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FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2009
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Lucky to be alive
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By GIFF JOHNSON and SUZANNE CHUTARO
A Marshall Islander who was injured in Majuro while scuba diving — and attempts to medevac him to Kwajalein for treatment — puts the spotlight on Majuro Hospital’s non-working hyperbaric chamber and the repeated grounding of |
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Beautify the islands... Keep trash off the streets & beaches.
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AMI planes that make emergency medical evacuations difficult. In 2007, Majuro Hospital bought the chamber — which can be used to treat divers with the “bends” as well as diabetic patients — but it has never worked. The lack of a functioning hyperbaric chamber caused Majuro Hospital to ask for Kwajalein medical assistance to treat Majuro diver Conrad Kablo earlier this month. Kwajalein turned down the request, saying there would be no medical benefit gained if the patient were transported to Kwajalein.
Ministry of Health officials indicated they had been informed by Kwajalein that the chamber operator was away from Kwajalein when the medevac was requested. In a lucky turn of events, Kablo recovered after three days in Majuro Hospital. Kablo works for Mid-Pacific Marine, a Majuro company that exports He was just lying on the bed waiting. She said she asked Conrad and |
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his wife what tropical fish. A five-year veteran on the job, he is a certified diver who has received regular diving refresher courses over the years, according to Mid-Pacific Marine manager Terry Davis.
During a dive early this month, he stayed down too long, losing track of his time and air in his tank, which forced him to surface too quickly, according to Davis. Soon after surfacing, Kablo started complaining about a sensation in his hand, a headache and his eyes crossing. Recognizing the symptoms himself, Kablo told the company he thought he had the bends.
Davis expressed concern about procedures in place at Majuro Hospital’s emergency room for servicing patients, and over what she described as a lack of communication from doctors to the patient and nursing staff to address a critically injured person. Kablo arrived at ER about 3pm. According to Davis, he waited until 5pm before he was seen by a doctor. He was then transferred to the intensive care unit. When she arrived two hours later to check up on Kablo, he was in the ICU but not receiving any treatment. the doctor told them, what |
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the plan was and they said they didn’t know.Davis then spent some time trying to get hold of doctors or managers to get urgent attention to Kablo’s situation. After some time, she located Ministry doctors and managers at a party, talked to them to learn that there was discussion of a possible medevac using Sea Patrol’s Lomor vessel, since AMI flights were grounded.
Once the Ministry’s medical referral office got involved, Davis said she was impressed with their hustle and communication to organize the medevac. Lomor was put on standby, but the medevac didn’t materialize.
Ministry of Health officials said it was the first time that Kwajalein has not been able to handle a Majuro medevac for a diver with bends. “Following consultation between the staff of Kwajalein Hospital and the attending physicians in Majuro by telephone, a determination was made by the staff of Kwajalein Hospital that there would be no medical benefit gained by the patient if the patient were |
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Airline, hospital chamber not functioning |
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to be transported to Kwajalein for further treatment,” said US Army Kwajalein Atoll Public Affairs officer Vanessa Peeden. “Kwajalein Hospital determined that the transport of the patient alone would present significant risk.” Fortunately, after three days at Majuro Hospital, Kablo recovered on his own.
Davis said she was surprised he was given advice not to dive for only one month. She said standard practice is for a diver who has suffered the bends to stay out of the water for six months — a suspension she’s imposed on Kablo, though he wants to get back to diving sooner. |
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Boot camp to build jobs for youth
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By GIFF JOHNSON
With the College of Marshall Islands’ accreditation woes behind it, the Majuro institution is branching out to offer new training opportunities to Marshall Islanders. Its latest effort is the “ABC Toolbox” — ABC for “Academic Boot Camp.” With the financial support of the National Training Council and its own money, CMI is gearing to launch its first group of approximately 60 students to attend a live-in, 10-week session that aims to develop skills that will allow entry level employment in construction jobs and help students aiming for Job Corps training to improve their chances, said CMI President Wilson Hess. The program is expected to start in August. The program will be held at CMI’s Arrak Campus. “The aim is to introduce basic skills for employment,” Hess said. It will include a focus on reading, writing, computers and math. But it won’t end there. Part of the training will be to develop work skills and attitudes needed to succeed, he said.
Those eligible are people who have graduated from |
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high school, GED or NVTI.
The origin of the plan was to develop people who can compete for jobs in Guam, with the coming military buildup. But Hess says the training should provide skills that will help ABC Toolbox graduates get jobs in the local construction industry or go on to successful completion of Job Corps programs. “At CMI, we see kids who can’t measure with a ruler or read a thermometer,” Hess said. “These are every day tasks.” The ABC Toolbox aims to develop these types of skills among participants. “After a 10-week immersion, there should be demonstrable ability to perform in a work environment,” Hess said. “Then students attending the ABC Toolbox will be eligible for Pell grants” — a development that will help sustain the program. |
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This Week's Inside Stories
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Ebeye packed
with power
A third generator is now in full operation at Ebeye’s power plant, giving the island its best power picture since the mid-2000s. KAJUR, Ebeye’s power company, has been relying on two engines, which do not give the island adequate backup for maintenance and repair of generators.
RMI still free of
killer swine flu
Although more than 70 countries worldwide have reported confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus, the Marshall Islands is not yet one of them. Health Secretary Justina Langidrik told the Journal Tuesday that since the virus first started circulating in April, there have been seven suspected cases of H1N1 in the RMI, meaning the symptoms were similar to H1N1. But laboratory testing from each of the seven, including off-island lab tests, showed none had the virus. “Even though our lab showed negative tests, we sent them off-island anyway for confirmation,” she said. Six of the suspected cases involved Marshall Islanders, the seventh was an American.
Lack of safe sex puts Marshallese at risk
The number of HIV positive people in the Marshall Islands increased with four new cases diagnosed in 2008, according to the Ministry of Health. This brings to five the number of diagnosed, confirmed cases of people living with HIV in the RMI. |
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UNDP Pacific boss meets Litokwa
The head of the Fiji based United Nations agencies, Knut Ostby, presented his credentials to President Litokwa Tomeing Tuesday. Also present at the event were members of the RMI cabinet. Representing 100 countries in the region including RMI and in his capacity as the new UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative, Ostby's visit is to meet government officials and look at existing projects.
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Youth to Youth in Health (YTYIH) is once again on the move in enlightening and maybe saving the future of the youths living at Rita — "areas from Marshall Islands High School to end of Rita," says Camilla Ingram, acting director of YTYIH. The purpose of this "24th Summer Youth Health Leadership Training Seminar" is to train youth on the importance of their health, education, social issues, Marshallese culture, and to protect themselves from sexually transmitted illnesses. Photo: Douglas Henry
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Journal 6/20/1970
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Journal 6/18/1976
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P1 Former High Commissioner William R. Norwood has stated that attainment of “Free Association” for Micronesia would come closest to fulfilling the American obligation to Micronesia. In a recent interview, the ex-high commissioner made his first publiccommentary on American objectives since leaving office over two years ago. Norwood was the first high commissioner to go on record for “continuing association” of Micronesia and the United States. |
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P1 With final touches being applied, Robert Reimers Enterprises recent expansion to a post office/office complex prepares for its grand opening. Constructed by Island Construction Company, the new facility offers first class office space on the second level.
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Norwood explained that this objective was not public. He said that his administration was informed by the Interior, State and Defense Departments that their role was to initiate programs and conduct themselves so as to demonstrate to Micronesians their future rested best in continuing association with the US. Norwood said the reason this policy was not made public before the present administration was a fear such a policy would be offensive to associates in the United Nations and might have fostered accusations of colonialism.
P3 The Guam Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the Guam labor market can use 20,000 workers, most of these in the labor class. The reason for the labor shortage is the high cost of transportation to the island.
P12 Tony deBrum, director of Marshalls Community Action Agency, will be leaving for the States in July to attend an in-service seminar. Of over 1,000 Community Action Agency Directors, mostly people from the States, deBrum has been selected as one of 24 by the leadership Institute for Community Development to attend a seminar at the Four Seasons Lodge, Lake Tahoe, California. “Until now Micronesia’s CAAs have been something like a top someone set spinning into Micronesia and then forgot about. I’m happy about a Micronesian being accepted for this seminar, because any training made available to Micronesian CAA personnel will be of great benefit,” he said.
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P1 It is “very unlikely” that the Draft Compact of Free Association will be presented to the Congress of Micronesia in the special session in July and then put on the November ballot for a referendum, according to Andon Amaraich of Truk, recently elected chairman of Micronesia’s new Commission on Future Political Status.
P4 The Trust Territory government is considering universal vaccination of island residents to head off a potential “swine influenza” virus, which may soon quickly spread worldwide.
P8 Four police officers from the Honolulu Police Department will be selected to come to Micronesia to work as consultants or special advisors to the Chiefs of Police in three districts, Yap, Ponape and Palau.
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Journal 6/19/1992
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P1 The Cabinet has approved the country’s second five-year development plan, placing a strong emphasis on fisheries, tourism and human resource direction. The five-year plan targets imbalances in development between the urban and rural outer atolls and focuses on the need to increase outer islands development. The nearly 500-page document is the government’s blueprint for national development through 1996.
P3 Majuro Hospital has numerous staffing needs but it cannot find skilled Marshallese to fill the positions, so it is hiring outside medical professionals. “There are jobs here,” said hospital administrator Russell Edwards. “You don’t have to compete if you have the training. You can just walk in.” Assistant chief nurse Salome Lanwi said the hospital is in the process of hiring nine new nurses: four from Fiji, one from the Philippines, two from Kosrae and one from Pohnpei. There was only one Marshallese nursing graduate from CMI this year, and she was already on the Ministry’s payroll.
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P6 A crisis of major proportions hit Majuro this past week. The island ran out of Budweiser. If you have noticed any unshaven, finger nail-chewing gents staggering around, now you know the reason.
P6 Quote of the week: “The difference between a cute little rascal and a potential juvenile delinquent is whether he is your child of somebody else’s.”
P8 Close to 5,000 Marshall Islanders have filed claims with the Nuclear Claims Tribunal as the August 8 deadline for filing approaches. Of those, 379 — fewer than 10 percent — have been compensated.
P16 Eleven students from Maryknoll High School in Hawaii arrived on Majuro last Monday for their annual student mission to Assumption High School. This is their second year, and they would love to continue it, said Ted Stepp, student coordinator and a member of the Theology Department at Maryknoll.
P23 The Marshall Islands is already feeling the impact of rising ocean levels, Marshalls Washington Ambassador Wilfred Kendall said in a Voice of America radio interview.
“We’ve seen signs of global warming,” he said. “It’s not a threat. It’s actually happening.”
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