Most Kittitas County residents are only interested that they have access to healthcare when it is needed. Community members want their healthcare to stay local. By keeping healthcare local this will assure that our hospital stays relevant. The fact regarding localness and people-powered is more important now than in the past for healthcare. There is much discussion about “patient-centered care” and having a strong hospital that aligns itself with each physician on staff will create patient loyalty and binds itself closely with the community’s physicians.

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Keeping the health care in Kittitas County has always been a strong focus for me. I do not want to see Kittitas County to enter a brave new world with just large, impersonal health systems where all of us are just cogs in the wheel. The definition of “community hospital,” is difficult to agree on. The emphasis needs to be on community since an academic medical center can serve an entire region as we see from healthcare facilities from every direction of Kittitas County. Our hospital needs to remain firmly anchored to its roots and the people it serves. Our hospital is just important to those who are not residents of our county but travel on the interstate highways which pass through our community. KVH Healthcare is an important medical facility to all who choose to come to our community.

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People often forget how important their hospital is until it’s shut down. However, you don’t need a closure to remind people how valuable their hospital can be. Something like an acute illness or a natural disaster can show how deep connections between a hospital and its community is.

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Kittitas County is geographically isolated from the rest of the state by the Cascade Mountain Range. In years past our winters have completely cut off Kittitas County from the rest of the state due to snow and icy roads. The need to evacuate an acutely ill resident was also prevented due to the weather. All roads were closed, and aircraft were unable to fly. These closures have lasted for many days.