6.

Subcontract the purchas‘ng of supplies to a or
organization, With the current contract between the Marshall Islands
and the Seventh-day Adventist Church a likely organization would be

Adventist Health Services West in Glendale, California,

Although there

are other organizations who could also serve this function.
should result in lower prices and better servicing.

At

regular delivery schedule should be worked out for t

This

e same time a
delivery of

supplies to the Marshall Islands via Matson Lines and NBuru Shipping.
By using both of these carriers
maintained.
with

adequate

supply lev@ls should be

Should any emergencies occur air freight could be utilized

either

Continental

Airlines

or Military Air C

Kwajelein.

C.

Maintenance
One of the factors limiting the level of health care ddlivery is the

inadequate maintenance provided for the physical plants.
has

led

to

such

problems

as

Lack

@f maintenance

leaking roofs causing damage] to supplies;

deteriorating machinery in laboratories and other departments

qausing poorer

quality

reakdown

tests

and

services

(i.e.

hemodialysis);

and

refrigerators resulting in decreased storage capacity for p

ishables and

therefore a decrease in activities which depend on the use
(i.e. lab tests, medications).
emergency electrical

system,

of

perishables

Other areas which have suffered are the

the plumbing system at Ebeye,}

conditioning at both hospitals, to name only a few.

air

In a climate such as the

one found in the Marshall Islands where the salt air is highly
the general quality of public utilities

and the

qorrosive, and

is substantially ld@ss than that

generally encountered on mainland U.S., it becomes increasingly important
and in fact imperative that a top quality maintenance programj be developed
for the hospitals in order to maintain the desired level of heplth care and
keep capital costs to a minimum.
Currently
Department

of

the

maintenance

is

being

the

Marshallese

Government.

unsatisfactory

from

the

hospital's

understandable

since

the

Public

provided

by

the

This,

however,

perspective

although

Works

department

has

responsibilities, limited budget and it would be difficlt for t
the special service which the hospitals require.

Go

Public
has

Works
been

probably

many

other

m to provide

Select target paragraph3