The Committee on Health and Veterans Affairs on Dec. 16 took public testimony on Governor’s appointment of Matthew Limtiaco to the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority board of trustees and questioned him at length about cybersecurity, systems procurement and outsourcing.

Supporters including a youth-congress representative and longtime colleagues described Limtiaco as an experienced information-technology executive. A supporter said the nominee had worked with firms including IBM, Disney and Amgen and could help modernize GMH’s billing, medical records and cybersecurity.

Limtiaco, who said he is a lifelong Guamanian and a proud Chamorro, told senators he accepted the nomination to help the hospital after a recent IT incident. “Cybersecurity is not just an IT problem,” he said, arguing the board should prioritize staff training and risk-based controls and use ‘microlearning’ approaches to raise awareness among front-line workers.

Senators pressed Limtiaco on several fronts. Committee members asked what his top three immediate priorities would be to reduce risks to patient data and continuity of care, whether he had reviewed GMH’s EPIC electronic health record plans, and what governance failures led to the federal scrutiny the hospital experienced. Limtiaco said he had not yet met GMH management in depth or directly evaluated the hospital’s IT staff but emphasized his experience managing high-pressure technical fixes in the private sector and his intent to rapidly learn the hospital’s systems.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about a proposed outsourcing of revenue-cycle functions. One senator cited testimony from an interim GMH CEO about a potential $10,000,000 reduction in force related to outsourcing and asked Limtiaco to examine workforce impacts. Limtiaco described private-sector examples where employees were “rebadged” by an outsourcing provider and said protecting staff would be a consideration when evaluating any outsourcing proposals.

There was no formal confirmation vote at the hearing. The chair said the committee will complete a committee report and try to place the nomination on the January session agenda for further action.

The hearing record shows the committee’s focus sharpened on cybersecurity, procurement, service continuity and the human impact of outsourcing—areas senators said trustees must actively oversee rather than merely receive updates from staff.