U.S. House delegate to be treated at Tripler
PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA » American Samoa’s delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives was medically evacuated Thursday from Pago Pago to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu for an unspecified but not life-threatening condition.
Officials at LBJ Medical Center in Pago Pago declined to say why 70-year-old Eni Faleomavaega was hospitalized early Tuesday.
A Hawaii National Guard plane carrying Faleomavaega departed Pago Pago about three hours after landing in the territory from Hawaii, about 2,300 miles away.
The territory’s governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, several cabinet directors and family members saw Faleomavaega off at the airport.
Faleomavaega’s office said his doctors agreed he should be sent to Tripler because of a lack of specialized capabilities in American Samoa.
"We thank everyone involved who has tirelessly worked through the night to secure an air crew and a military plane," the statement said. "Once more, we thank you for your prayers and reiterate that Faleomavaega is not in a life-threatening situation."
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American Samoa’s House delegate can vote in committee but not on the House floor. Faleomavaega, a Democrat, is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report from Honolulu.