Whidbey General Hospital’s handling of the legal case involving Chief Nursing Officer Linda Gipson is deplorable.

The Island County Sheriff’s office questioned the hospital’s public defense of Gipson very early in the investigation, and Prosecutor Greg Banks is shaking his head over the lengths that administrators are going to in order to protect Gipson.

Banks is right in saying the public should be concerned about the conflicting testimony last week by hospital CEO Tom Tomasino and Chief Quality Officer Teresa Fulton.

It appeared hospital administrators are circling the wagons to protect one of their own.

Now, Whidbey General appears on a list of public agencies around Washington state that failed in recent years to comply with a state law requiring local governments to file financial reports in a timely manner.

Where is the hospital’s board of commissioners? Why isn’t the board stepping in and demanding greater accountability? Why does it seem so clear that the board stands on the side of hospital administration rather than with the citizens who pay millions in taxes to fund the public hospital?

There’s an old saying out there that goes something like this: If one person calls you a donkey, forgive and forget. If two people call you one, think twice. But if three people say the same thing, it’s time to turn around and look for a tail.

When it comes to a lack of transparency and eroding public trust, Whidbey General is a donkey.

How many people must voice the same questions before the hospital commissioners hear the chorus of valid concerns?

Whidbey General has many fine nurses and physicians, but the facility will never offer the same level of service as its metropolitan counterparts — it’s not designed to. We have nothing but the greatest admiration and respect for those who work in the challenging field of health care.

But there seems to be greater concerns beyond the usual moans and groans about higher costs and limited medical services at Whidbey General Hospital.

Hospital leadership in recent years has become increasingly removed and inaccessible. There was the change in the commissioners’ regular meeting time to 7 a.m., an hour that all but assures reduced public attendance and participation, and there’s the newspaper’s constant struggle to obtain information from, or even speak directly with, top officials — namely the head guy, Tomasino.

When the Whidbey News-Times seeks answers to the kinds of questions being raised throughout the community, there seems to be a perspective among Whidbey General administrators that the newspaper simply “has it out” for the hospital.

That, to be blunt, is baloney. It’s akin to saying the newspaper has it out for Island Transit. We appreciate and support both public agencies — but the key word is “public.”

The newspaper and its reporters have an obligation to ask questions — the same ones that people are asking the newspaper. The newspaper has an expectation that taxpayer-funded entities like the hospital and Island Transit won’t treat those questions as a burden.

As the hospital’s board moves forward in its selection of a new CEO, the issues of transparency, accountability and availability need to be addressed. The public should be invited to participate in interviews with the final three candidates for the top job, not just a hand-selected few.

It’s time to get serious about putting the “public” back into public hospital district.