PULLMAN – Dr. Edward D. Smith, a 1994 Pullman High School graduate, will begin seeing patients at WSU Health & Wellness Services (HWS) Feb. 16.Smith attended medical school at Wake Forest University and did his residency in family medicine and then a fellowship in sports medicine at the University of New Mexico. “New Mexico has a shortage of doctors, so we trained as rural physicians, as if we would be the only doctor around for miles,” Smith said. “My residency concentrated on inpatient, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics and procedures. I did my fellowship under Dr. Chris McGrew, one of the best sports medicine doctors in the Southwest, and I mainly worked with the basketball team there.” Smith hopes to eventually work as a WSU athletics team physician along with HWS physicians Dr. Jeff Radakovich and Dr. Dennis Garcia.
In the last few years, Smith has practiced in rural areas throughout New Mexico in everything from hospitals to pediatrics and Indian Health Services. The past three summers he has gone to the isolated community of Cordova, Alaska, to do emergency room and hospital work. He is board certified in family medicine and board eligible in sports medicine.
“Dr. Smith’s accumulated experience with diverse populations in a variety of primary care settings made him an easy choice for this position. He pays close attention to providing quality care for his patients, and his additional expertise in sports medicine and orthopedic issues are a valuable addition to our staff,” said Dr. Bruce Wright, HWS director.
Smith is filling the position left open after the December retirement of Dr. Steven Cox, who worked with HWS for 34 years. HWS currently employs nine physicians who see over 10,000 students a year for an average of over 32,000 total patient visits per year.
Raised in Pullman since age five, Smith is proud to call himself a loyal Coug fan. “Ever since I lived in Pullman, I have been wearing my Cougar gear, have had stickers on my car, and ridiculous vanity license plates. There are a bunch of people in North Carolina and New Mexico that know about WSU that had no clue before,” Smith said. “When the WSU football team came down to play the University of New Mexico, I was so excited to see the game that I even tailgated by myself when I couldn’t find any other Cougar fans in New Mexico.”
“My mom, Carol Budi Smith, was actually a nurse at Pullman Memorial Hospital when it was still on campus. She was my inspiration to become a physician,” Smith said. “We always talked about coming back to the area. Unfortunately she passed away a few years ago. She loved living and working in Pullman; she was very involved within the community here and in Moscow, and I look forward to hopefully following in her footsteps and getting involved as well.”
