By Wilma Patrick

Regarding Mary Jackson’s Nov. 4 letter, it would be nice if the editor verified the facts before he allowed obvious untruths about our local hospital and the care it provides to our military members. The only accurate thing in her letter was the CEO’s salary, which has been borne out by numerous sources as being commensurate with the position Mr. Tomasino holds.

Here are some facts. WGH took the lead over a year ago to get the Tricare rule changed that will allow all hospitals to receive better reimbursement for serving veterans. The work of WGH and our state’s elected officials have improved access to care for all veterans in the United States.

Furthermore, WGH has been very successful recruiting physicians and surgeons to our island community. WGH offers a wide array of inpatient and outpatient surgical services to include General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Urological Surgery, Obstetric/Gynecological Surgery, Urological Surgery and Ophthalmologic Surgery, to name a few. WGH physicians are Board Certified or are in the process of becoming Board Certified.

As far as services go, it is easier to list what they don’t do; that list is a lot smaller. WGH is a full-service, acute care hospital with a robust complement of outpatient services and community outreach.

Probably the thing I like best about WGH is that they astutely know when a person’s care is beyond their capability and will make the wise/hard decision to transfer you if necessary. I see this as a strength, not a weakness.

People have gripes and people hold grudges, but I implore my fellow community members, if you haven’t looked at WGH lately, look again, they have been providing exceptional service for almost 40 years. But more importantly, they are always looking for ways to improve and even better serve us.

I recently met the new CEO, Mr. Thomas Tomasino, at a community health care forum in Oak Harbor. I am confident that he means what he says when he told us that he is committed to this community and its health care needs. And as a veteran himself, it goes without saying that he avidly supports our men and women in uniform.

Wilma Patrick lives in Oak Harbor and is a longtime volunteer supporter of Whidbey General Hospital.