Whidbey General Hospital is a major employer and a vital community asset. It has served our community well for 40 years. It is precisely because it is 40 year old that it needs a significant upgrade to meet current standards — in construction, in technology, and in meeting standards of care. There are three major reasons this bond issue is so important:

• The building is old as hospitals go. Rebuilding/upgrading has been a growing concern for the past six to eight years, and the need to upgrade is now immediate.

• Rebuilding, per se, would be disruptive of ongoing care, impeding the ability to remain fiscally sound during the repair.

• The old construction would not be conducive to being able to bring the facility up to current physical or technological standards without major reconstruction.

Building anew is the most cost-wise and operation-wise means to address this ever increasing need to keep this valuable community asset. It is not, as is popularly phrased, the luxury of private rooms, but the need to stay current with the industry. We are not living in the ‘70s. Nothing lasts forever. The bond issue will permit the hospital to stay open during construction that will permit the facility to operate well into the future, providing the community the hospital care they expect near to home.

I came to Whidbey 10 days after WGH opened its doors for business. I want to see it remain the local hospital that will meet our needs for the next 40 years. I urge you to vote “yes” on the local hospital bond issue.

And at a cost of $2 per week for the average property tax payer, the bond is a bargain! (That’s per property tax payer, not per person.)

Roger S. Case, MD
WGH board member