Reverend Kas Togia, Samoans Against Substance Abuse, promoted funding for substance abuse services in the Samoan community. Margie Bonilla, LVN at LHH, stated quality of care and licensing are being jeopardized due to lack of staffing and workloads. Phoebe Rosales, LHH Nursing, supports more staffing at LHH for resident care. Dr. Mitch Katz, Director of Health, highlighted the proposed budget. A copy of the budget is available for viewing in the Commission Office.
Visits are down at the primary care clinics.
The public and stakeholders need to unite and minimize turf. Public voices need to be heard on a consistent basis to create the sense of urgency. It's not possible for the Department and Commission to satisfy all parties all of the time. Expressions of gratitude and compliments were given to the Department staff for their budget work and their direction. Money will always be an issue.