ST. CROIX — At-Large Senator Angel Bolques Jr. is raising legal and governance concerns following the January 30 announcement that the Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation, or territorial hospital board, appointed a single individual to serve as chief executive officer of both Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Schneider Regional Medical Center.
The board announced that Darlene Baptiste, who has led JFL since February 5, 2025, will now serve as CEO for the territorial system “to better align leadership across our hospitals.”
While the board has legal authority under Title 19, Section 244(h) of the Virgin Islands Code to employ and remove hospital CEOs, Bolques cautioned that the power to hire does not extend to restructuring the hospital system itself.
“There is a fundamental legal distinction between appointing one individual to two existing CEO positions and restructuring our hospital system into a consolidated territorial model,” Bolques said in a statement. “If this transition is merely a personnel decision under existing law, that is one matter. If it represents a structural consolidation of governance, that is another, and the latter requires legislative action.”
Jerry Smith, territorial hospital board chair, said the board’s action does not constitute a merger or consolidation. He said he appreciates the comments made by Bolques.
“He’s 100% accurate, which is why what is being done at the corporation is not a merger,” he said. “It’s not a consolidation of sorts. It’s an integration of the administrative functions of the institutions.”
When Smith announced two weeks ago that the territorial board had appointed Baptiste as CEO of both hospitals, he said her appointment was not symbolic but structural.
“It allows us to reduce silos, standardize where appropriate, align incentives, and ensure that every facility is moving in the same strategic direction, while remaining responsible to its community,” he said at the time.
Smith, during a phone interview today, emphasized that the Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation continues to operate within the existing legislative framework and that district boards remain in place as required by law. He agreed that additional changes would require legislation.
“Should the senators find it appropriate to support the efforts by the corporation to look at the legislation and to offer some changes, those changes would be welcomed, but working within the current framework is exactly what the corporation, through its board, is doing,” Smith said.
In an interview, Bolques said the statute provides for two CEOs and that creating a single territorial CEO would require amending the law. He stressed that his position is not about opposing an operational collaboration or any personnel decision, adding that the law does not authorize the restructuring of a statutory governance framework for the hospital system.
Smith acknowledged that broader structural changes would require legislative approval and said preliminary conversations have taken place with some lawmakers.
“We have had some conversations, and there are members of the Legislature that seem to be interested in doing such,” he said. “It would be up to them to make that final decision whether or not to do so, but we are asking for that to be considered.”
Asked whether he would support legislation to formalize a single CEO structure, Bolques said it was too early to take a position.
“It’s premature for me because I need to understand why,” he said. “Why are we moving into that structure? What are the benefits associated with that structure? Has there been any research or data to prove or provide?”
Bolques said he will seek formal clarification from the territorial hospital board regarding the legal basis and scope of the integration strategy and pledged continued oversight. He suggested the matter should be discussed formally by lawmakers.
“I think that’s why you need to actually meet as a body, as a Committee of the Whole or as a full body, to discuss the intangibles associated with such a decision,” he said. “At the end of the day, the most important factor is assuring that we provide good health services for the people of the Virgin Islands.”
