Letter to the Editor: Return public health to its Mangilao facility

By Therese Terlaje

Whatever happened to the Public Health building in Mangilao? Before it closed in 2019, it was where many families in Guam went to get the help they needed.

The Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) provided most of its services in one place, including the entire Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services, such as maternal and child health services, TB and immunization shots, dental care, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension control, and HIV/STD testing.

You could apply for health certificates, SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and other services. Mangilao Public Health was truly a one-stop center for health and support services, right in the heart of the island. It was a crucial clinic

supporting a fragile health system and providing care from north to south of our island.

In November 2019, DPHSS reported an electrical fire in the Mangilao Public Health building, which was shut down by the Guam Fire Department, and these very important services were moved overnight to other places.

Yet in a letter dated Jan. 10, 2020, the insurance company denied DPHSS’ claim, stating that after an extensive investigation, inspection and review of the claim file, “there were no damages noted."

They further explained that “there was no soot cover, or any fire-related damage observed."

The Department of Public Works was supposed to assess the damage, but that assessment was never finished. It wasn’t until last year, when I introduced Bill 222-37 to ensure the property in Mangilao remains with DPHSS, that the DPW contracted for an assessment and design of the building for public health purposes and dedicated almost $1 million in ARPA funds.

Finally, almost five years after the building was shut down, the assessment is due this month.

The importance of Public Health returning to Mangilao can’t be overstated.

During the public hearing on Bill 222-37, the long-time administrator for the

 Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services at DPHSS testified that moving

 out of the Mangilao site significantly disrupted services.

In 2018, just before the building shut down, DPHSS recorded 8,331 service encounters, including nearly 1,800 women’s health visits and 600 child health visits. 

By 2023, that number had dropped by 49 percent to just 4,281 encounters. Services are now scattered across different locations, leaving many residents confused about where to go for help.

Next week, the legislature will go into session and debate Bill 12-38, which I introduced to urge DPHSS to resume services there and to prevent other efforts to transfer the Mangilao property out of DPHSS's control if it is still usable.

Bill 12-38 supports continued partnership with healthcare and healthcare

 education by allowing DPHSS to enter into agreements with GCC and

allows the use of an additional Community Health Center.

Keeping the property under DPHSS helps the department focus on its mission of providing direct health and social services, while reducing the need for outside leases, which saves the government time and money. It still allows DPHSS to partner with education, healthcare, and financing partners, while seeking and making maximum use of federal dollars for critical services, new facilities, and renovation, as it did with the construction and renovation of Community Health Centers, different labs, a mobile clinic, and other facilities.

There’s a lot happening in Guam. We’re facing a growing need for health services, potential federal and local cuts, and the erosion of public trust in our government.

I don’t pretend that one bill can fix it all, but I do believe in doing what’s right, one step at a time.

Bill 12-38 may not fix it all, but it does something that matters: it  brings an

outpatient health care clinic and other services back to an underserved part of the island, back to the people who abruptly lost services when Mangilao Public Health was shut down.

The legislature will decide whether to keep that building in the hands of Public Health or give it away for good. 

If you think, like I do, that Public Health should return home where it belongs, that direct services are still needed in Mangilao and across our island, and that this Mangilao land and building, if able, should further serve the healthcare needs of our island, I urge you to call your senators and ask them to support Bill 12-38.

 Sen. Therese Terlaje is a member of the 38th Guam Legislature. She served as the speaker of the 37th Guam Legislature.

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