The island’s only government hospital is in a constant battle, recruiting and retaining doctors and nurses. So what’s behind this critical shortage, and what are hospital leaders doing to tackle it?

It's a challenge like no other for Guam’s only public hospital: recruiting doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals and ensuring they stay. Lillian Posadas, GMH administrator & CEO, told KUAM News, "We continue to try to recruit and retain as many as we can–as much as possible.”

So what steps are being taken to close the gap? Posadas explains that compensation is a key part of the effort, with incremental pay increases driving more healthcare professionals to the island. Still, she acknowledges the pay isn’t fully competitive across the board.

“It’s still not as comparable for nurses because they make more money in the mainland–but you know, the starting salary is fairly attractive–and then on top of that, we have the 25% work differential that they get when they’re working," she said.

As the only facility providing maternal and child healthcare to the civilian population, the pressing need to recruit and fill specialized positions remains another priority. “We are in the process of recruiting more neonatologists. Hopefully, we will get at least two to be boots on the ground. We have ongoing recruitment of OB/GYN doctors, and we will have a couple coming in next year in January. It’s an ongoing process," she said.

With the continuing shortage of healthcare professionals and a limited workforce, Posadas stresses that recruitment and retention efforts must go beyond just filling positions - it’s about keeping talent in place and avoiding burnout. 

“A lot of the patient population come into the hospital with numerous co-morbidities, complicated conditions–so not only the volume of patients they have to deal with, the workload–but the complexity of their conditions, and that could be a challenge for our doctors and our staff," she said.

On the issue of GMH vendor payments, posadas notes that the Department of Administration is currently processing invoices for vendors with due payment. 

In the meantime, she encourages the community to consider a career in healthcare, particularly in Guam's public hospital system, where the demand for professionals is great.