GMH Chief Defends Nyame’s Brandishing of Firearm, Other Unconventional ‘Security Test’

Guam Memorial Hospital staffers are not buying the story their bosses are telling about an April 11 incident, when the GMH chief medical officer allegedly walked onto the campus brandishing a firearm in plain sight. The staffers, several of whom have spoken to Kandit on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, are fearful for their lives due to this incident and another incident when the same doctor allegedly caused a jarring spectacle in front of the hospital.

In letters obtained by Kandit that were issued by GMH administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas since the events, the GMH administration has qualified and defended Dr. Kwasi Nyame’s alleged actions.

The “Unloaded” Gun

On April 11, according to the time stamp on surveillance footage leaked to Kandit, a man appearing to be Dr. Nyame is seen in the frames around 5:50 p.m. walking through the public front entrance of the hospital and brandishing a firearm from a non-concealed position near his buttocks. Ms. Perez-Posadas today – more than a month later and only after Kandit received and asked about the footage – issued a staff circular admitting that a “GMH official” carried an unloaded firearm into the facility.

The circular does not name Dr. Nyame, but does state that “On April 11th, a member of the executive management team, in coordination with hospital security, conducted a hospital security readiness exercise.”

Three weeks ago, on May 1, legislative health oversight chairwoman Sabrina Salas Matanane wrote to Ms. Perez-Posadas about “a reported climate of fear at the Guam Memorial Hospital, specifically tied to the alleged actions of GMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kwasi Nyame.” The senator raised the April 11 incident, writing that Dr. Nyame “entered the hospital premises carrying an unloaded firearm, allegedly claiming he was ‘testing’ the hospital’s security.”

Ms. Perez-Posadas replied to the senator the following day, emphasizing the hospital’s need for active shooter training and saying that Dr. Nyame did bring “an unloaded firearm to security entrances,” to test GMH response to an active shooter situation.

“Dr. Nyame consulted with GMHA Security in advance of both interactions,” Ms. Perez-Posadas wrote. “He also limited his primary interactions to the areas of hospital premises where GMHA Security was located.”

“When did the administration actually know about this planned test? Truth: after it happened,” one of the GMH staffers said, on condition of anonymity, adding that “Only one security guard knew in advance.”

Kandit has asked Guam Police Department spokesman Norman Analista whether GMH officials informed GPD officials ahead of time of a small scale active shooter exercise on April 11 in case GPD received a 911 call about a man brandishing a firearm. Mr. Analista said he needs time to look into the issue.

Several active shooter training resource protocols throughout the country – including from the Federal Bureau of Investigations – all discuss the importance of not using real or even simulated firearms in active shooter training for civilians.

In the FBI exercise protocol: “Experienced instructors are on-hand to ensure the training is conducted in a safe environment. No real or fake firearms are used during the scenarios. This course is carefully designed to instruct and teach without causing fear or apprehension.”

Firearms also are not used by civilians in local table top exercises.

The April 11 incident has had a lasting negative impact on some GMH staffers, who include nursing and medical staff.

“The nurses were impacted emotionally in a real way,” one staffer said. “The SDA clinic shooting came to mind immediately for the older nurses. Fear of retribution and being chastised by the doctor for not responding fast enough has led to suffering in silence. The staff was shocked to learn that the administration not only was not going to do anything about the incident. They knew about it and never offered psychological counseling. They never even talked to the staff.”

Another questioned the doctor’s conduct compared to the conduct of another GMH medical professional who was fired less than two years ago for carrying a firearm in the hospital parking lot: “This is not how a normal hospital would deal with a doctor or anyone bringing a weapon to a hospital. Look how a doctor was dealt with when he left a gun in his car in a hospital parking lot.”

“Does Dr. Nyame have any training in this arena other than general gun safety?” another GMH staffer wants to know. “Did you think about any possible things that could happen? What if someone called a SWAT team? Did you offer counseling to the staff who got exposed? Was it coordinated with GPD or Homeland Security? Is it standard in any other hospital to have the Medical Director conduct an unannounced ‘test’ by walking around the hospital with gun? Any examples anywhere where this was done?”

All the staffers Kandit spoke with claim Ms. Perez-Posadas is not telling the truth about this and another incident that took place days later.

The Lying-Dead Response Test

According to Ms. Salas Matanane’s May 1 letter where she also raised the gun brandishing incident, Dr. Nyame “[d]ays later … allegedly dressed in plain clothes and lay in the front parking lot, pretending to be unconscious, again as part of a self-imposed ‘test’ of hospital response.”

Ms. Perez-Posadas confirmed the incident, adding Dr. Nyame laid “in the grass near a security booth located at the side of the hospital,” as he performed the so-called security exercise. She qualified his actions, writing to the senator, “These recent efforts demonstrate our commitment to ensuring GMHA Security and the rest of the staff is ready to respond in emergency situations.”

“These incidents, Ms. Salas Matanane wrote in her May 1 letter to Ms. Perez-Posadas, “reflect a disturbing lapse in judgment and a complete disregard for the psychological safety and well-being of staff. I have been informed that these alleged actions have sparked fear and anxiety among nurses, physicians, and other employees, raising concerns about Dr. Nyame’s mental state and fitness to serve in such a critical leadership role.”

Witness statements from GMH staffers corroborate these concerns explained by the senator.

In her response letter to the senator, the GMH administrator doubled down on her support for Dr. Nyame despite the concerns from the senator and from her own staff at GMH:

“I must take exception,” Ms. Perez-Posadas wrote in her May 2 letter to the senator, “to the alarmist tone you used in your letter. It is inappropriate to question the mental state of a dedicated physician and public servant in our community, particularly before you gathered all of the facts. I remain confident in Dr. Nyame and his ability to competently practice medicine and serve as an administrator. Your casting of personal aspersions undermines the hospital’s efforts to recruit and retain talented doctors and health.”