ARLINGTON – Steve Peterson, a former police officer and member of the Arlington School Board, has been appointed to the Cascade Valley Hospital board.
He is taking over the seat held by longtime board member Ray McClure, who stepped down after serving for 18 years. Peterson will finish McClure’s term, which ends next year.
Peterson said he thinks that the Arlington hospital’s biggest need is to expand its emergency room.
“It’s vital to our small community,” he said. “We’ve outgrown the present facility.”
One of his goals is to talk with people about the hospital’s building needs, he said.
Hospital officials are considering the possibility of asking voters to approve a bond issue next year for hospital improvements.
Peterson said he learned the value of having a hospital nearby after having a heart attack in 1996 while at a family reunion. “I would not have survived my heart attack if I had to go all the way to Everett,” he said. “It was the fact that I had medical care close here in Arlington that saved me.”
Peterson, who is 58, has worked in the Arlington office of John L. Scott Real Estate since 1988.
He is a graduate of Arlington High School. After serving in the Air Force, he returned to the area to work in the Stanwood and Arlington police departments. He also served as volunteer firefighter.
After retiring from the Arlington Police Department, he was elected to the Arlington School Board. He served for eight years, with his second term ending in 2004.
Peterson joined the Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation about a year ago. Before joining the school board, he previously served on the hospital’s advisory board.
“I have a lifelong interest in grass-roots government,” he said.
McClure, who was appointed to the board in 1988, stepped down in August. During his tenure, the hospital board expanded from three to five members.
The hospital also overcame severe financial strains in 2000 when the its attorney declared it “a mere hiccup away from not being able to pay its bills.”
“We had to choose to make cuts and that was tough,” McClure said. “I am proud to have survived the tough times and that there is still a Cascade Valley Hospital.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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