SPOKANE, Wash. Washington State University Spokane has won a grant to begin planning a multidisciplinary health care clinic for underserved populations on or near Spokane’s downtown Riverpoint campus.
The Health Sciences and Services Authority of Spokane County awarded $28,400 to fund some of the cost of writing a business plan.
The facility would provide a new place for people with little or no insurance to get health care.
WSU Spokane Vice Chancellor for Research Dennis Dyck said it also would offer interprofessional training and research opportunities for students and faculty in about a dozen health sciences programs on the Riverpoint campus. He said the goal is to instill in students a team approach to health care.
“This represents a partnership between the medical community and the health sciences programs of WSU, Eastern Washington University and the University of Washington,” Dyck said. “Hands-on clinical experience is a required component of every health profession for both students and faculty. By developing a clinic, we enhance our ability to incorporate an interprofessional experience across the curriculum.”
Though WSU Spokane submitted the grant proposal, administrators at the other universities said they fully support the clinic’s mission as a multi-institutional resource.
“Faculty members would be excited to participate in such a clinic to expose students to interdisciplinary opportunities that do not exist on campus,” wrote Byron Russell, EWU’s associate dean of health sciences, in a letter supporting the grant.
The university hasn’t decided where it would house the clinic, but will consider space on the Riverpoint campus as well as nearby.
Dyck said the business plan is needed to make the clinic financially viable and sustainable over the long term.