Expanding medical education and research at Spokane’s Riverpoint Campus
Goal: Quadruple the number of graduates who decide to practice in eastern Washington. You may already know three years of medical school training takes place at Spokane’s Riverpoint Campus downtown. Did you also know 80% of students who apply to the WWAMI program (a collaboration between the University of Washington School of Medicine and universities in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) are denied admission? We’re exporting hundreds of medical students out-of-state in connection with our region’s number one industry, healthcare. At the same time, the Inland Northwest faces a growing physician shortage. It’s time to expand the WWAMI program. Spokane is the right place. The University of Washington and Washington State University share a vision for expanding medical education and research in Spokane’s University District on the Riverpoint Campus. We have many of the needed assets already in place to make this a reality. We’re seeking federal and state funds to expand WSU’s Biomedical & Health Sciences Building to accommodate more medical students as well as expand curriculum.
The goal: Accommodate 100 to 120 medical students for all four years of medical school in Spokane by 2013. Initial economic impact research shows this initiative would have significant benefits for our entire region. By 2030, the annual economic impact is projected to be more than $2 billion a year, with $1.5 billion benefiting eastern Washington.
