When the executive director position of the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation opened up, Helen Rideau viewed it as a golden opportunity.

Having worked in fundraising for about 20 years in Los Angeles, Rideau said she was excited about the chance to move to Whidbey Island.

It’s a place she’s gotten to know well over the course of a three-year, long-distance relationship with a Coupeville native, now her fiance.

“We never thought we’d be able to live in the same town, that I would be able to find work on the island, and, luckily, the hospital took a chance on a kid from another state,” Rideau said.

Now serving as the Foundation’s executive director, Rideau said she is excited for the chance help the hospital grow.

With last year’s approval of a $50-million bond, Rideau said it has “given us so many opportunities for making new connections in the community with what will happen.”

“That’s a really great vote of confidence, that they want this hospital to be updated, they want the facilities to match the skills of the people that are there,” Rideau said. “There are some really talented people at the hospital.”

Her immediate goals for the hospital include building connections with the community and bringing public art into the hospital.

Really important to her is making sure people who need access to health care get that access.

“I’ve just been made to feel very welcome here,” Rideau said. “I feel like people are very open to new ideas and excited by creative ideas, and that’s really fun.”

Now that she’s been with the hospital for more than six months, Rideau says the change has “worked out beautifully.”