ST. CROIX — Senator Ray Fonseca is skeptical his request for the governor to declare a hospital state of emergency will happen, so he is preparing to identify funding through the legislative process to assist the territory’s hospitals, according to the senator.
Fonseca, chair of the Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services, said he has been pushing for a state of emergency to address the financial needs of the hospitals since being sworn in as a member of the 36th Legislature on January 13.
“We cannot afford any further delays,” he said. “The people of the Virgin Islands deserve accessible, high-quality health care in a fully equipped and properly staffed hospital.”
Fonseca said he has verbally asked Governor Albert Bryan Jr. to declare a hospital state of emergency on two separate occasions since the swearing-in ceremony. He said he subsequently wrote a letter to the governor dated January 31 calling on him to immediately declare a hospital state of emergency to provide the necessary leverage to address structural and financial deficiencies considering the mounting challenges within the territory’s health care system.
“This declaration will allow us to implement critical reforms and infuse much-needed funding to strengthen our hospitals and safeguard health care for Virgin Islanders,” Fonseca wrote in his letter.
Fonseca proposed 11 actions in his letter under the hospital state of emergency — prioritizing more VI residents utilize local hospital services, renegotiating insurance agreements, mandating zero copayments for VI government health plan members, improving hospital reimbursement rates, adjusting hospital billing rates, extending emergency support to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corporation, addressing staffing and equipment shortages to include vendor accounts payable, expediting hospital reconstruction and modernization, reducing wait times in the emergency room, addressing the “boarders” crisis in the hospitals, and funding the Virgin Islands Diabetes Center of Excellence.
Fonseca, while discussing his efforts to get the governor to declare a hospital state of emergency, described the territory’s health care system as being in “crisis.” He estimated that an injection of $10 million to $15 million into the health care system would alleviate existing problems.
“I’m saying that the best route is a state of emergency,” he said. “I’m calling on the governor to immediately declare a hospital state of emergency to provide the necessary leverage to address these structural and financial deficiencies.”
Despite sending a formal letter to the governor calling for the emergency declaration, Fonseca said he has yet to receive a response.
“No direct response has been received from the governor,” he said.
Fonseca outlined several key issues he believes the emergency declaration could help address, including staffing shortages, financial difficulties, and the impending expiration of the modular units at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center on St. Croix. He expressed concerns that the modular hospital units on St. Croix are nearing the end of a seven-year lifespan.
“By 2028, we expect significant deterioration,” Fonseca said. “We expect mold growth, structural instability, and cracking of the floors.”
Despite his efforts to raise the issue with the governor directly, Fonseca said the response has been limited. He is skeptical that the governor will declare a hospital state of emergency.
“I don’t think he will,” the senator said.
Richard Motta Jr., Government House communications director, said the governor is committed to working with senators to address some of the issues confronting the hospitals, particularly the high cost of uncompensated care. He said the hospitals provide between $30 million to $40 million in uncompensated care annually. He said, however, the governor is not aware of any additional resources that would become available if he declared a state of emergency.
“The financial issues confronting the territory’s hospitals are serious, and I’m not sure that calling a state of emergency will unlock any resources that will be able to substantively address those,” Motta said.
Fonseca pointed out the territory recently concluded an energy state of emergency that addressed the financial needs of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
“Being that we’re just coming out of a WAPA state of emergency, I don’t think they want to commit,” he said, adding that he learned during a Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance meeting on Tuesday that the Budget Stabilization Fund, which aided WAPA during the energy state of emergency, has less than $3 million available and needs to be replenished.
With the governor seemingly reluctant to declare a hospital state of emergency, Fonseca said he plans to push for a resolution in the Legislature during the next legislative session in March to address some of the most pressing needs at the hospitals.
“I’m going to move legislation forward to at least pay for some of the accounts payable and to hire the staff and to procure necessary equipment and materials,” the senator said.
