To the editor:

I agree with Jennifer Merrill regarding the loss of Winslow Drug, it is sad.

However, I do take exception to the implication that Virginia Mason is moving because of “our corporate American culture which values profit more than … individual people within any given neighborhood.”

Apparently Ms. Merrill, if she is a Virginia Mason patient, is one of the very few who actually walk to the clinic. Most need to find a place to park and then walk.

When you enter the clinic it is obvious that the facilities are crowded and if you need an MRI it’s out the door and up the steps into a large trailer and a claustrophobic tube. There is essentially no room to expand at the current location.

The new location will allow Virginia Mason to offer more healthcare options (fewer trips to Seattle) as well as expanded physical facilities, including an open/larger MRI and adequate parking.

While the Virginia Mason move and expansion may be inconvenient for a few, it will be much appreciated by many.

Full disclosure: I have been a Virginia Mason patient since 1980 when I was diagnosed with and cured of cancer. I retired from the Virginia Mason IT group in 2003.

Most recently, I had open heart surgery replacing my aortic valve and I’m still vertical and able to take nourishment. Thanks, Virginia Mason.

DICK CULP

Bainbridge Island