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Agana Heights, Guam (May 11, 2026) — Staff members and military leaders from U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Guam gathered with community healthcare leaders at Guam Regional Medical City for the opening ceremony of Guam’s National Hospital Week 2026 to recognize the contributions of healthcare professionals and Guam’s hospitals while reinforcing USNH Guam’s commitment to medical readiness, operational support and unified patient care across the Marianas.
The weeklong observance highlights the critical role military medicine plays in sustaining force health protection and supporting the Indo-Pacific mission, while also celebrating partnerships between U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, and Guam Regional Medical City.
During the opening ceremony, USNH Guam acting Director Capt. Jamie Fitch emphasized that Hospital Week is more than a celebration of healthcare professionals; it is a reaffirmation of the hospital’s operational mission and shared responsibility to the community and warfighters throughout the Pacific.
“Here in Guam, this week is not simply a formality or a time set aside to recognize a profession,” said Fitch. “It is about a calling far deeper, and its impact extends far beyond the beaches surrounding us. It is about a lifeline. It is about the men and women who serve as a strong foundation of safety, readiness, health, and compassion for the Pacific theater.”
The ceremony underscored how healthcare teams across Guam continue to strengthen interoperability and integrated care capabilities following recent operational challenges, including recovery efforts after Super Typhoon Sinlaku and increasing operational demands throughout the region.
Fitch described the island’s healthcare network as a unified “Medical Shield” supporting both civilian and military populations.
“When Navy Medicine supports the tip of the spear in the Pacific, we are no longer three separate entities with different logos,” Fitch said. “We are one integrated system of care.”
Hospital Week activities across the island are designed to strengthen morale, teamwork and resiliency among staff members while reinforcing the command’s lines of effort focused on readiness, patient-centered care, workforce development and strategic partnerships.
Leadership noted that the collaboration between military and civilian healthcare systems directly contributes to operational readiness by ensuring continuity of care, improving surge capacity and maintaining a medically ready force capable of responding to crises throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Dr. Joleen Aguon from Guam Memorial Hospital Authority described Guam’s healthcare and the partnerships shared as “three hospitals, one island, one mission.”
“We don’t just coordinate transfers; we share the privilege of care,” said Fitch. “We don’t just share resources; we protect a common population.”
The event also recognized the contributions of physicians, nurses, hospital corpsmen, technicians, administrators and support staff whose efforts sustain around-the-clock operations at the military treatment facility.
“To the physicians, nurses, hospital corpsmen, technicians, administrators and support staff, you are the hands that heal and the hearts that serve,” Fitch said. “You are the ones who answer the call at 0300 on a rainy Sunday.”
“May this week serve as a reminder that in every hospital room, every emergency response, and every act of care, Healing Happens Here” said the Honorable Lou Leon Guerrero, governor of Guam.
Hospital Week, celebrated annually across military and civilian healthcare systems, serves as an opportunity to recognize healthcare professionals while highlighting the connection between patient care, medical readiness and mission success.
“As operational demands across the Pacific continue to evolve, the partnerships and professionalism demonstrated here in Guam remain essential to delivering world-class care and maintaining readiness across the joint force,” Fitch said. “Together, we are the standard of excellence in the Marianas.”
U.S. Naval Hospital Guam is a 282,000 square foot military treatment facility (MTF) that supports the joint forces and strengthens the island by projecting forward-deployed medical power, delivering high-quality care, and forging strategic partnerships. The MTF and its staff of nearly 700 offers a broad range of primary and specialty medical services in support of more than 27,000 beneficiaries.
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