Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CHCC uses short‑term locum staffing and housing for coverage; legislators press for salary and budget clarity
Summary
Committee questioned CHCC on locum physician contracts, housing and pay levels for clinical staff; CHCC said housing for short‑term locums is provided, long‑term hires receive salaried pay without housing; pharmacy staffing titles and pay classifications require correction in budget materials.
Legislators pressed CHCC leaders about staffing, locum physicians and housing during the budget hearing, seeking clarity on where recruitment and housing costs appear in the hospital budget.
CHCC officials said the hospital supplements recruitment with locum physicians for short coverage periods and provides basic housing and short‑term vehicle rental for those contracts. “We provide housing for short‑term coverage,” CHCC leadership said, explaining that locum assignments can be as short as one month or two months and that housing is not provided for hires committed to one year or more.
CHCC reported that the line item in question includes two separate categories: roughly $46,000 per year is budgeted for housing provided to locum providers, while roughly $400,000 in the same subaccount supports inter‑island medical‑referral patient housing for off‑island referrals (rooms for patients from Rota and Tinian while they receive care in Saipan).
On pharmacy staffing, CHCC acknowledged an error in its submission: pharmacy technicians are paid substantially less than pharmacists. The CFO confirmed pharmacy technicians earn about $30,000 annually, while recruited medical providers earn significantly more (CHCC earlier cited national provider hourly averages for recruited providers). CHCC said it will correct budget schedules to fix titles and pay lines.
Legislators asked whether housing or other benefits are included in salary calculations. CHCC answered that housing and short‑term vehicle rental for locums are separate from base salary and that locums do not accrue regular leave benefits. For recruited providers with contracts of a year or longer, housing is not provided as part of compensation.
The committee requested corrected personnel schedules and clearer documentation on the $400,000 housing subaccount to distinguish provider housing from patient subsistence housing. CHCC agreed to update and resubmit corrected tables.
