315 Guam babies were referred for diagnosable mental disorders but programs like Project Karinu are in the final year of their grant award and would need at least a million dollars to continue operations.

In closing she states that investing in human capital is just as important as investing in a new prison noting that for every dollar invested early on, Guam would gain $5 to $8 later in higher graduate rates, less crime, less welfare, and less teen pregnancy.