The South Whidbey population has grown in recent year — even exploded — and many locals believe the South End of the island is limping behind in healthcare.

During Monday’s Exchange talk with Whidbey General Hospital administrator Scott Rhine, that theme became even more apparent.

Rhine told the audience that the number of visits to the Rural Health Clinic on Maxwelton Road has gone up by 50 percent since 2002 with more than 5,800 visits a year, or about 22 a day.

Scott talked about existing hospital services and introduced the plans for a healthcare center in Bayview to a small, but very involved audience at the Bayview Cash Sore Front Room.

Rhine said Whidbey General Hospital and Goosefoot Community Fund are collaborating on plans to develop a service center on South Whidbey. The hospital intends to lease the nearly 24,500-square-foot facility that would be build by Goosefoot on property near the Bayview Shopping Center behind Casey’s Red Apple.

“We hope to begin specific planning in the next three months and to hopefully open the center in early 2008,” Rhine said.

It would house the Rural Health Clinic, the paramedic quarters and ambulance bay and other basic health services.

Potential additional services include a community health education alcove, a urgent care/minor emergency department, rehabilitation services and a “Life Center for Essential Wellness.”

The hospital and developer are also consider building shell space for future expansions.

“Building costs jump up 20 to 30 percent a year, depending on who you ask. It makes sense to build a shell space for future services,” he said.

Audience members welcomed the idea of updated healthcare facility on the South End. But funding was an issue.

Funding questioned

One audience member asked why the hospital chose to work with a private developer instead of going to the voters and asking for more money.

“We don’t want to go to the voters too often,” Rhine said.

He said the surgical wing of the hospital in Coupeville is dated and will need updating soon — something voters will be asked to help pay for — and Goosefoot offered reasonable conditions.

Another audience member wanted to know how the hospital intends to pay for the cost of leasing.

“Basically, we’re leasing the Bayview facility and paying from the proceeds of people going there,” Rhine explained.

More services wanted

The audience pointed out that affordable dentistry, cardiology, radiology and orthopedics are needed on South Whidbey.

Striking a balance between keeping a doctor’s office in business and providing viable services to residents is tough, Rhine said. And it’s often a reason why doctors leave the island.

Orthopedics is one of the biggest needs on the island, Rhine said, as one doctor recently retired and another left because his office was not busy enough. Now, Whidbey Island is left with one orthopedic surgeon.

Recruitment is challenging, Rhine added.

“Radiologists and orthopedic surgeons are hardest to recruit. In 1 ½ years, we’ve not been able to find the right one,” he said.

Radiation and dialyses on the island were also a topic.

As the trip to the mainland for a short treatment is very taxing on critically sick patients, it seems like these services would be very important. But Rhine said due to the high cost of equipment, such services are hard to fund through a small island population.

“We’ve looked at the potential of radiation-oncology. The proliferation of services on the mainland, the high cost of equipment, it seems we don’t have enough patients to support it,” he said. “At this point we don’t have enough volume to do that without serious philanthropy,” Rhine added.

Hospice services were also a concern.

While many people would like to see an emergency room on the South End, local physicians and Rhine had their concerns.

While it is good to have the service during real emergencies and life-threatening situations, many uninsured people use the emergency room when they can’t help themselves anymore. Affordable health services would prevent people who should see a doctor regularly from dropping too much money for one visit when their health condition requires an ER visit. Getting people to doctors regularly should be a priority, Rhine said.

The Exchange is a series of community talks and lectures sponsored by The South Whidbey Record and Goosefoot Community Fund.

The next Exchange is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 6 and will tackle how a community can address transportation issues in times of rising gas prices and environmental concerns.