DoH lays out plan for $20 million in ARPA funding allocated for healthcare

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A “medical vessel” for Aunu’u island and the Manu’a island group is one of the projects being proposed for funding from the $20 million allocated to the Health Department (DoH) under American Samoa’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), according to the latest documents made public by the ASG Office of Oversight for ARPA.

And the documents reveal that it costs DoH about $3,000 per charter flight on Samoa Airways to transport critical patients from Manu’a to LBJ Medical Center on Tutuila.

As previously reported by Samoa News, based on documents publicly released last year by the Oversight Office, $20 million was allocated to DoH to improve access to basic healthcare services in the outer islands and outer villages under the “Other Public Health Services” designation.

The Oversight Office’s latest 2022 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Performance Report, publicly released July 30, provides summary details of the $20 million with the project renamed, “Village Community Health Centers”.

DoH Community Health Centers “have experienced challenges since the onset of the COVID- 19 pandemic and more importantly the urgent need for specific infrastructure improvements to further support the department’s COVID-19 mitigation and prevention efforts,” according to the performance report which outlined seven individual projects proposed by DoH to fund with the $20 million in ARPA funds.

However, the report does not show how much DoH has budgeted for each project.

MEDICAL VESSEL

DoH proposes to “custom build a COVID-19 critical patient medevac” vessel for the safe transport of COVID-19 vaccines, to move medical supplies and staff from Aunu’u and the Manu’a islands to LBJ Medical Center on Tutuila “at any given time an emergency arises” and “during an outbreak”.

Currently, DoH’s Community Health Centers charter Samoa Airways flights for Manu’a and each month there are an average of five or more chartered flights transporting critical patients from the Manu’a islands to Tutuila for medical care at LBJ hospital.

“Chartered flights cost the department $3,000 per flight,” said DoH in its proposal. For the island of Aunuu, residents must travel through the Auasi channel to Tutuila for health care services at the Amouli Health Center or travel onward to Fagaalu to the LBJ hospital.

“This medical evacuation vessel will be utilized to transport critical patients directly from Aunuu to Fagaalu where the Emergency Medical Services will await the patient's arrival to be taken to the LBJ Emergency Room,” said DoH.

AUNU’U CLINIC

DoH also proposed to build a health clinic for the people of Aunu’u and the facility will be fully equipped with medical personnel, equipment, and supplies to address the healthcare needs of Aunu’u residents and solidify DoH response to the COVID-19 emergencies.

TA’U & FITIUTA SERVICES

DoH proposes to building a new Ta’u community health center due to the “relocation of the existing facility from the unsafe Tsunami zone” to a new higher location in the hills of Ta’u village. This new clinic, said DoH, will include new housing facilities for the residence doctor and visiting nurses and various health programs.

It will include all of the necessary clinic requirements for a stand-alone clinic on Ta’u island and will also include an isolation holding facility for COVID- 19 patients. The facility will be equipped with the latest Health Clinic furniture and equipment.

Additionally, an emergency generator — as requirement for all clinics — will be provided for the facility with a paved parking lot with ample parking spaces on site for the community. And the facility will comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

DoH is also proposing to expand medical services for Fitiuta village, that will allow for the renovation of the Fitiuta Airport — on Ta’u Island — to include a medevac holding station that will be equipped with an assessment or triage-station, a physician’s office, and a two-chair dialysis room for patients requiring urgent dialysis treatment.

OFU CLINIC

For the islands of Ofu and Olosega, DoH proposes to design and develop a new medical facility and services at the Ofu clinic. Key objectives of this project includes identifying key response capabilities of the new facility to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health emergency declaration.

Additionally, the design of the facility is to include a nurses’ station, COVID-19 testing waiting area, dental, prenatal, well baby, and diabetes clinics. And the design is also to include a morgue and utilize renewable energy solutions.

DOH TAFUNA OPERATIONS

DoH has proposed three separate projects for its operations in Tafuna and it includes expansion of the Tafuna Community Health Center facility by adding a second floor providing additional space for the Pediatric/Well-Baby, Prenatal/Women’s, Primary, and Dental Clinics.

The current administrative offices will be converted to additional clinic space for the Pediatric/Well-Baby, Prenatal/Women’s, Primary, and Dental Clinics.

 “The pediatric or children’s clinic is the busiest clinic, conducting the highest number of visits during regular service hours,” DoH explained. “In addition, this clinic serves a very vulnerable population including infants and young children.”

Since the first COVID-19 Emergency Declaration was issued in March 2020, DoH said pediatric clinic services were scaled down and the Tafuna health center  experienced a great setback in the provision of routine services in all of its clinics. As the COVID-19 response level was elevated, the health center had to halt most of its routine clinic services.

“The additional patient space will promote COVID-19 safety precautions such as safe distancing, minimizing the number of people in enclosed spaces, to prevent possible transmission of COVID-19 in the clinic/patient areas,” said DoH of the proposed expansion.

The second project calls for a COVID-19 Administration Building in Tafuna. DoH said the scope of this project is for the complete design, permitting and construction of a new two story COVID-19 Administrative Building.

This will be the Headquarters office for DoH’s COVID-19 Clinical Response and the Community Health Center Administration. It will house COVID- 19 clinical staff and executive administrators for the COVID-19 Response Team. This will include health information specialists, a conference room for training and COVID-19 Response Team briefings and meetings pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the third project for DoH Tafuna operations calls for the conversion of the DoH laboratory. Conversion objectives include an additional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing room; installation of a new HVAC system, installation of 3 new Negative Pressure rooms; installation of IT network; adding a new COVID-19 testing space; purchase of vehicles to support administrative and logistical functions of the lab; and purchase of COVID-19 tests kits, and other office supplies and equipment.