Editor,

I am writing as a citizen of the Whidbey community, and as a recently retired registered nurse. I worked 15 joyous years in the Whidbey Family Birthplace at Whidbey General Hospital. I was there before Linda Gipson arrived, and was privileged to be a part of the nursing staff during these last few years with her as chief nursing officer.

In my 33 years as an registered nurse, I have never before worked with a more competent, experienced and compassionate colleague. I watched as she almost single-handedly improved service to our patients in the emergency department, the operating suite and the hospital in general. She changed the culture from “We’ve always done it this way,” to a Florence Nightingale-based culture of compassionate and expert care of our very special community. She did this by first working alongside the staff in each department, assessing the problems, weeding out the dead wood, and introducing leaders and protocols that greatly improved each department.

The work she does is not appreciated by everyone, of course. Those who are hostile to change, those who support cliques and discord, those who love the paycheck more than the patient and those with a political agenda have been obstacles to growth. In spite of this backlash, she has brought forth the change needed to better serve, care for and love our patients.

She is a gift to our community; a true nurse who not only has compassion and love for the service, but who has gathered throughout her life the education, experience and courage to make the best leader for our hospital. I personally have observed countless kind and caring interactions she has had with patients, have witnessed many things she has done to help her nursing staff in their daily lives. I am thankful she chose to come to our hospital as chief nursing officer, and am grateful for every day she has served this community.

Sincerely,

BARBARA READ R.N.

Langley