The Guam Memorial Hospital Authority Board met last week covering an array of topics.

One of the items discussed was the 18% pay hike for nurses, which GMH administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas believes has helped with the nurse retention. 

As KUAM reported, back in April, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero had signed for the pay raise to help with the critical nurse shortage at Guam's only public hospital.

“Last year we reported for the year January to December 2023, we lost 79 nurses, and we only gained about 41. This year, so far we have gained 29 nurses, and we've only lost 21 hopefully, no more,” said Perez-Posadas. 

Perez-Posadas also provided an update on COVID cases as well. In June they saw about an average of two to seven individuals coming into GMH with COVID. 

This month alone, cases spiked to 14 but she noted that there has been a rise in cases on a national level. There has also been a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases among hospital staff,  with 254 employees testing positive this year, with 58 of those cases in July alone. 

“Fortunately the symptoms of the employees are not so severe, not so critical that they're manageable. But they do, you know, get to stay home under isolation, self isolation,” she added.

The next board meeting is set for September.