Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

The article on the front page of the December 25th Sentinel was most thought provoking and informative.

I know there are some here in Wrangell who favor building a new hospital. Perhaps they are right, but I question it. One reason is that I feel the current location of our hospital is the best location for our hospital. Certainly not that dark hole that has been proposed for the new hospital. Most of the day the sun is on the wrong side of the mountain, so not much sunshine. It’s farther from the airport (medevacs), it’s farther from downtown. And quite frankly, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do to our seniors.

Unfortunately (for me) I have recently had the opportunity to visit the Virginia Mason Hospital, the Overlake Hospital and the Auburn Community Hospital. The Virginia Mason has buildings that are over one hundred years old and yet they provide wonderful healthcare. At Overlake in Bellevue three weeks ago I asked my doctor “is this a new hospital?” It looked so modern and well kept. He said “no, it’s about 60 years old.” And when it out lives its usefulness, it’s renovated… And this begs the question, why do all these hospitals renovate instead of rebuilding?

So, there are at least two options open to us. And I say us because we are all in this together. Let’s explore all options, including costs, and present the findings to the people of our community. Perhaps it should be put on the ballot.

Tony Guggenbickler