The Senate Health Care committee held a hearing and passed SB 5909 today, a bipartisan proposal intended to comprehensively address the critical need for primary-care access and healthcare-workforce shortages in Washington’s rural and underserved communities.
Specifically, the proposal would:
- Expand the UW School of Medicine and Dentistry in Spokane to train more rural doctors and dentists at about half the cost of the national average. The legislation would, over time, expand the number of UW medical school slots in Spokane from 40 to 120 students per year, providing greater opportunities for Washington students to have access to medical school in their home state. The UW is also directed to increase the number of dental students from 8 to 30 students per year at its dental program in Spokane; 90 percent of the program’s graduates practice in rural and underserved areas across Washington.
- Increase investment in residency programs, the greatest predictor of where medical school graduates will stay and practice medicine, to encourage students to stay and practice not only in eastern Washington but in other rural and underserved areas of the state. Subject to state funding, the legislation would increase the number of family medicine residency positions, including positions for osteopathic providers, in underserved areas.
- Fund loan-repayment and scholarship opportunities for students who choose to serve in rural and underserved communities. Underserved communities would be provided additional resources to recruit and retain qualified health professionals. The legislation also would fund a rural medicine incentive program for students to help remove the financial barriers related to practicing medicine long-term in healthcare shortage areas.
Watch video via TVW’s website of testimony in support of the proposal from UW State Relations, UW School of Medicine, and UW School of Dentistry. Greater Spokane, Inc. testified in support of the expansion of UW School of Medicine in Spokane, which is included as a priority community initiative in their annual legislative agenda. The Washington State Medical Association also testified in support of increasing investment in residency programs.
Four current first year UW School of Medicine students also made the trek to Olympia today to register their support for the proposal. Watch video of the student panel’s testimony in support of SB 5909 via TVW’s website.
