Sen. Franklin Johnson said the Legislature was not responsible for Pafford Medical Services’ withdrawal from the territory, with the government owing it over $8 million, but the Legislature might be where the situation is fixed.
Pafford came to the territory after the 2017 hurricanes and helped maintain critical emergency services through the COVID period.
Senators in the Committee of the Whole questioned administration officials Friday about whether the situation with Pafford would jeopardize the USVI’s efforts to get outside help in future disasters.
The senators adjourned the afternoon Committee of the Whole and reconvened into the Legislative Session in the early evening. They passed three bills aimed at making Pafford’s departure more palatable.
One bill appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the Health Department for the Caribbean Kidney Center to assist with funding dialysis nurses’ salaries and staff members’ salaries. A second bill also appropriates about a million dollars from the General Fund to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital and Medical Center. The third bill provides an appropriation for the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center to assist in purchasing dialysis machines and chairs, a reverse osmosis water system, medication, and supplies, and to fund staff salaries.
Sen. Alma Francis Heyliger said that though the Senate might have been “blindsided” by what happened with Pafford, “passing these bills was critical for our residents. It is our job.”
Antonio Stevens, director of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said that Pafford would be missed, and his department would get the job done.
In the session, the legislators also overrode two recent vetoes by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.
One veto overridden by the senators unanimously by all in attendance was a bill seeking to honor former Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp by renaming Route 75 the “Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp Highway” and appropriating $45,000 from the General Fund for this purpose. Bryan expressed concerns over the expenditure, particularly in light of the territory’s ongoing budget deficit and declining revenue collections.
Senators also overrode Bryan’s veto of a bill proposing penalties for perjury in legislative proceedings. Although Bryan said he supported the intent to hold individuals accountable for misleading the Legislature, he expressed concerns about the bill’s lack of due process protections and encouraged the Legislature to revise it to ensure that perjury charges are handled appropriately through the judicial system.
All the senators except Donna Frett-Gregory attended portions of the proceedings. Frett-Gregory was excused as she was attending the funeral of a family member.
