Editor,
I recently attended the certificate of need hearing for the renovation and expansion occurring at Humboldt General Hospital. At the hearing, statements submitted by members of the community were available for public review. A sentence in one of the statements opposing the project caused me to think about the healthcare provided by Humboldt General Hospital to our community. That person wrote, “The taxpayers in Humboldt County just want a local hospital with good quality care at a reasonable cost.”
Is that what the taxpayers of Humboldt just want from their local hospital? Or, do we just want a hospital that is able to provide quality emergency care when a 27-car accident occurs on our major interstate? Do we just want a hospital that has a skilled trauma surgeon available, to save the life of your son when he’s injured in football practice? Do we just want a hospital that has an orthopedic surgeon available when your 80-year-old mother falls and fractures her hip, so she can remain in the community instead of being transferred to another city? Do we just want a facility that can provide safe care for your loved one when her memory fails, and she begins to wander, and you are told she has Alzheimer’s and can no longer remain safely in her home? Do we just want a hospital that has an administrative staff with the foresight and vision to develop a hospital that can meet the community’s healthcare needs into the future?
As a taxpayer of Humboldt County, I think that’s just what I want.
Respectfully,
Darlene Bryan
Winnemucca
