Reader thanks Dr. Randel Bunch

Thank you Dr. Randel Bunch

When I recently learned that Dr. Randel Bunch would be leaving Columbia Basin Health Association (CBHA) I was surprised, concerned and upset.

The passion Dr. Bunch has for his job and patients is apparent in the first five-seconds you meet him. I discovered this when he became my primary care provider after his father, Dr. Richard Bunch, retired from CBHA.

I am worried, not only for my family and myself, but for all of Dr. Bunches patients. Dr. Bunch is a concerned physician who doesn’t mind spending as much time as it takes to assess a his patient’s needs. He is a doctor that truly listens, cares and gives of himself, and has a strong sense of pride in all that he does. That is why it can sometimes take up to two weeks to get an appointment with him.

As so many of us know Othello has a shortage of doctors. I am not looking forward to obtaining a new primary care provider, either at CBHA or at some facility in nearby cities until Dr. Bunch decides what he will do. How do I even begin the process of being accepted as a new patient? What do I write down? How do I present my medical history? Will I be judged on my needs? If the doctor wants to fill his schedule with a one issue only type patient, will I quite simply out of luck? How do I obtain a copy of my medical records and what will it cost? I just want a doctor for my family and me that will help us in the respectful, concerned, and caring way that Dr. Bunch has, and it seems that finding that doctor will be difficult.

Dr. Bunch, you did everything you could despite difficult challenges. We are all at a loss that you’re leaving CBHA. Your patients count themselves lucky, as they not only had the benefit of your experience and expertise of the highest caliber, but they also enjoyed your genuine concern for their well-being. My husband, Steve, and I hope that you find a way to continue practicing medicine and serving your patients in Othello or other nearby cities.

May life bring you a reflection of the care and kindness you have shown to others. Thanking you doesn’t seem sufficient enough for all that you and your father have done for my family; my parents, Irvin and Frieda Johnson, my sisters, Sonja Sackmann and Julene Fleishman, my husband Steve and myself and our children, and our entire community. We wish you the best of health and happiness in your future.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

Jacqueline Sackmann

Othello