210 of 1,161 Coupeville marshal calls were to WhidbeyHealth Medical Center

Of 1,161 service calls handled by the Coupeville Marshal’s Office in 2025, 210 involved WhidbeyHealth Medical Center, data presented to the Coupeville town council in January 2026 shows. That 210 figure represents about 18.08 percent of the town’s total service calls and prompted discussion at the council meeting about patterns of emergency and law‑enforcement interaction.

The 210 hospital calls were categorized by incident type: 58 requests for public assistance and 55 reports of disorderly conduct were the largest groups, followed by 25 911 hang‑ups and 18 trespassing complaints. The hospital also recorded three sex‑offense reports, four physical assaults, one domestic‑violence report and one harassment complaint in 2025, according to the breakdown presented to council members.

Marshal Bo Miller told the council that the volume of hospital-related calls is keeping his office busy and urged upgrades to hospital security, a move described at the meeting as one that could ease demand on his small department. Council discussion centered on how a concentrated share of calls to one institution affects local policing capacity across Coupeville.

WhidbeyHealth spokesperson Conor O’Brien confirmed the hospital has used Pacific Security for on‑site protection since 2017 and said the vendor “charges an hourly rate of less than $41.20 for their personnel when working on site.” O’Brien described security personnel as “unarmed, hands‑off” and said they are used to “de‑escalate and provide a barrier for staff safety.” He added that the marshal’s office is contacted “when disorderly conduct escalates to physical or actively combative conduct,” and said WhidbeyHealth is “pleased” with Pacific Security’s services.

Hospital security staffing and training details were part of the discussion: Pacific Security staffing at WhidbeyHealth is reported as one guard on duty from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays and one guard on duty all day on weekends. Pacific Security could not be reached for comment; information attributed to the vendor states new officers receive initial training “during an eight‑hour orientation session” that includes de‑escalation training, and that an optional Management of Aggressive Behavior training is a four‑hour program to “recognize, reduce and manage anxious, aggressive and violent behavior.”

The concentration of incidents at WhidbeyHealth, including the documented sex‑offense and assault reports, raises questions about patient and staff safety and about how the town allocates public‑safety resources. Have you observed hospital security coverage or been involved in an incident at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center? Share your experience with the newsroom so the council and public officials hear community perspectives.