Asking for your support on the hospital bond

Dear Citizens of the 

Chelan Valley,

I am writing to ask for your support on the upcoming hospital    bond on April 25. Eight years ago, my family and I had the fortunate opportunity to move to beautiful Lake Chelan. During my career search, we interviewed with several other rural communities throughout the Northwest. Unfortunately, many of these towns were struggling to survive. We were ecstatic to find a community such as Chelan that was growing and investing in its future.

During my training, I have had the opportunity to work in many different hospital facilities. These range from 10 bed acute care rural hospitals in Colorado and Nebraska to level 1 trauma centers in Seattle. Throughout my time at LCCH, I have become aware of the current facility’s shortcomings.

Our current building lacks the space, privacy and infrastructure necessary to care for patients appropriately. The quality of care we are able to provide is truly being limited by our current facility. 

An embarrassing example of this is that during a cold spell this winter, we were literally unable to run the operating room equipment and heat the facility at the same time. Patients sat shivering in the preoperative area just hoping that we would not cancel their scheduled surgeries while staff members ran about the building turning off unneeded equipment.

It is grossly apparent that something needs to be done and soon.

A lot of time, money, community input, and effort by the commissioners and administrators have gone into developing an action plan. 

After reviewing the studies, it appears that building a new facility rather than remodeling and expanding the current one would be the most cost effective approach.

There is no doubt that our current facility has served us well for many years. However, our community is growing and its needs are changing. I encourage everyone to research the facts and attend an upcoming public forum. Additional information is available at LakeChelanHospital.com under the facility reports tab. 

Please help invest in the future of our community and its healthcare needs by voting yes on April 25.

Sincerely,

Tobe Harberd, MD

Chelan