Rebecca Christensen is running for one of two seats on the Wrangell Medical Center Board. Jennifer Bates has filed for the second seat. Christensen spoke with KSTK’s Quinton Chandler about her candidacy.
Quinton Chandler: Why don’t you go ahead and tell me why you want to join the hospital board.
Rebecca Christensen: We have two children with medical issues and we just feel like the hospital needs to expand in order to keep up and to function as a hospital should and the hospital needs a lot of repair. I believe that Wrangell (should) put their time and money into building a new hospital. That’s really why I want to join the board, is to get that going and I like the vision that Robert Rang has for the hospital. I believe that he really has a passion for the hospital and that encourages me.
Quinton Chandler: What do you think that you can bring to the board that can help them move forward?
Rebecca Christensen: Just having a history of children with medical issues and knowing the importance of having a good hospital here too to help those that have to leave the island.
Quinton Chandler: What do you think the most important issues facing the board are right now?
Rebecca Christensen: The hospital functioning as it should be. I know that there’s been a lot of work in getting it up to date. I don’t really know a whole lot about what they’re dealing with right now. But, just to be there and be a support in helping their vision for the hospital and the community’s vision for the hospital.
Quinton Chandler: What are the shortcomings that you see in the hospital right now that you especially think need to be addressed?
Rebecca Christensen: I guess with maintenance of the hospital, because there hasn’t been a lot of maintenance done to it. So my biggest thing is when you go to the hospital you want everything to be working. So I guess just the shortcoming is just worrying about if things are going to continue to work properly.
Quinton Chandler: Does the borough need to find a way to get more funding so that it can build a hospital or do you think that the borough need to enlist the help of a partner to bring a new hospital into town?
Rebecca Christensen: That would really depend on what the community wants. Because I’ m new here, so I would be more inclined to go with what the community as a whole would wants to do.
Quinton Chandler: (Is there) anything else that I didn’t ask you that you would like to say about your candidacy and about the issues facing the hospital?
Rebecca Christensen: We’re, new here. I don’t know a whole lot about everything that the hospital needs and whatnot but I’m here to serve and I want to serve in any way that I can. If I do become a board member, it’s going to be a learning curve certainly for me, but I’m willing to do that and work my hardest to serve the hospital board and the community.”