Kaiser a loss
To the editor:
I read with surprise and despair that the Gig Harbor and Poulsbo Kaiser Clinics will close coming December. According to the Kaiser District Director of Operation, Randy Hartman, the business policy is based on the philosophy, “How can we most effectively meet the needs of our members?” By closing two clinics with “a small reduction of positions” and offering Silverdale as an alternative? Will that really “provide the greatest value to our patients and members and customers,” as Kaiser claims?
Years ago Bainbridge had a clinic that closed and the Poulsbo Group Health Clinic became the main health facility for some 36,000 people (Poulsbo and Bainbridge). Then Kaiser took over and continued the excellent service. The Poulsbo clinic must have been quite busy because my primary care physician was only available by making advance appointments. However, a doctor was always available within a reasonable time, and the waiting room was never empty.
Closing the clinic will be a huge loss for the community, and all of us who rely on Kaiser in Poulsbo, within a 25-minute drive.
James U. Behrend
Bainbridge Island
Include treaty rights
To the editor:
Bainbridge Island is conducting an environmental impact statement for an update to its Comprehensive Plan. Despite comments from the Suquamish Tribe and a local environmental group, the city has refused to consider impacts on treaty rights associated with growth: Specifically the right to fish, hunt and gather in the “usual and accustomed grounds” as guaranteed by the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. In exchange, local tribes ceded most of their traditional territories, including BI and where confined to reservations.
The treaty rights depend upon clean waters and intact ecosystems, both seriously degraded since the signing of the treaty. Environmental impacts to those treaty rights include: Degradation of near shore habitats; erratic and reduced stream flows due to groundwater pumping and inadequate stormwater facilities; degraded water quality from undertreated sewage effluent and polluted stormwater; and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. BI continues to contribute to environmental impacts to treaty rights. BI’s preferred plans to greatly increase growth would accelerate its impacts.
The omission of adverse impacts on treaty rights in BI’s EIS is curious when considering outward expressions of solidarity with the Suquamish. There’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, land acknowledgment at council meetings and a project to update the city’s official timeline to include important Suquamish events. The Race Equity Advisory Committee looks into systemic racism. All of that but when solidarity really counts, and impacts to treaty rights are on the line, BI looks the other way. The city needs to include an honest assessment of impacts to treaty rights in its EIS.
Ron Peltier
Bainbridge Island
