Voters on Whidbey Island approved a measure in Tuesday’s election to increase the public hospital district’s property tax levy.

At the same time, it appears that voters are replacing a hospital commissioner with a candidate new to health care administration.

The levy lift proposition has 10,955 ballots cast in its favor, or nearly 56%, as of the Thursday night ballot count.

WhidbeyHealth’s levy rate will increase from its current $0.078 to $0.5 per $1,000 of assessed value. The owner of a $400,000 house will pay $168.80 more a year.

The increase is a first in the hospital district’s 57-year history. It will add $6 million a year to the hospital’s $115 million annual operating budget.

Like rural hospitals across the nation, WhidbeyHealth has been struggling financially for years and the problem was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospital leaders have said that the levy funds will be used to recruit staff, retain existing staff by paying a living wage, and improve technology and communication systems.

In the hospital commissioner race, incumbent Commissioner Kurt Blankenship is losing to challenger James Golder for a seat that represents the Central Whidbey district.

Golder is a rare candidate who said he feels bad about replacing his rival; he said Blankenship has done a very good job on the hospital board and hopes that he can continue having a role in the hospital, perhaps as an advisor to the board.

Golder is a former Idaho state representative with a background in business and economics and is married to a former WhidbeyHealth nurse. Blankenship is a longtime attorney specializing in health care law.

Golder said he was successful because of dissatisfaction in the community with the hospital. The hospital’s reputation in the community “isn’t all that great,” he said, although things have gotten much better under current CEO Ron Telles.

Golder said he plans on doing a cash flow analysis and hopes to shift some spending to increase salaries for nurses and others.