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Thursday, October 31, 2013
VOL. 19, NO. 13
Former hospital doctor suggests new direction Borden: Why not partner with others? By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
With Whidbey General Hospital asking voters to approve a bond to pay for an expansion, one critic is arguing for hospital leaders to try something different. Mark Borden, one-time hospital emergency room physician turned staunch Whidbey General critic, thinks it would be a godsend if the hospital would partner with a larger company, such as Providence Health and Services. “It would make the difference between a crummy hospital with a terrible reputation in our community and a good hospital,” said Borden, a Coupeville resident. He blasted the leadership of current CEO Tom Tomasino, accusing him of dismantling the medical staff. He said the changes outlined in the hospital’s proposal, which includes single-patient rooms, are unnecessary.
“Voting ‘no’ opens the door on hospital reform,” Borden said. Whidbey General leaders, on the other hand, said such partnerships would sacrifice local control and could lead to a loss of health care services and jobs on Whidbey Island. Borden does have an acrimonious relationship with Whidbey General Hospital, where he had worked in the emergency room for years. In 2011, his position with Northwest Emergency Physicians, the company Whidbey General Hospital contracts with for emergency room doctors, ended. Since then he has been working at Swedish Medical Center. He is also running what he describes as a patient advocacy website. Whidbey General Hospital is asking voters to approve a $50-million bond that will fund construction of a new wing located on the south end of its Coupeville campus. That
Halloween Fun
See Hospital page 12
Bowen says failed project aids in ability to help port By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
References to a failed sustainable development made by a Port of Coupeville candidate are raising concerns from the port’s incoming executive director. Those concerns arose after Tim McDonald, who will start as port director Dec. 1, wanted to find out more about candidate Dick Bowen’s experience. He discovered Bowen was involved with Aspen Trails Ranch, a proposed 325-residence development just outside Helena, Mont, which Bowen mentioned publicly as an example of his experience with sustainable development. After Montana courts voided the preliminary plat for the development, Bowen’s plans in the Big Sky state went under, according to the Helena Independent Record. McDonald came to The Whidbey Examiner last week with his concerns. Neither Bowen nor his campaign manager Mary Jane Olson returned multiple requests for comment until after the paper had gone to
press Wednesday morning. He did contact the paper Thursday with further explanation about his failed project. “It was really painful. My wife and I put a lot of financial resources on the line,” Bowen, who has been in development since 1979, said Thursday. McDonald said the issue for him was Bowen using Aspen Trails Ranch as an example of his abilities, but the record seems to indicate the opposite. “It’s important to me that the voters take a look at his record and inform their own opinions,” McDonald said. Bowen said he started gathering investors in 2005, most of whom had done business with him before. After investors chipped in $850,000, Bowen received an order from Washington Department of Financial Institutions Securities Division. It found he had failed to disclose a reasonable expected annualized return on investment and failed to disclose there was no source to guarantee any repay-
See Port page 12
More photos A16 Megan Hansen photo
Families flooded downtown Coupeville Saturday during the annual Halloween Torchlight Parade. The event started at Cook’s Corner Park, going down Front Street and ending at the Island County Historical Museum. Children and adults came dressed for the occasion, representing all aspects of spooky and not-so-spooky fun. Prizes were awarded in multiple categories including best adult costume, best girl and boy costume and group costume. The event is sponsored by Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association and Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue. To see more photos from the parade, go to page A16.