Guam Memorial Hospital leadership were put in the hot seat before senators during an informational briefing Tuesday morning after apparently mishandling American Rescue Plan funds. 

“Ms. Lillian, I hope you can make it through this hearing without resigning again,” said Senator Chris Barnett. 

“All I can say is that I’ve lost faith in the management of this hospital. And I would ask for your resignation,” said Senator William Parkinson. 

GMH Administrator Lillian Posadas previously shared her confidence in obligating $20 million of ARP monies towards critical infrastructure projects ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline. 

But hospital leadership recently found out half the funds were taken away and reallocated for the new hospital as they did not properly obligate the funds, according to the Governor’s Office. 

“How does it make you feel when you hear that it's basically because of your failure and your team’s failure and you lost out on the remaining $9 million,” said Senator Sabrina Salas Matanane. 

“I try not to look at it as a failure or anybody’s fault but that this is really what happened and these are the facts, so moving forward I have a responsibility as a hospital administrator to try and find some alternate funding,” said Posadas. 

Less than $2 million went towards its intended purpose while some $9 to $10 million went to outstanding vendor payables. 

But GMH Legal Counsel Jordan Pauluhn said it was not a failure of obligation but a difference in opinion.

“Yes, I think the governor’s legal counsel and I have fundamentally different views on some of the definitions like ‘obligation’ and other things. I think that’s where the disagreement is,” said Pauluhn. 

“So you're of the opinion that GMH did everything they needed to obligate these funds,” said Barnett. 

“By and large yes,” added Pauluhn. 

It’s a red flag for Sen. Parkinson who suggests someone needs to be fired.  

“Whether I’m in the public sector or in the private sector, if I have a $10 million oopsie or disagreement or whatever euphemism we call it, I would have that person’s job immediately. As a private sector individual, I would fire someone for that. As a Governor, I would fire someone for that,” said Parkinson. 

Meanwhile, Department of Administration Director Edward Birn said GMH did not submit their ARP request in time. 

“There was a deadline of December 2nd for all agencies to get their final ARPA request to BBMR. Obviously from what I’m hearing today, the personnel at GMH either did not understand or misunderstood so it was not received,” said Birn. 

Posadas admitted she wasn’t made aware of this deadline. 

“So there was a December 2nd deadline. Were you aware of that, Lillian,” asked Senator Frank Blas Jr.

“No, senator. That was not communicated to me or to any members of my executive team,” said Posadas. 

CIP Projects chart in backtime

Meantime, GMH is tracking 54 critical infrastructure projects. 

Just 17 projects are completed and 37 are still pending. 

The hospital is working with the administration to look for alternate funding.