Members of the Spokane Teaching Health Center (STHC) consortium together with community, state and federal leaders, will celebrate the grand opening of the Spokane Teaching Health Clinic at 624 Front Avenue during a ceremony Monday, Oct. 17, at 4:30 p.m.
The 42,000 square foot Spokane Teaching Health Clinic serves as a training site for new physicians and provides interdisciplinary opportunities for the region’s university students. It provides patients access to medical care and a variety of resources in a supportive, compassionate setting. Located on the campus of Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, the clinic is operated by Providence Health Care and made possible by the participation of Empire Health Foundation.
Construction of the new clinic was financed by Washington State University and is the result of a unique consortium in 2013 between the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus, Empire Health Foundation and Providence Health Care. The three entities applied for and were awarded a $900,000 federal Teaching Health Center grant to create new medical residency slots for Eastern Washington. They formed the Spokane Teaching Health Center.
U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who will speak at the celebration, joined Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington State in a bipartisan effort last year to extend the funding for medical residents beyond its initial round of grants. As a result of the federal funding, the number of residents has increased by 18 residents in Spokane.
“Bringing more general family practice doctors, OBGYNs, and psychiatrists to Eastern Washington is one of my top priorities,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers (WA-05). “This is a great chapter for our community and for the future of medical practice in Spokane and Eastern Washington.”
The clinic opened August 1 and is expected to have more than the 35,000 patient visits seen at the Providence 5th and Browne clinic which closed this summer.
