Student-Led Research Projects Target Healthcare Challenges

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.

RIDE: Regional Initiatives in Dental Education

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 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.”

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.

“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.

UW-GU Hub for Health Education

Gonzaga University Health Sciences

UW Spokane Center

“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 University

UW-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.

Faculty Awards 2022

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 facebook.com/UWSOMWWAMI

• 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.