D.
Transportation
Patients
must
be
moved
from
out
islands
to
regional
clinics
and
hospitals at Ebeye or Majuro for both routine referral and in emergencies.
Occasionally they must be transported to tertiary care centers outside the
country.
Clinics must be resupplied.
Senior medical
staff need to make
supervisory visits to the clinics and special task public health teams must
visit schools and communities.
and continuing education.
Personnel need to be rotated for vacations
Preventive maintenance visits to each facility
must be made on a regular schedule.
Present System
Government field ships visit the out islands on a semiregular schedule to
collect the copra crop.
On a space available basis, they provide transportation
for health personnel and patients.
Visits to some islands are made no oftener
than every four months or even longer when equipment is not available or weather
adverse.
With very few exceptions transport between islands of an atoll] must be
by private boat or canoe.
Marshall
Airstrips served by STOL aircraft of the Airline of the
Islands are operational
on Majuro, Ailinglapalap, Enewetak, Likiep,
Mejit, Meloelap, Kwajalein, Ebon and Wotje.
is available by AMI from these islands.
In an emergency, priority transport
Ships within Marshallese waters may be
diverted at a cost of $1200/day to transport critical patients either to the
nearest
airfield or
hospital.
Transportation
available through Air Micronesia.
The present
to
tertiary care
centers
intralagoon system
is
is
being
expanded by the addition of government lagoon boats under the control of the
magistrates and available for all government transportation needs including
those of the health care system.
Airstrips are scheduled for completion within
the next 24 months on all atolls with enough space.
These expanded facilities
will provide transportation most of the time for most of those needing it.
Recommendations
1.
As far as possible, the
Health care system transportation needs should be
filled by existing government field ships and airline.
may
require
chartered
transport.
Special task teams
The Marshallese Government should be
encouraged to complete the planned airstrips and lagoon boat systems as soon
as possible.