The only hospital in the Northern Marianas, the Commonwealth Health Center, is still short of nurses.
A recent report has found the nursing staff has dropped from 167 to 158.
The report says the hospital has 42 vacant nursing posts and also revealed recurring challenges at the nursing department including difficulty in filling hard-to-staff positions.
The hospital services director, Jesse Tudela, says a major challenge facing the CHC includes the recruitment, hiring, and retention of experienced nurses for all in-patient and outpatient nursing units and he says there is a lack of experienced and qualified nurses on island.
