Reader says an indoor pool will attract medical professionals

Dear Editor,

Improvements to our community are being done by a lot of people. The Mayor and City Council have been doing a lot of different things to improve our town. Look at how well Railroad Park and other parks in town are being improved by city employees and many, many volunteers. Our water department and other city workers are responsible for many improvements.

One thing we do need is more doctors in town. If your doctor has recently retired or is thinking of doing so, you may have experienced contacting a doctor's office and being told they aren't taking any new patients. Idaho is 49th in the number of doctors per capita. We have doctors that come to Mountain Home to work at the hospital, but it would be nice if we had more doctors that would come and be a part of the community.

The former hospital administrator told me that two doctors were interested in coming, but refused when told there was no all season swimming pool for their families. Another clinic administrator said they toured Mountain Home and liked it, but decided to move to Boise and commute, because they didn't want to live in a community where they couldn't swim in the winter. We have a great opportunity with the recreation district to provide a multi-use/multi-age pool for everyone in our community!

Dan Gillies

Editor's Note: Dan Gillies is currently the president of the WECRD's Board of Directors. The district is currently fundraising for their indoor pool facility.