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Silver lining

It's a shame Prairie View had to look for another location for its business and chose Hillsboro over Marion, but let's not forget what's going in that building.

Marion is gaining another doctor and a physician's assistant.

St. Luke Hospital personnel and the board of directors of Marion County Hospital District #1 already have secured Dr. Linda Skiles and Nita Bittle, and are in negotiations with a pediatric specialist.

How exciting is that?

St. Luke Hospital Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Armstrong was clear that the intent was not to take away business from the general practitioners in Marion but to bring some relief to Marion Family Physicians.

It also is an attempt to broaden services that are going out of town. Since families have to go out-of-town to have babies, most are staying out-of-town to keep their children's pediatricians. Also, general practitioners would have a specialist in town to send their young patients for specialized care.

The building belongs to the hospital district. It appears to be more cost effective to use existing buildings than to build a new one.

The economic impact potential for these providers and additional staff will be significant.

Let's stop blaming the hospital, the city, and the neighbor's dog, and anticipate these exciting additions to our medical community.

— SUSAN BERG

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