Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The construction of the new 40-bed hospital to be built at the Lions Park is on hold due to a lease dispute in the area.

This was confirmed by the LBJ hospital Chief Executive Officer Moefa’auo Bill Emmsley during an interview with Samoa News earlier this week.

The CEO however hopes that the Governor will “consider” diverting the funding for the new hospital to renovate the current LBJ facility.

“There is a dispute with a company that has an existing lease on the specific lot the new hospital will be built on.“

“I understand the BlackHawk Company is taking legal action against the government over this land.

“As you know we cannot move on with this project when the land in question is being disputed,” said Moefaauo.

The BlackHawk Company is represented by Marcellus Talalelei Uiagalelei and an email was sent for comments has not been answered.

As reported earlier by Samoa News, $50 million of the $300 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act is allocated for recruitment, retention, and retraining of staff at LBJ and the proposed new 40-bed facility in Tafuna.

“Funding to cover these costs is essential to attracting and retaining qualified staff to make the healthcare system in American Samoa viable and effective,” LBJ said in its ARPA funding documents released by the ASG ARPA Oversight Office.

These activities will address major hurdles associated with recruiting staff, retaining staff, staff benefits, continuing education/training, housing, and salaries.”

According to the CEO, when he came on board the decision had already been made to build a new 40-bed hospital.

“I did my own assessment on the reports and the conclusion I came up with was that the funding would be well spent if invested into renovating the current hospital.

“The LBJ hospital needs to be upgraded, in terms of infrastructure, facilities, medical equipment and more importantly physicians and nurses, where we are very much in need.

 “This may be a blessing in disguise for us to reconsider the current plans and allocate this funding to upgrade our only hospital” referring to the disputed lease.

“However the issue is moot as the Governor has already made up his mind,” said Moefa’auo.

Asked whether he voiced his concerns to the Governor, the CEO said yes.

“I’ve already made known to [Governor] my professional views on this issue and I will go and see him again given that new developments of the lease issue at hand.

“We cannot issue the tender to the winning bidder given the government land in question is being disputed,” said Moefaauo.

The company that won the tender of $21 million is Honolulu based, AHL formerly known as Architects Hawaii Limited, a full service firm specializing in architecture, master planning, interior design, and sustainability.

The CEO also cited a study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District in 2019 outlines recommendations to renovate the hospital, not build a new hospital.

According to the 278 page study, the LBJ Tropical Medical Center is a 50 year old single story 150,000 square foot facility, consisting of 18 buildings in a campus setting, which resides in a harsh environment of constant high temperature and humidity.

 “Since its original construction, the facility has been repaired, renovated and expanded (an ongoing project will add an additional two story building).

 “The current infrastructure of the LBJ TMC hospital is in a state of failure due to age, environmental exposure, and lack of preventative maintenance.

 “Extensive repair and/or replacement of facility sections is required to ensure compliance with hospital accreditation standards and to ensure the life, health, and safety of staff, patients, and visitors. While the facility structure has held up relatively well, it is not in compliance with current seismic and wind requirements and retrofits would be expensive and disruptive.

 “The electrical and mechanical systems are in poor condition and in need of immediate repair. Architectural deficiencies have led to mold and mildew growth in critical areas, exposing staff and patients to significant health risks.

 “The nurse call system is inoperable in key locations, plumbing, water treatment and medical gas systems are all in failed or failing condition.

 “Based on an extensive review of clinical capabilities, the existing facility is incapable of providing enough space to meet the long term needs of the patient population.

 “The facility is dependent upon funding from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), further degradation of the infrastructure will result in non-compliance with standards and will result in denial of accreditation.”

LBJ Tropical Medical Center is the only full-service healthcare facility in the territory and further degradation of the plant infrastructure will hamper the delivery of care to American Samoa’s population.

The options outlined are proposed for facilities infrastructure capital investment;

(A) To repair the infrastructure of the current facility with no additional space expansion, the estimated cost is $161.4M.

 (B) Construction of a new multi-story hospital (150,000 SF) on a proposed site on the western side of the island. “The estimated cost for a new hospital is between $325-390M.

 (C) Construction of a new multi-story hospital (150,000 SF) on the current LBJ campus. The estimated cost for this option varies from $375 to $425M, depending upon the course of phasing to ensure minimal disruptions to the current facilities and accessibility.

 (D) Construction of a new multi-story hospital (370,000 SF) on a proposed site on the western side of the island. The estimated cost for a new hospital is $700M. “The site location for a new facility would require land transfer, upgrade to island infrastructure, and would increase travel distance from Pago Pago and the eastern side of the island, potentially impacting the delivery of immediate care.

Further analysis is required to determine additional infrastructure costs.

 (E) To construct a new multi-story hospital (370,000 SF) on the current LBJ campus. The estimated cost for this option varies from $750 to $900M, depending upon the course of phasing to ensure minimal disruptions to the current facilities and accessibility.

“The facility would also be properly sized to support the clinical needs of American Samoa for the next 20-30 years. “This would require interim life safety measures and continual coordination with the existing operations to minimize impacts to clinical delivery.”