WhidbeyHealth expands outpatient heart care for Island County seniors

WhidbeyHealth is moving to bring more heart care onto the island at a time when Island County’s older population is growing and routine specialty visits can still mean ferry schedules, long drives and delays. The new outpatient expansion is aimed at people who need regular cardiac follow-up, not just emergency care.

The program is expected to cover heart failure, arrhythmias, pacemaker care, cardiac stress testing and coronary artery disease. WhidbeyHealth said patients who need more advanced treatment will still be transferred off island under established protocols, but the goal is to handle more diagnosis, monitoring and follow-up locally so care starts sooner and continues more smoothly.

That local focus matters in a county where age is a central health issue. Island County Public Health says 26% of residents are 65 or older, compared with 16% statewide. The county’s 2022 chronic disease profile put the 65-and-over share at 25%, compared with 15% across Washington. In its 2024 community health assessment, Island County Public Health listed health care access, limited specialty care and senior health and support as priority concerns.

WhidbeyHealth already describes its cardiac care as a program that includes cardiac rehabilitation, and it says WhidbeyHealth Medical Center has earned Level II Cardiac Center status and Level III Stroke Center status. The hospital says those designations support timely care and transfer when a patient needs a higher level of treatment. The system also says it is a community-owned health system operated by the Whidbey Island Public Hospital District and governed by five publicly elected commissioners.

The cardiology team includes Marshall Corson, MD, whom WhidbeyHealth lists as a cardiologist at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center. Terrence Wong, MD, is also joining as a clinical cardiologist. Together, they are expected to help coordinate care across hospitalists, primary care providers and emergency staff so patients can move between different levels of treatment with fewer gaps.

To support the expansion, the WhidbeyHealth Foundation is raising $700,000 for equipment, including a C-arm X-ray unit for pacemaker placement, an ECG server, a TEE probe and upgrades for rehab monitoring. Rainy Simpson said $114,000 had been raised so far.

WhidbeyHealth says the expansion is slated for spring 2026. For Island County families, the payoff could be practical as much as medical: fewer off-island appointments, less stress arranging transportation and faster access to the kind of heart care that can change the course of a chronic condition before it becomes an emergency.