Amata Highlights Pacific Healthcare Initiative for American Samoa, the Focus of Recent Meetings

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is highlighting several key healthcare ideas for American Samoa and the region that were put forward in her meeting with Governor Pulaali'i Nikolao Pula; Dr. Peter N. Bretan, a renal surgeon, urologist and former multi-term president of the California Medical Association; and Dr. Eileen Natuzzi, who has extensive experience working with healthcare efforts and goals for the underserved Pacific Islands. The two doctors also met with LBJ Tropical Medical center leaders, and Amata and Dr. Natuzzi followed up by discussing the practicalities with LBJ Board Member Taimalelagi Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele, including discussing drone medicine transport with Major Si'imoa Galoia.

Pictured with MAJ Si'imoa Galoia, LBJ Board Member Taimalelagi Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele, Eileen Natuzzi MD discussing health care advancements for our islands

Training LBJ surgeons to provide urological procedures

During this visit, Dr. Bretan and Dr. Natuzzi met with the medical director and the surgeons at LBJ to review the data on Overseas Medical Referrals for enlarged prostate resections, also known as TURPs.

In 2026 alone, 40 patients from American Samoa were referred to New Zealand for this prostate care. This number has been significantly increasing each year. The estimated cost of travel and stay in New Zealand exceeds $400,000 ($10,000/person). The total ongoing savings to Medicaid is an estimated $800,000 when the facility and professional fees are included.

In contrast, establishing a transurethral vaporization prostate resection (TUVP) program by training the general surgeons to do the procedure would cost less than $100,000. In addition to the TUVP procedure, training can include:

• Trans urethral vaporization bladder
• Trans rectal prostate biopsy
• Removal of kidney stones using Shockwave lithotripsy.

This training could begin as soon as January 2027, provided needed equipment is purchased.

Establishing a regional Trauma system

Working with Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA), a U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) trauma readiness program has been funded by Pacific Command (PACOM). This would establish a regional trauma system that can respond to natural disasters as well as kinetic warfare. Healthcare staff throughout the USAPIs will be certified in ATLS and ATCN. In addition to training, American Samoa could serve as a strategic medical stockpile location.

Establishing a medical drone program and supporting Manu'a

In a meeting with the DOH, DHS, DOE and the Governor, the cost of sending urgent medical supplies to the Manu'a Islands by boat and plane was a key point of discussion. The technology is now available, and in use elsewhere, for drones to carry medicines, blood products and vaccines to the islands and bring laboratory specimens back. This conveyance can save time and money while improving care through faster availability. A number of drones are built that can be used for this purpose. (Kite Aero and Zipline).

Based on the fact that Tafuna High School has a national award-winning drone team: the Toa Drone Team, American Samoa's students could be trained so that upon graduation there is a ready workforce that can be appropriately certified within current laws and regulations to pilot the Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), creating local jobs for young people in American Samoa.

Further possibilities for future expansion of drone use piloted from American Samoa could include patrolling EEZ waters for illegal fishing, human trafficking and drug running, contributing to search and rescue, monitoring weather impacts, and ferrying supplies in conjunction with Apia.

Establishing mainland medical school partnerships

Under this plan, to foster training and support, negotiations would start between George Washington Medical School and LBJ/ASG in order to establish bidirectional exchanges of medical students, doctors and faculty. The goal would be to expand services, provide continuing support for doctors and nurses, and introduce U.S. medical students to healthcare in the Pacific Islands.

"Thank you to Dr. Bretan for his important insights, and Dr. Natuzzi, who has focused for years on ways to bring about better care to remote islands like ours," said Congresswoman Aumua Amata. "Successfully establishing these ideas together, or even a few of them, would be key improvements to our health system here. Thank you to Governor Pulaali'i for meeting with these medical experts to discuss these initiatives that can provide new tools for our doctors as they are always working to save lives and bring improvements to LBJ."

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