SAIPAN — The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation has received a grant of more than $8.6 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to expand and modernize the CNMI’s sole hospital-based surgical department, the hospital announced Sunday.
The grant will fund a significant expansion of the surgery department from approximately 2,300 square feet to 4,500 square feet, nearly doubling its current footprint. The project will add operating suites, improve the layout and provide space for new equipment and supplies. New technology will include intraoperative imaging systems, laparoscopic visualization tools, modern anesthesia workstations and automated medication dispensing systems.
“This expansion represents an important investment in the future of healthcare in the CNMI,” said CHCC CEO Esther L. Muña. “By modernizing and expanding our surgical facilities, we are strengthening our ability to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients while ensuring our hospital continues to meet national standards.”
Walter Panzirer, a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said the upgrades will reduce the need for off-island medical travel.
“Patients are best served when they can receive healthcare close to home, and this expansion will reduce the need for off-island travel,” Panzirer said.
CHCC’s surgery department currently operates two operating room suites, a four-bed Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and a cystoscopy room. The department performs general surgery, Cesarean sections, and dental and ophthalmology cases, with complex procedures referred off-island. With 2,055 surgeries performed between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, the existing infrastructure is operating at maximum capacity.
The Helmsley Trust awarded CHCC a separate grant of more than $6.4 million in July 2024 to construct an MRI facility on Saipan. That project is currently underway with an anticipated completion date of October 2026.
