By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero asked the Department of Defense to fund Guam’s hospital project—estimated to cost $600 million— which she said will serve both the civilian and the military sectors.
“We want to be a partner in the readiness effort, but national security cannot happen without human health security,” the governor said during a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Andersen Air Force Base on Thursday.
“All the military buildup that is happening here, as you know, has a great impact on our people."
The governor plans to build a medical campus in Mangilao, for which the administration has reserved $104 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to commence the project.
“By the way, we are starting it already and I asked (Hegseth) to please do not take away my ARP,” the governor said during a press briefing after the meeting.
“Our island needs a regional hospital capable of handling mass casualties—whether from conflict or natural disasters,” she added.
The government-run Guam Memorial Hospital and the privately-owned Guam Regional Medical City currently serve the civilian population.
Leon Guerrero said the 39-bed Guam Naval Hospital, which serves service members and their families, does not have a capacity to handle any medical surge.
“We can make our presentation about the importance of having a capacity in the healthcare system that would be able to address mass casualty, not just mass casualty from conflict, but mass casualties from natural disasters,” the governor said.
“So when we build this hospital, we are going to work very closely with the military to also provide some of the needs that they think they need to address,” she added.
Health care assistance topped the laundry list the governor brought to the table during the meeting with Hegseth.
Guam needs hardened utility infrastructure, better roads and a capable port, she said.
"We need gantry cranes to be replaced in our port because the port authority here services 30 percent of goods and services that come in for military purposes. And so that's very important that we also provide a battery crane that can do that," the governor told Hegseth.
"China is not going to win this war by missiles. China is going to win this war by taking down our port, taking down our airport, taking down our waters, taking down our electricity, all those things that are necessary for the defense of our people," she said.
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