D.
Transportation
Patients must be moved from out islands to regionk? clinics and
hospitals at Ebeye or Majuro for both routine referral and fin emergencies.
Occasionally they must be transported to tertiary care centbrs outside the
country.
Clinics must be resupplied.
Senior medical stafff
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 rotate#
for vacations
Preventive maintenance visits tq
each facility
must be made on a regular schedule.
Present System
Government field ships visit the out islands on a semiregu ar schedule to
collect the copra crop.
On a space available basis, they provid
for health personnel and patients.
Visits to some islands are
transportation
nade 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
by private boat or canoe.
Marshall
Airstrips served by STOL aircraft of the
Islands are operational
dn atoll] must be
Airline of the
on Majuro, Ailinglapalap, Enéwetak, Likiep,
Mejit, Meloelap, Kwajalein, Ebon and Wotje.
is available by AMI from these islands.
In an emergency, priprity transport
Ships within MarshallesP
waters may be
diverted at a cost of $1200/day to transport critical patients] either to the
nearest airfield or hospital.
Transportation to tertiary c@re centers
available through Air Micronesia.
The present
intralagoon spstem
is
is being
expanded by the addition of government lagoon boats under the [control of the
magistrates
and available for all
‘those of the health care system.
government transportation
eds
including
Airstrips are scheduled for completion within
the next 24 months on all atolls with enough space.
These expagded facilities
will provide transportation most of the time for most of those n@eding it.
Recommendations
1.
As far as possible, the
Health care system transportation
Sp
jal task teams
The Marshallese Gover
ent should be
filled by existing government field ships and airline.
may require
chartered
transport.
needs should be
encouraged to complete the planned airstrips and lagoon boat Systems as soon
as possible.