Days after a medical staffing firm asked the V.I. Superior Court to order the Juan F. Luis Hospital to pay a $12 million court judgement to settle over a decade of litigation, the company has filed another lawsuit seeking to recover more unpaid bills, this time from the Schneider Regional Medical Center.
Worldwide Travel Staffing company filed a civil complaint in Superior Court last week, alleging breach of contract against the Government Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation. Worldwide claims that Scheinder Regional began falling behind on payments due under a 2014 Master Staffing Agreement.
In October 2019, the hospital paid Worldwide almost $75,000. That was the last check received, said the company. “Though Worldwide’s weekly emails continued, the Hospital failed to remit further payments after October 2019,” the complaint states. Intermittent correspondence about the debt, which was accruing interest, continued.
In January of this year, one of the hospital’s accounts payable staff members reportedly acknowledged the debt and promised an update once a date for payment had been finalized. The promised update never came, said Worldwide.
Schneider Regional owes much less than JFL did – just $166, 846.90, according to Worldwide’s calculations. Still that sum is accumulating over $500 in interest each week.
Worldwide has asked the court to award compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgement interest, court costs and attorneys’ fees.
The territory’s public healthcare system has long struggled with chronic underinvestment, leading to years-long struggles to pay debts. In 2024, medical staffing firm Pafford announced that it was leaving the Virgin Islands after the accumulation of years of unpaid invoices made it untenable to operate in the territory.
Several emergency capital injections over the years have provided some measure of relief to some vendors, but as the twin Worldwide Travel Staffing lawsuits reveal, many vendors remain unpaid years – and even decades – after delivering services to the territory’s hospital.
