Guam Memorial Hospital
Guam Memorial Hospital is located in Tamuning, Guam and is the only civilian hospital serving the island of Guam. The hospital has 158 licensed acute care beds, plus 40 beds at its off-site, long-term care Skilled Nursing Facility.
The hospital offers comprehensive adult and pediatric medical services. These include 24-hour emergency services; medical telemetry and progressive care; obstetrics, labor and delivery; nursery; catheterization lab (periodically with visiting cardiologists); orthopedic services; in-patient and out-patient surgery; intensive care (neonatal, pediatric and adult); skilled nursing care; laboratory and blood bank services; radiology, angiography, nuclear medicine and CT scan diagnostic services; pharmacy; respiratory care; renal dialysis; physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, cardiac rehabilitation and recreational therapy; dietetic services, patient education and social services; and pastoral care services.
History
Guam Memorial Hospital Authority was created in 1964 to administer and operate the Guam Memorial Hospital.[1] Its operations represent a major change in the history of the government's role in delivery of medical care to the community. Historically, the U.S. government provided free hospital and health care services to the people of Guam. The U.S. Naval forces assumed responsibility for the island's medical needs at the turn of the 20th century when the United States took formal possession of Guam.
These services continued with the U.S. Navy's delivery of care after World War II, and culminated with their donation of the first hospital facility of the Government of Guam's Department of Public Health and Welfare in the postwar era. This "Quonset Hut" facility was replaced in 1956 with the construction of the Guam Memorial Hospital at Oka Point which originally served as a nurse training facility and tuberculosis hospital.[2] As the need for hospital services increased, this Oka Point facility was renovated to serve as a 230-bed hospital that offered acute, psychiatric and long-term care services.
In 1964, the Guam Memorial Hospital was established as a line agency of the Government of Guam's executive branch.[1] Its creation separated hospital services from community health services provided by the Department of Public Health and Welfare Corporation. Thirteen years later in 1977, the Guam Memorial Hospital was created as a Public Corporation, and has since been operating as a "governmental, non-profit institution serving the people of Guam, " under the governance of a Board of Trustees.
Prior to August 19, 1983, Guam Memorial Hospital provided mental health services. On that day, the Guam Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, which took over the responsibility of providing mental health services, opened.[3] Guam Memorial Hospital then closed their inpatient psychiatric unit and currently has no psychiatrists on staff.
Certification
Guam Memorial Hospital Authority holds numerous accreditations and certifications. The hospital is certified by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as is the off-site Skilled Nursing Facility. Its laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists. Its blood bank is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Its mammography services are accredited and certified by the American College of Radiology and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Guam Memorial Hospital became accredited by The Joint Commission on July 9, 2010.[4] The hospital initially lost its accreditation in 1983.[5]
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Coordinates: 13°30′18″N 144°46′29″E / 13.50500°N 144.77472°E