It was only a symbolic spadeful of dirt, but last week’s groundbreaking on Jefferson Healthcare’s $21 million Emergency and Specialty Services Building (ESSB) was very significant from a community standpoint.

It represents a commitment on the part of the hospital district to provide quality health care for our community now and into the future.

“This building is not only an investment in Jefferson Healthcare, it is an investment in Jefferson County,” noted Chief Executive Officer Mike Glenn.

Glenn also observed the hospital is not alone in its drive to update and expand. Peninsula College is starting work on Building 202 at Fort Worden and will create a permanent home on the Fort Worden campus. The city is upgrading the Mountain View facility after getting approval from the voters, and in the wings are plans for a YMCA facility and a school district bond. If all come to fruition, the building projects will represent a huge investment in health care and education.

I know not everyone agrees on every aspect of these approved and planned investments, but all are necessary to create a prosperous and healthy community. With due diligence and careful planning, all will be a boon to this community well into the future.

John Schaar, a former professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, is famously quoted as saying: “The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”

In all these projects, we are creating the kind of future where we all want to live, and I for one am pretty excited about how these actions will shape the future.