SPOKANE, Wash. — The Children’s Transition Clinic Project, a new health clinic to serve homeless and low income children and families in the Spokane area, will open to the public for the first time this month with a community open house on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 1-5p.m., at the YWCA, 829 West Broadway Avenue.
The clinic is a collaborative project between the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education, and the Community Health Association of Spokane. Its client base includes an estimated 10,000 children without health insurance in Spokane. Typical services will include physical exams, immunizations, laboratory tests and health education.
The nurse-managed clinic, with a capacity to serve about 4,000 clients a year at startup, will be staffed by a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse, as well as faculty and students of the ICNE. Each week, the ICNE will operate the clinic for two days, CHAS will operate the clinic for two days, then both will share a day. Billing and financial management of the clinic will be handled by CHAS.
The clinic was the vision of Gail Synoground, who, together with ICNE faculty colleague Margaret Bruya, will serve as manager of the clinical component of the project.
“The real world is truly the best classroom,” Synoground says of the clinic’s “service learning” aspect. “This project gives tomorrow’s nurses a chance to be in on an exciting project from the very beginning, to really make a difference in the world, and in themselves, by helping others,” she says.
Bruya points out that nearly one-third of American children grow up in poverty. “These children lack adequate education, job skills, and basic family support systems, in addition to lack of adequate health care,” Bruya says. “This clinic will specifically target this great need.”
The design of the ICNE/CHAS Clinic resulted from a competition among students at the Washington State University at Spokane Interdisciplinary Design Institute. The design of Vivian Chang was selected from 15 submitted.
The ICNE/CHAS Clinic is funded completely by private donors. To date, they have contributed approximately $100,000 and include Foundation Northwest, Shea Construction, Goodale & Barbieri Company, MSC-Premera Blue Cross, Spokane Rotary Club, Women Helping Women, the Wasmer Foundation, NextLink, the Helene Fuld Health Trust, Dr. Carolyn Adams, Dave & Linda Shea, and Barbara & Paul Redmond.
The ICNE/WSU College of Nursing is the nation’s oldest nursing education consortium. Formed in 1968, the ICNE provides nursing education to students enrolled through Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Washington State University and Whitworth College.
tma203-98
