The Saipan Seventh-day Adventist Clinic has reopened its doors, resuming full operations after weeks of closure brought on by recent typhoon damage, with management citing staff readiness, safety, and restored functionality of equipment as key factors behind the decision.
Office manager Jocelyn Sonsona said the clinic weighed three main considerations before reopening.
“First and foremost is we have to consider our workers’ safety.Then the second one, if our area is already safe and also we have to make sure that our equipment and instruments are working.”
The facility sustained minor damage during the storm, though the immediate aftermath was, in her words, chaotic.
Sonsona described dangling wires, debris including roofing materials blown in from nearby areas, and flooding that soaked interior carpets. Some equipment, including a wind generator and dental vacuum, also encountered issues, but overall damage was limited.
She emphasized that staff welfare played a central role in the reopening timeline, noting that many employees were themselves recovering from the storm’s impact.
“We want to know if our staff were ready mentally as well as physically. Our workers were also victims themselves.”
She added, however, that the clinic views them as victors, grateful that all personnel remained safe despite damage to some of their homes.
Despite ongoing island-wide power issues, the clinic is operating on generator power. Sonsona said having two standby generators allowed them to resume services and even assist staff and their families during the downtime by providing a place to charge devices and stay connected.
The clinic has now restored its full range of services. While it initially handled emergency cases such as toothaches during the closure period, Sonsona confirmed that “all the regular services, we are starting to offer that today.”
Demand from patients remained steady even while the clinic was closed, with calls coming in as early as a week after the typhoon inquiring about appointments. Notices were issued through direct messaging and social media to keep patients informed.
Sonsona expressed gratitude to both staff and patients for their resilience and understanding.
“We would just like to thank our workers who have shown their resilience in this tragedy and also we would like to thank our patients and our community for being understanding of our situation.”
She also encouraged patients whose appointments were disrupted over the past three weeks to get in touch for rescheduling.
“I would like to let them know that we are now open. They can call our clinic so that they can be squeezed into our schedule.”
For now, the clinic will operate from 8am to 4pm, Monday through Thursday, and from 9am to 12 noon on Fridays, while continuing to accommodate emergency cases as needed.
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