Efforts to strengthen operations and expand services for the territory’s health care systems, and updates on critical projects were discussed during Wednesday’s V.I. Government Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation Territorial Board meeting.

The meeting began with remarks from Schneider Regional Medical Center CEO Tina Comissiong. She noted significant progress has been made with coding and claims efforts regarding cash flow and even praised First Source, the hospital’s third-party billing and collections vendor, for its collection efforts.

“Collections have now stabilized to levels they were at before the cyberattacks,” she said.

She added that September was a productive month for the hospital and that $4.79 million in collections from patient care was collected, and “was the highest month of cash inflow since March 2025.”

Comissiong added that as of the end of September, the hospital’s accounts payable is down to $40.2 million from the $49.7 million high earlier this year. The CEO also noted that the facility has received its entire GVI allotment for the month of September. Regarding the allotment, for fiscal year 2025, $19 million was collected by the hospital and $13.7 million was distributed to other agencies such as WAPA and the Division of Personnel.

Further, regarding finances, the hospital has implemented the $35,000 minimum wage adjustment.

Additionally, Comissiong noted the progress made with the Joint Commission as it regards patient safety.

“Despite the challenges of aging infrastructure and being in a 42-year-old building and our vendor limitations, SRMC was praised for doing ‘A really good job overall’,” she said of the surveyor’s response.

She noted three citations have been addressed during the last citation visit, including one improperly placed wire, greased and discolored kitchen tiles, and the emergency department’s decontamination room.

“The room was found to not yet be clean following the care of a frequent flyer patient who was homeless,” said Comissiong.

Moreover, the CEO made note of upcoming upgrades to the electronic medical record system. Schneider Hospital is also planning to expand cancer care services through the Charlotte Kimmelman Cancer Institute, centralizing medical and radiation oncology care, and integrating independent practices into the facility. The facility was granted $1.5 million from the Legislature for oncology services for FY 2026.

“SRMC is actively engaged in discussions with two existing independent medical oncology practices regarding potential integration into the Charlotte Kimmelman Cancer Institute,” said Comissiong.

Additionally, efforts to expand critical services like dialysis are underway, with plans to enhance access on St. John.

Currently, there are four residents of St. John who require ongoing chemodialysis treatment. These patients must travel to St. Thomas multiple times per week to receive care, which presents significant financial, physical, and emotional burdens for them,” Comissiong said.

After Comissiong’s report, the board approved change order requests for the territory’s cancer institute, radiology, and JFL projects.

Julio Rhymer, board member, requested that the board approve change order No. 16-R3. The change order grants $541,238.63 for J Benton Construction, LLC, for the Charlotte Kimmelman Cancer Institute project. The change will increase the contract time by 57 days and schedule it to close out on Jan. 15, 2026. The total for the project is now $34,406,275.70.

The board unanimously approved the change order and unanimously approved two more orders.

Amendment No. 1 to the Flad A&E Associates Inc. contract for architectural and engineering work for the Interim Outpatient Care Radiology Facility was approved.

“Due to the fact that we just recently have gained permission to go out to bid and the project is out to bid, and we need to add additional time and the cost associated with that,” said Rhymer.

This change will increase the existing contract by $96,582 and 245 days. The new contract is now $597,830.75 and will expire on July 6, 2026.

Secondly, the board approved a correction for the contract with Flad A&E Associates Inc. for architectural and engineering work on the Five Acre project adjoining JFL. The board amended its previous amendment, amendment #4, to correct the amounts to be paid to Flad A&E. A fixed fee amount of $347,085.02, inclusive of travel and related expenses of $37,950. The new total sum to be paid is $2,427,402.30.

Darryl Smalls, the territorial director of Hospital Facilities and Capital Development, also provided updates on ongoing projects to the board. Of the 5 Acre Development on St. Croix, excavation has been completed and water mitigation efforts are currently being created at the property. The foundation for waste storage is also being conducted. Related, Smalls added that the Cassava Gardens facility, which will house JFL’s administration, is waiting for power to be activated by WAPA.

For the Charlotte Kimmelman Institute, tiling and elevator installations are being completed, as well as the installation of a CT scan machine. At Myrah Keating Smith, Consiglee and J Benton Construction have been selected as the contractors to work on the facility. They are a part of a three-project contract to also work for the Education Department and the Health Department’s administrative clinic on St. John, according to Smalls.

Regarding the construction of the Luis and Schneider hospitals, Smalls said, “The goal right now is to get that contract executed by the first week of December.”

He added that the projects are a “Joint venture between Clark-MCM.”

Lastly, he added that solicitation is currently out for the interim radiology services project.

Additionally, the board approved two-year applications for Zophia Martinez, MD and Jonathan Friedman, MD, and a one-year application for Mahogany Ambrose, MD at Juan F. Luis Hospital. The board approved one-year applications for Katia R. Alexander, MD, Krista R. Forgione, CNM, and Karen J. Jensen, NNP and three-year applications for Sarah Nelson Auchincloss, FNP, Roy J. Siragusa, MD, Kambiz K. Shamlou, MD, Stephen A. Sevigny, MD, Daniel T. Miles, MD, and Oscar F. Carbonell, MD at the Schneider Regional Medical Center.

Board members Jerry Smith, Justa Encarnacion, Christopher Finch, Julio Rhymer, Frank Odlum, Faye John-Baptiste, Kevin McCurdy, and Albert Titus were present.