On Thursday afternoon, Delegate James Moylan’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Bobby Shringi, met with Dr. Adam Robinson Jr., who is the Director of the U.S. Department of Veteransn Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System in the Guam Congressional Office in Hagatna. 

Mr. Robinson was accompanied by his leadership team from Hawaii.

The VAPIHCS has oversight over federal VA issues in Guam, including the Community Based

Outpatient Clinic, the benefits provided under both the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, and the personnel. 

The meeting resulted from a series of inquiries from the Delegate’s office regarding the level of care and services for veterans residing in Guam, the Marianas, and the COFA nations. This also resulted from a CODEL in April of this year, which was led by the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Congressman Mike Bost, and the senior staff. 

Bost and Moylan wrote a concerning letter to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Discussions revolved around improving the care for our veterans, and Dr. Robinson raised the ongoing process of a shared agreement between the VAPIHCS and the Naval Hospital Guam which would greatly enhance care for our veterans at the facility through radiology and ancillary services, and possibly additional services down the line. This would include pharmaceutical care. Regarding the current CBOC, there are plans to extend the facility which would allow more point of care testing. They also intend on finalizing an agreement to utilize the hospital’s parking lot, and shuttle patients to the CBOC,” stated Shringi. 

“Additional discussions revolved around the VA travel benefits program, and an assurance was provided that qualified Guam veterans can and are being provided care in states other than Hawaii, if that care is not available in Hawaii. This is an issue many veterans have expressed concerns over; thus, we want to share the response from the entity which approves these travel plans,” he added.

The CBOC was approved for expansion in 2023, and this will be located at a medical annex adjacent to the GRMC in Dededo and will be 5,000 square feet. 

VAPIHCS estimates that those doors could be open at the latter part of 2025, and veterans would obtain similar care in both facilities. Discussions also included the level of care available for veterans in Manila, Philippines, and their intent in partnering with the local government to secure State Veterans Home with skilled nursing care.

“The important thing about this meeting was that there is a commitment between the VAPIHCS and our office to work together to improve the care and services for our veterans. This includes everything from addressing veteran constituent concerns to assisting with permitting or other barriers. We will also share information that comes along with the various veteran groups in Guam. Obviously, we could not address all our questions in one meeting, and I want to thank Dr. Robinson and his team in their assurance that the doors will be open for future discussions. This is certainly the first of many,” Shringi said.

Moylan was unable to attend the meeting, as he is currently in Washington, D.C., addressing the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which is scheduled to be voted on Friday morning Guam time.