Bryan Blames Hospital Leadership, Legislature for Healthcare Crisis; Says Epstein Funds Should Be Released Instead of Declaring Emergency

Governor Albert Bryan Jr. on Friday pushed back forcefully against calls from Senator Ray Fonseca to declare a hospital state of emergency in the U.S. Virgin Islands, arguing that the Legislature already holds the funds necessary to support the territory’s struggling hospitals and should take immediate action to release them.

“Absolutely not,” Bryan said when asked by WTJX if he would consider issuing an emergency declaration. “There’s no need for a state of emergency. The Legislature has the money. They need to do their job.”

The governor’s comments came on the same day that Senator Fonseca issued a press release reiterating his plea for a formal declaration, citing two recent letters signed by 106 doctors across the Virgin Islands. In his statement, Fonseca described what he called “overwhelming challenges and unacceptable conditions” faced by local healthcare professionals. He warned that shortages of staff, surgical supplies, and even access to blood through the Red Cross could lead to a collapse in hospital services.

Mr. Fonseca previously called for a hospital state of emergency ,highlighting in January ongoing staffing and equipment shortages, lack of basic supplies, and the deteriorating state of hospital infrastructure as key reasons for immediate action.

A March 24 letter from physicians at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix underscored the urgency. The doctors warned that staffing levels had dropped to dangerous lows, noting that the hospital has only one anesthesiologist who was recently on call for 11 consecutive days. Next week, they wrote, that physician would be off island, leaving the hospital with zero anesthesia coverage—meaning no surgeries, including emergency procedures, could take place. The letter also detailed frequent outages of essential lab tests, empty stocks of critical medications like tPA and antibiotics, and a $22 million vendor liability that has cut off access to crucial supplies and repairs.

A separate letter from physicians at Schneider Regional Medical Center described a dire picture of day-to-day operations. Emergency Room physicians reported an inability to obtain critical lab results due to equipment failures and staff shortages in the lab and blood bank. Basic supplies such as urinals, IV tubing, and even diapers were reportedly unavailable. The situation has become so unstable that OB/GYN providers are referring out high-risk cases due to insufficient surgical supplies, and the Anesthesia Department is operating with only two anesthesiologists and no nurse anesthetists.