As a nurse practitioner and healthcare provider, I have watched healthcare become increasingly difficult for patients to navigate.

And the frustration people feel is growing.

Patients wait months for appointments.

Primary care access is limited in many areas.

Emergency departments are overcrowded.

Healthcare workers are burned out.

Insurance costs continue rising while people often feel they receive less care and less time with providers.

Families are paying more but struggling to access timely services.

And many healthcare professionals feel the system is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

This is not just a Washington issue.

But Washington families are absolutely feeling the effects.

Healthcare should not feel like an obstacle course.

Patients should not spend weeks or months trying to access basic care.

Providers should not feel trapped in systems that prioritize paperwork and administrative complexity over patient care.

And communities should not lose healthcare access because independent clinics and providers can no longer survive financially.

The people I speak with want practical healthcare conversations — not political slogans.

They want:

• access
• affordability
• transparency
• timely care
• mental health support
• support for healthcare workers
• and systems focused on patients rather than bureaucracy

Healthcare workers across the state are exhausted.

Many entered healthcare to help people and now find themselves overwhelmed by staffing shortages, administrative demands, violence in healthcare settings, and systems that increasingly feel disconnected from the needs of both patients and providers.

That is not healthy for patients or for the future of healthcare itself.

We need leadership willing to listen not only to large systems and organizations, but also to:

• frontline providers
• independent clinics
• nurses
• first responders
• patients
• caregivers
• and families trying to navigate the system every day

Because healthcare policy decisions have very real consequences in people’s lives.

And increasingly, many people feel those realities are being overlooked.

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Resources for Independent Review

• Washington State Department of Health
• Washington State Hospital Association
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Washington Medical Commission Workforce Reports
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Healthcare Workforce Data