CNMI in dire need of physicians

Healthcare officials say there is a critical need for physicians in the Marianas. They recently voiced their support for a Senate bill that would allow physicians licensed in a foreign country to practice medicine in the CNMI.

Eleanor Cabrera, chief strategy officer for the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation, said, "It has always been challenging to peak the interest of primary care and specialized providers to relocate and practice in the CNMI. So when we anticipate the pool getting shallower from the start, our concerns about physician shortages in the present and our future become greater."

Healthcare officials from the Northern Marianas came out in full force to support a bill that would allow physicians licensed to practice in a foreign country to practice medicine at the CHCC - the NMI's only hospital.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr. Marty Rohringer shared, "There is a shrinking number of primary care and acute care providers in remote areas. So this would include us in Saipan, but especially in Rota and Tinian. Trying to get an appointment with a primary care doctor is a challenge. I'm sure you've either had firsthand experience with that or know people who do. This problem is upon us already and is not expected to get any better. And we are required to explore other resources and finding qualified doctors."

The officials voiced their support during a Senate committee meeting on health, education, and welfare. This especially critical for Rota and Tinian. 

Dr. Matthew Nelson, the CHCC's emergency department director, said, "However, over the past few years, the emergency department and the family care clinic have found it increasingly difficult, as previously stated, to provide coverage to rota and tinian as our departments are also facing recruitment and retention issues. While our emergency department providers are able to care for all ages, our training and focus is in emergency and urgent care, not primary or continuity care."