The territory's health care facilities are receiving federal attention thanks to a visit hosted by Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christian-Christensen.
Christiansen announced Monday that officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will tour facilities on St.Thomas, St. John Monday, and will tour St. Croix on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with local health officials.
The visits are a follow-up to Christiansen's 1999 hearings on health care.
Federal officials from DHHS are Dr. Marilyn Gaston, assistant
surgeon general and associate administrator of the Bureaus of Primary Care, Dr.Nathan Stinson, director of the Office of Minority Health, Ms. Marsha
Martin, special assistant to Health secretary Donna Shalala, Dr. Joel
O'Neil, director of AIDS Programs at the Health Resources and Service
Administration, Dr. Bernard Arons, director of the Federal Center for
Mental Health Services, and Mr. Lou Shiro, director of the Division of
Medicaid and State Operations.
Representing the USDA are Chris Alsop, deputy administrator of Community Programs at USDA and Glen Walden, program director of the Community Facilities Program in Florida.
In addition to assistance for the Department of Health, USDA officials will also meet with fire, police and education officials with regards to their building and facility needs.
The visit and subsequent meetings will address issues raised in week-long hearings held in the territory last January by Christensen and outline how the federal government can be of greater assistance to the territory.
