Whidbey Island: Left Behind by Covid
Covid Crisis—The world shut down and on Whidbey Island, just off the coast of Seattle where covid came ashore in the U.S., the only hospital for 60,000 residents struggled to serve as best it could. While all the resources were funneled to urban medical centers, rural hospitals were left to fend for themselves. They made PPE from donated garbage bags and used masks sewn by volunteers working into the night. Medical staff kept grueling hours working to save the lives of neighbors and loved ones, critical services for chronic conditions and therapeutic interventions were delayed or disappeared putting lives at risk. Whidbey Medical Center lost millions and began to close critical services. Dying became a lonely passage. And yet, the hospital remained a lifeline. As one patient said, “I am not a number here. I know, you know, who I am.”
Supported by National Geographic Covid Emergency Fund
