The Vision of a Four-Year Medical School in Spokane: What’s Involved? Print E-mail

 

Goal: Quadruple the number of graduates who decide to practice in eastern Washington

Spokane’s Riverpoint Campus and strong health care sector already have many of the needed assets to make the medical school a reality. The enhancements that are needed include:

  • Complete the system of undergraduate medical education in Spokane by adding the second year of medical school so students can finish all four years here. 
  •  Increase capacity to accommodate 100-120 students a year in the program. 
  •  Expand and fully equip WSU’s Biomedical & Health Sciences Building (still in pre-design phase) to house the necessary classrooms and labs for medical research and teaching faculty in addition to faculty in the WSU College of Pharmacy who will collaborate in medical education and research.
  • Enhance resources devoted to developing sites and identifying physician mentors for undergraduate clerkships and graduate residencies, enabling students to complete their full educational experience in eastern Washington.
  •  Increase the number of graduate medical education residencies in eastern Washington.
  •  Timeline: Second-year students added to complete the current system by fall 2013. Building construction finished by 2013. Graduate Medical Education expansion as soon as possible.

 

Immediate funding needs/requests:

  • $250,000 project funding to expand Graduate Medical Education internship and residency slots (State legislative request funded)
  • $3.5 million increase in planning and design funds for Biomedical & Health Sciences Building Phase I (State legislative request funded)
  • $5.3 million for soil remediation site work for the Biomedical & Health Sciences Building (Federal EDI proposal pending)
  • Removal of the Federal cap on Medicare-funded residency slots

 

Significant Regional Benefits

 
“A four-year medical school in Spokane would be a catalyst for creating new and sustained growth for the entire region. The Spokane business community strongly supports this initiative and is ready to collaborate to make it happen.” –Scott Morris, CEO of Avista Corp and GSI Board Member)

Beyond addressing the State’s need to accommodate more medical students, a four-year medical school in Spokane will translate into significant benefits for eastern Washington:


• Improved health care access: Adding more physicians, particularly in rural and underserved areas will improve access across the region. Teaching and research opportunities are also strong incentives for physicians to relocate here.
• Improved quality of care: Community-based interprofessional clinical education and research benefits physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals through their exposure to the latest treatments and research opportunities.
• Sustainable economic impact: Initial economic impact research suggests Washington will see direct economic impact of over $2 billion a year, with $1.5 billion of that in eastern Washington, over the next two decades through the creation of new jobs, the growth of the health care sector, research, increased tax revenues and the ripple effect of contracts and expanded opportunities for existing businesses.