LBJ Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer placed on suspension TFN

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — LBJ Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer has been placed on suspension until further notice, over “defamatory” comments allegedly “made by Dr Joseph Shumway on Talanei on July 11 2023”, regarding the measles outbreak in the Territory. Both the Department of Health and the LBJ Medical Center have confirmed the suspension.

According to a DoH source, who wishes to remain anonymous, Dr Shumway claimed that the measles outbreak was not true and the declaration of the outbreak was simply an attempt to steal money from the U.S. Government, and to get benefits from the United States, which did not work.

The DoH source said a meeting was held on Wednesday, July 12 2023, concerning Dr. Shumway’s remarks and results of this meeting between DoH and LBJ officials was that the LBJ CMO was placed on suspension until further notice. It’s the same day the DoH released a statement concerning the issue.

The statement is signed by the Director of Health, Motusa Tuileama Nua and says, “The Department of Health wants to unequivocally state that the measles outbreak declaration was in no way a failed strategy or an attempt to deceptively obtain funding from the federal government.”

It further states that measles declaration was made on “stated facts, and in light of neighboring Samoa’s measles experience in 2019/2020 to protect the community, particularly vulnerable populations such as unvaccinated children.

“The allocation of resources and funding from the local government was solely aimed at mounting an effective response to contain the outbreak, provide medical care, and prevent further spread. 

“This highlights the department’s self-sufficiency in managing public health crises within our jurisdiction, utilizing available resources to support necessary measures without relying on external sources. 

“During this period, the DOH made diligent efforts to seek financial support from the Department of Interior to aid our response. However, we were unable to secure the desired funding during that time frame.”

In an email, yesterday, the LBJ Medical Center confirmed that the LBJ Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shumway was suspended until further notice, adding that it is “the Board’s mission to move LBJ forward” and focus on the mission and vision of the Board which is to improve and upgrade LBJ Medical Center to in turn improve healthcare service for our people. 

DoH in its statement says it wants “to assure the public that the American Samoa Department of Health operates with the utmost transparency, integrity, and adherence to rigorous protocols.”

It concluded that “the DOH remains committed to ensuring the health and well-being of our community.”

The DoH statement provided the following facts leading up to the Emergency Public Health Declaration on Apr. 24 2023:

On April 18, 2023, the American Samoa Department of Health (ASDOH) was informed by the LBJ Laboratory Services about a confirmed measles case that had presented on March 23 (three weeks earlier). This sample was sent to a contracted commercial laboratory in Los Angeles, California, for confirmatory testing.

From April 19-22, LBJ, CHC and the EPINET team saw 31 patients meeting the case definition for probable measles.  During this period, three children under 6 months old were admitted for inpatient care at LBJ for suspected measles.  These children were ineligible for measles vaccination.  At the same time, CDC reached out to DOH to offer assistance.

Due to the highly contagious nature of the measles virus and the risk it posed, particularly to unvaccinated children, and that the threshold for a measles outbreak was exceeded (one case), the Declaration of Public Health Emergency was announced by the Office of the Governor on April 24 2023.

Responding diligently, the American Samoa Department of Health took immediate and aggressive action, backed by the full support of the American Samoa Government, undertook the following control measures:

•             The closure of daycares and all schools

•             Improvement in measles vaccination rates through the measles vaccination drive 

•             97.2% coverage rate in elementary schools

•             97.9% in high schools

•             84.9% in early childhood education and

•             52.9% in daycare centers

•             Provision of daily updates and regular situational reports to provide accurate and timely information on the measles developments in collaboration with LBJTMC. These aimed to keep the public, stakeholders, and relevant authorities informed about the ongoing situation, the measures being taken, and the progress being made in containing the outbreak.

•             Conduct of weekly update meetings with CDC and mobilization of their Epi-Aid team to assist our local EPINET team. The CDC’s involvement not only bolstered the response