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(Tuesday, November 30, 2021; Dededo, Guam) Guam Healthcare Development, Inc. (GHDI) is pleased to announce, as part of its multi-year strategic roadmap to better serve the Western Pacific and Micronesian region (referred to as the “Blue Continent”), the transformational restructuring of Guam Regional Medical City (GRMC) under new ownership of a not-for-profit organization focused on expanding access to world class healthcare in Guam and throughout Micronesia under the name Blue Continent Healthcare Guam Medical City (BCG).
GHDI has entered into an agreement to sell its physical assets and operations to BCG. GHDI will continue to employ all current medical and administrative personnel. BCG will hire GHDI to provide the staff for the hospital. This will comprise of the same outstanding cadre of dedicated and committed staff who currently attend to the Guam community’s acute care needs. BCG will also hire PSI Management, Inc. (PSIM), a healthcare management company affiliated with GHDI, to facilitate the transition and to provide continuity and leadership for BCG.
BCG plans to continue with the hospital’s ongoing strategic expansion, including increasing its inpatient bed capacity from 136 to 186 beds and contributing its healthcare infrastructure to better serve the key strategic island nations in the Blue Continent, including the Territory of Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau.
This significant reinvestment by BCG in acute care services will position Guam’s only Joint Commission-accredited civilian hospital to meet the evolving needs of the people of Guam and the surrounding region. This includes BCG establishing an institutional relationship with one of the most renown Academic Medical Centers in the US, located on the West Coast, to leverage resources and telehealth to bridge care gaps throughout the many islands of Micronesia.
According to BCG Chairman, Dr. Gilbert Mudge, “The new foundation’s ownership of the hospital will ensure better access to funding resources and will cement BCG’s position as the main provider for advanced clinical care, including cardiovascular, neuroscience, diabetes, cancer, dialysis, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing services in the Blue Continent.”
“By having Guam serve as the hub and center of healthcare services in the region and by developing healthcare infrastructure for the island nations within the Blue Continent, we will move forward as a stronger, mission-driven organization,” says GRMC’s President & CEO, Michael W. Cruz, MD, MBA. “The Blue Continent is now arguably one of the most important geopolitical regions in the world and improving healthcare quality and access for the people of Micronesia will be one of the best ways to ensure regional stability,” Cruz added.
“From its inception and early leadership under Margaret Bengzon, to the current leadership and vision for regional expansion under Dr. Michael Cruz, GRMC will continue to be a center of healthcare excellence for the people of Guam and Micronesia,” said GHDI Chairman, Jose Xavier B. Gonzales.
For 50 years, PSIM and its affiliates have been adept at providing inter-island healthcare services through ownership of regional hospitals, clinic hubs, urgent care centers in urban shopping centers, and island care units over a large and dispersed region in the Philippines and abroad. BCG will continue to carry on GRMC’s long-standing tradition of excellence in providing care and its mission of “caring for our patients and their families as we would a beloved family member.”