Our UWSOM and GU graduates are working as medical and health professionals, advancing our vision to increase health and prosperity in communities throughout eastern Washington.
Meet Lexie Graham, MD
Employer/roles:
• Internal medicine primary care physician and Medical Director of Student and Resident Education
• Confluence Health, Wenatchee
Seven years after the UW School of Medicine – Gonzaga University Health Partnership was formed with a vision to transform the health, well-being, and prosperity of the region, it is living its mission every day — to promote greater health through education, research, and innovation, while preparing our region’s next generation of healthcare providers. The combined strengths of each University, and the synergy generated through a nexus of students, faculty, healthcare and health sciences partners, creates a greater impact than each partner could accomplish alone.
UWSOM’s 50+-years of delivering top-ranked, world-class medical education, combined with GU’s legacy as an exemplary learning community educating students for lives of leadership and service, attracts, grows, and keeps the next generation of healthcare professionals serving patients throughout eastern Washington.
The new Health Partnership building is home to 120 UW medical students and used by more than 500 GU undergrads in nursing and health sciences. Thirty-plus UW MEDEX Northwest physician assistant students attend classes in the adjacent SIERR building,
forming a growing cluster of academic and research institutions in the Health Peninsula. Students from a variety of health science disciplines create synergy for interdisciplinary education, mirroring the working environment in healthcare.
“Integrating the Human Physiology department into this Partnership allows us to contribute to the rapidly evolving fields of health care, science and technology more than ever before. I am so grateful to be among the first students to learn here.”
My Medical Education: Excellent
UW-GU Health Partnership’s Impact:
“I truly believe that especially for medical students who want to go into primary care or rural care there is no better program than UWSOM in which to train.
Through our partnership, a strong foundation for scholarly research has been established. Second-year medical school students address issues facing rural health through hands-on research projects and GU undergrads work with GU and UWSOM faculty through the McKinstry Fellows Research Program to explore issues and barriers to health.
To help future physicians more easily step into leadership roles, UWSOM and GU’s School of Leadership Studies have partnered to conduct a pathway that pairs leadership development with medical education, offering students leadership training, mentoring and practical applications.
Faculty and students in the Health Partnership are forming groups that facilitate targeted learning and social connections, such as a Pre-Med Forum, and Running Club.
The UW School of Dentistry’s Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE), which trains dentists to meet the needs of rural and underserved populations in the state and
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The opportunities we had to learn and experience medicine in diverse locations and settings across the WWAMI region allowed for amazing breadth and depth of education, and often with more hands-on learning directly from attending physicians than what would be available in most other programs. It is so rewarding to be able to give back and precept the UWSOM third-year students who come to Wenatchee for their Internal Medicine clerkship. These students are bright, engaged, caring and hardworking – it is a joy to see them develop their clinical skills and to help them on their path to becoming our future doctors and colleagues.”
“The UW-GU Health Partnership provides three key areas of tangible benefit to the community: Training the next generation of providers with a unique regional perspective, thus improving access to care, providing research and encouraging innovation that will improve health outcomes and have a positive economic impact, and enhancing the appeal of the area as a life and health sciences destination.”
Francisco R. Velázquez, M.D., S.M., F.C.A.P. Health Officer | Administration Spokane Regional Health District“The UWSOM-GU Health Partnership will bring students and physicians alike to Wenatchee and make for a healthier, happier community.”
Rory McFarland
First-year medical student
Evan Nessen, GU Senior, Human Physiology
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Meet Molly Gilbert, MD
Employer/roles: Director Graduate Medical Education, Providence SHMC, Spokane
• Spokane Teaching Health Clinic residency training programs
Associate Professor Clinical Medicine, University Of Washington School of Medicine
NCAA Team Lead Physician Gonzaga University Athletics
Looking to thoughtfully grow graduate medical education with collaboration from our community health system and undergraduate medical education partners
My Medical Education: Outstanding
UW-GU Health Partnership’s Impact: “The opportunity to be involved in undergraduate medical education in Spokane has been tremendous. The students are so wonderful and to get to share all that Spokane has to offer is very rewarding.
As immediate past Program Director for Family Medicine Residency Spokane, it has been exciting to see medical students from the partnership become resident physicians and stay in our community. This will have a lasting impact on the health of our community members and communities overall - what a wonderful gift!”
Meet Brianna Higashihara
Employer/roles:
Full time student at UW’s MEDEX Physician Assistant program
Volunteer ambulance emergency medical technician in Deer Park, Wash.
My Medical Education: Diverse
UW-GU Health Partnership’s Impact: “After graduating from the human physiology program at GU in 2019, I put down roots in Spokane. The UW-GU Health Partnership allowed me to attend my top choice physician assistant program while still staying in Spokane.”
Meet Kelly Witte
Employer/roles:
• Physician Assistant in Family Medicine at NewHealth Colville Community Health Center
My Medical Education: Thorough
UW-GU Health Partnership’s Impact: “It was nice to have a space designated for MEDEX, more interaction with the medical students and see the positive effect on all students as a result of a more study friendly atmosphere.”
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improve access to care in rural communities, has requested legislative funding to support its move to the building’s fourth floor, hoping to expand the building’s health ecosystem. Together we are stronger and so are the communities we serve. We welcome your comments and suggestions via the QR code on page 4 of this report.
• A new state-of-the-art building serves as a hub for medical and health education, research and innovation for more than 500 UW School of Medicine (UWSOM) and Gonzaga University (GU) students, faculty and staff.
• GU undergrads enrolled in anatomy and physiology courses participate in sessions guided by UWSOM professors in UW’s Anatomy Lab
• GU undergrads are spending summers working in world-class lab settings with high-level mentors at UW Medicine in Seattle as part of a UW-GU research initiative that creates opportunities for GU students to gain exposure to careers in areas of medical, biomedical and health sciences research.
• McKinstry Fellows Research grants support career-connected learning with
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2016 UW President Cauce and Gonzaga President McCulloh announce the formation of the UW-GU Regional Health Partnership. 60 first-year and 40 second-year medical students began taking classes on Gonzaga’s campus.
2017 UW-GU celebrated its first white coat ceremony as Health Partners. Partnership launched the Next Generation Medicine lecture series.
2018 Summer Research Program established to provide Gonzaga undergrads a 10-week volunteer research experience at UW Medicine in Seattle.
“The UWSOM-GU Health Partnership provides opportunities for medical students to train in Wenatchee, and in doing so, encourages and attracts the next generation of physicians interested in serving the region.”
Allison Kane
Allison Kane, Second-year medical student
Finding solutions to healthcare concerns is what medicine is all about, and recently several Spokane students tackled tough topics as part of ongoing research projects with the potential to positively impact outcomes.
Second-year UWSOM student, Noah Ircink, investigated how transportation barriers impacted the management of chronic disease in Grand Coulee, Wash.
In 2010, Coulee Medical Center built a 6,000-square-foot hospital at its main location. Ircink asked Dr. Sam Hsieh, a general surgeon, how the new facility improved patient care. He replied, ‘It only helps the people who can get here,’ Ircink recalled.
Ircink learned that if patients don’t have a means of getting to the hospital many miss their medical appointments.
“When I was working in the clinic, an elderly
woman explained that she hadn’t received follow-up care because she had to choose between gas money or groceries,” said Ircink.
His research showed that ride-sharing programs rather than gas vouchers provided easier access for most patients.
GU undergrads Alyssa Bienfang and Emma Horton worked on a project aimed at reducing the frequency of hospital-acquired infections.
The pair were part of a team led by GU’s Dr. William Ettinger that created a catheter lock solution similar to heparin, but with antimicrobial properties to decrease the number infections.
Bienfang relished the experience of trouble -
underserved areas using the UW School of Medicine’s template for the 50+-year-old WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) regional education program. WWAMI recruits medical students from each of the five states with the intent to return them to their communities as medical providers.
The demand for dentists in Washington’s rural communities is never lacking. The UW School of Dentistry gives a select cohort of students the tools to practice in outlying areas through RIDE.
RIDE was established in 2008 to train dentists for Washington’s rural and
Upon acceptance to the UW, eight dental students are selected to form their class’s RIDE cohort. These students often come from rural communities since they’re more likely to want to return to those communities to practice.
shooting and the collaborative process in the lab, and said the research opportunity further fueled her desire to attend medical school. Horton agreed and is excited about the positive potential of their work. “This solution could significantly improve patient safety and ensure good patient outcomes.”
“The UW-GU Health Partnership is a profound demonstration of the important commitment to high-quality, cost-effective medical education for our region. This collaborative, community-inspired approach to training is instrumental in helping meet our region’s health care needs today and tomorrow.”
one of multiple community health clinics across the state.
After spending the next few years back in Seattle with the rest of their class, the RIDE students return to the communities where they served their rural rotations for a fivemonth clinical rotation before graduating. This time they go back not as assistants, but as fully fledged dental practitioners.
“The collaboration and bond forged by UW and GU is helping to address health inequities in Spokane by educating a new generation of health care and medical professionals who can help improve the community.”
RIDE students spend their first year at the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Riverpoint Campus in Spokane, taking the same dental classes as their Seattle campus counterparts. In the summer after their first year, they go on a four-week rural rotation serving as expandedfunction dental assistants at
RIDE is fulfilling its mission – 81 percent of its graduates work in rural or underserved areas. Currently, the UW is awaiting word from the Washington state legislature on funding approval for the RIDE program to occupy a portion of the fourth floor in the new UW-GU Health Partnership building. This funding would also double the size of the RIDE program cohort and allow students to remain in Spokane for their second year of dental education.
2019 The Partners announced an agreement with McKinstry to develop a new facility that will become home to the UW-GU Health Partnership.
The Partnership was rebranded as the “UW-GU Health Partnership” to reflect its vision and mission.
“This new building further strengthens the UW’s commitment to Spokane and our health partnership with Gonzaga. We’re proud to partner with them and with clinicians around the region to train the next generation of doctors and healthcare providers who will provide excellent care to patients in eastern Washington and beyond.”
– Ana Mari Cauce, President University of Washington
“As a member of the Washington State Senate, I support the innovative UW-GU Health Partnership that’s working to improve the health of our region.”
Sen. Jeff Holy 6th Legislative District
“Since 2016, the UW-GU Health Partnership has ensured the continued and enhanced accessibility of medical and health education in the community in which we live and we serve. Spurring research and innovation, this partnership has advanced the well-being and prosperity of our region, preparing the next generation of health care professionals. The opening of our new, shared facility this past fall continues to afford us this opportunity and is testament to the spirit of collaboration at the heart of this Partnership.”
– Thayne M. McCulloh, President Gonzaga UniversityUW-GU Health Partnership in Action (cont. from page 2) for GU undergrads. Jake Deckert, Ph.D., teaches first-year UWSOM courses in immunology, biochemistry and cellular physiology and instructs full-time in GU’s Human Physiology program. Jennifer Towers, M.S., advises medical students and leads the Leadership Pathway, an innovative collaboration between UWSOM and GU pairing leadership development with medical education.
“The greatest value and impact for our region from the UW-GU Health Partnership has been their multiple contributions to raising the level of healthcare quality within our urban communities and throughout our rural areas in eastern Wash., all while growing our regional economy.”
Stacia Rasmussen, PMP Health & Life Sciences
Business Development Manager Greater Spokane Inc.
American College of Physicians –
Washington
Matthew Hollon, M.D., Laureate Award
Michael Kerkering, M.D., Full-time Faculty Clinician-Educator of the Year
Megan Roberts, M.D., FACP Hospitalist of the Year
Rachel Safran, M.D., FACP Golden Apple Award
Gonzaga University
Kevin Measor, Ph.D., University Faculty Award for Academic Citizenship; Career Compass Award
Newport Community Hospital
Geoff Jones, M.D., 20 Years of Service Award
Shikany Foundation Teaching Excellence
Award
Clint Hauxwell, M.D.
UW School of Medicine WWAMI
Pro Awards
Tonja Brown, M.A.
Charles Charman, M.D.
Darin Eckert, M.D.
Zach Gallaher, Ph.D.
Ted Sousa, M.D.
Michael Stephens, M.D.
David Stoddard, M.D.
“The new spaces have provided a host of benefits for the Human Physiology program. Students have begun to make this their ‘home’ on campus, and it makes a great spot for faculty to have the close one-on-one interactions with students that we prize in our program.”
Ryan McCulloch, PhD
Department Chair, Human Physiology Gonzaga University
collaborative research teams of students and faculty mentors from UWSOM and GU to study health-related issues through rural and community-based research.
• To encourage habits to make healthier, happier healthcare workers, UWSOM and GU students formed a Running Club, and have instigated other social gatherings.
• Shared faculty members Zach Gallaher (UWSOM biological structure) and Kevin Measor (GU biology faculty), both Ph.D.s in neuroscience, use their expertise to share teaching duties for the neuroscience module of UWSOM’s Foundations Phase for medical students and neuroscience course
• UW-GU’s new Certificate in Health Care Leadership helps working health care professionals develop leadership skills. The cohort-based program empowers participants to lead individuals, teams, and organizations effectively.
• A community-based health education lecture series — Next Generation Medicine — showcases UW Medicine research experts and local healthcare leaders to address health-related topics of interest to the community.
• First-year UWSOM students led a Pre-Med Forum for GU’s Human Physiology Club to share their knowledge and experiences learned from applying and successfully matriculating into medical school. Students plan to host more collaborative events and build relationships among their groups.
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