To the people of the Grand Coulee Dam area, an opportunity

Recently our entire community went through a major upheaval which in one way or another involved all of us.

We saw that, when aroused, the people of this area can effect change. Our local hospital is such an important factor in our lives that we were ready to speak up, difficult as this can be for many of us.

Our latest board meeting set us a fine example of a group listening to the community and acting together.

Now, it seems to me, that we must speak up in an even more important way. It is the community, acting together, that can bring back a hospital that functions as it should. A hospital should care for all the people of the area. It doesn’t matter whether you are a patient, a caregiver, work in the office, the lab, the kitchen, or any other service area. We need to come together, be willing to cooperate with each other, even if this means we have to be willing to compromise. We owe courtesy to others who hold different views, be ready to listen, and think before we speak.

This is a great opportunity for our community as a whole to show that when it counts we can work together for the good of all. In the next several months we will get a chance to show the world around us that we can come together. Let’s not waste the chance to show what we can do when we work for the good of the whole community.

Carol Netzel