I have been moving toward retirement over the last few years and I am now finished with clinic work, but I will continue to be on call for newborns at WhidbeyHealth and I am serving on the medical staff executive committee there.

I am thankful to the many dedicated people with whom I have worked over 33 years on Whidbey, and I know they will continue to serve the children of our wonderful island.

Thankful to the families who trusted and allowed me to enter their world in sickness and in health. Many of their kids are now parents in our practice.

Thankful to my colleagues at Pediatric Associates of Whidbey Island who continue to advance the cause of preventive health care and have worked overtime to help maintain public health through the last few years of the pandemic.

Thankful to my wife Susan who worked alongside me to run South Whidbey Pediatrics in Freeland for almost 30 years, through ever changing patterns of illness, injury and payment mechanisms, while we raised three kids. Her work at the Island County Health Dept. compliments the overall current approaches to health care affecting community, families and individuals.

I need to specially thank Teri Baker who has been my right hand in the Freeland clinic for 20 years. Although all the nurses and staff who have served there have been terrific professionals AND quality people, Teri has continued to keep the faith and trust of thousands of children and has always given 100% to the clinic, families and the community. “Love ya Teri”.

Thankful to the many colleagues at WhidbeyHealth and Seattle Children’s Hospital who have been our backbone for specialty and emergency referrals.

Thankful to our new ( interim) administrators at WhidbeyHealth who are helping to make a rapid turnaround in our local services. I believe we are seeing changes that will lead to improved relations, services and trust between the community and our public hospital district.

Thankful to the many providers and staff at Whidbey Family Birthplace, my home away from home at 3 a.m. These professionals have had my trust at the most critical times of complicated, difficult deliveries which can occur suddenly even after seeming routine progress. We are poised to increase the services available there, an exciting prospect.

Thankful to the vaccine industry whose products have completely transformed pediatric care from invasive assessment and treatment of serious illness to preventive care. My life in the “old days” was one of spinal taps, blood tests, invasive bladder catheterizations and X-rays in the race to identify and treat serious illness as early as possible. Now with the help of safe, effective vaccines, we rarely do spinal taps; I haven’t needed to do one for many years. X-ray radiation exposure has plummeted. We rarely have to traumatize infants and toddlers for blood tests. We only use a tiny fraction of the antibiotics we used to need and because of that we are not seeing a rise in bacterial resistance.

These are all serious realities mostly ignored by anti-vaccination groups. Herd immunity has protected unvaccinated kids as well, though that protection will evaporate if most people don’t get the shots. Compared to 1989 when we arrived on Whidbey, we rarely hospitalize a kid anymore, what a blessing!

Thankful to the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Washington state affiliate. They have been a strong voice for advocating the value of preventive care as well as addressing behavioral and socially based health issues.

Thankful for all the original drawings from the children which covered the clinic walls for so many years. This window into their world gave me as much pleasure, satisfaction and understanding as all the other aspects of doctoring. There is a “Dr Bob” book for pictures and comments in the Freeland office. Please make an offering of thoughts or images ( including scribbles)

Thankful for being able to supervise nurse practitioner students from UW and Seattle U in the hopes of populating rural health clinics with new providers. You taught me a lot.

Thankful for being able to live and work on this beautiful island. Please let me know what your grown kids are up to when we meet.

“Dr. Bob”

Robert Wagner MD