Calling the situation at the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital "heart wrenching," Delegate Donna M. Christensen on Monday said two federal departments may be able to provide some of the help needed to keep the hospital afloat.
Christensen made the comments in a news release Monday.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare announced last week it would pull the hospital’s certification to take part in the Medicare program, which funds hospital care for the elderly who have no insurance, as well as the Medicaid program. Together the two federal programs account for a healthy percentage of the JFL budget, raising the fear that the hospital might not be able to keep its doors open.
“I spoke to the U.S. Department of Interior Insular Affairs officials and they are prepared to give the hospital some of the funding it needs,” Christensen said. “It is my hope that this will assure CMS that Luis Hospital will get the money they need to correct immediate problems and put them on a path to long-term solutions,” she said.
“I am also calling U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to ask that they treat this as the emergency that it is,” Christensen said Monday. “St. Croix has one hospital. People have no other alternatives. They cannot drive to another county or state to seek care.” 
Christensen said she was also asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prioritize JFL’s High Energy Cost grant request, which would help the hospital cut its energy bills.
In her news release, Christensen said that despite criticisms leveled at the hospital, most patients get good care from a caring and competent staff.
“While the issues outlined in the report must be addressed, I believe that the Luis Hospital staff is committed to the community that they serve and they, more than anyone else, want to see the problems fixed.”
The CMS report provided a litany of cases from 2014 and 2013 in which poor care harmed patients and in some cases contributed to patient death. (See link below.)
Prior to departing for Washington, D.C., to convene a series of meetings in the hope of preventing the financial insolvency of St. Croix’s only hospital, Christensen urged Gov. John deJongh Jr. to declare a state of emergency over the hospital issues.
After meeting with CMS officials last week, Christensen said, the agency was open to discussions that may avert the loss of certification.
Christensen, who once was medical director of the hospital, urged JFL officials to appeal the decision and request a re-audit.
Since 2011, Christensen and her staff have had more than a half dozen meetings and conference calls with senior leadership from CMS to identify effective short- and long-term solutions. She played an active role in working with CMS to delay previous plans to terminate Medicare and Medicaid payments to the hospital and was talking with leadership at CMS Monday to explore options. The delegate’s news release said she has identified options that she will ask CMS to consider in order to stall the current plans to terminate the Medicare agreement with the hospital.
Christensen said she will continue to impress upon CMS that the territory’s most vulnerable residents – seniors – will be affected if the Medicare agreement is terminated. Christensen also told CMS the decision would undercut the entire V.I. health care system.
VI Watchdog
Delegate Christiansen, too little, too late.
Where were you when the governor you endorsed and campaigned with was slashing the hospital budget and cutting nursing salaries causing the loss of our best and most experienced nurses? Did you speak up when your buddy deJongh left the hospital with no governing board quorum? Where were you when your Diageo deal partner DeJongh was dumping the hospital employees off the payroll? Were you asleep when 4 different CEO’s warned the senate year after year of the dire situation with the WAPA bills and underfunding? Didn’t you take notice that Senator Sanes has a bill to make JFL a satellite hospital (clinic basically) of the RLS Hospital in STT? And where the devil were you when your friends Barack and Billary left us out of Obama care and you never went to the Supreme Court to demand equal protection for the mothers and sisters of our soldiers and other US citizens who live in the territory?
Too little. Too late.
VI Watchdog
Don’t forget to call the US Dept of Justice too because the givernor’s refusal to appoint a full board complement for 7 years is downright criminal.
The Feds should do more than just “pitch in” to help JFL; they should “Pitch in” to help the overall economy in the territory. They waste millions on all these other nations that don’t like us and seem to ignore its own territory.
Better late than never! This is the time to serve the wine! And the best person to serve it is our delegate. She is a medical professional who happens to be a proven leader. Mapp needs to shut his mouth! He is a tyrant and a liar. Why would the CEO of JFL advise Mapp of anything pertaining to the hospital crisis? His statement about urging VI officials to fog is a blatant example of his arrogance and lack of preparation for the job as governor. Delegate Christiansen is being very responsible in this situation but she is not the governor. However. her response to the latest crisis in the VI demonstrates that she is an ideal candidate for the position as Cheif Executive. As a former Health Commissioner and practicing physician, she has a keen insight of the problem and with her experience in Congress, I am optimistic she’ll be instrumental in fixing this mess.
The people of St. Croix deserve better healthcare. Whether the change that is needed can be done by the government and its employees is unlikely. Golden Grove fiasco is a good example of the government ‘s inability to create institutional change. So, it seems like privatization is the logical answer. It’s no wonder CMS is pulling the funding. The mistakes that occurred at JFL resulting in deaths and serious injury is indefensible.
Throwing more money at this disaster isn’t the solution. So the Feds throw a few million at this problem. It goes away for a year or two, but eventually the crooks and idiots in the VI government in charge of this debacle steal and waste every dime they can and the hospital is right back where it started.
If they want to help, they need to take the hospital out of the government’s hands and sell it to the private sector.
If you elected better leaders, didn’t chase out private industry and collectively cared more about education then you wouldn’t have to beg for hand outs like a common crack head. It’s not the Fed’s fault you’re broke, it’s your fault, VI. For once, take some responsibility for yourselves and quit blaming “the man.”
Going to Washington to beg for hand-outs is leadership?
Donna is not a beggar. She lobbies Congress for more than just federal funds.Besides money, there are other things needed to fix the hospital mess.