Development of new medical residency program gets $750,000 boost

Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and Samaritan Healthcare have been awarded a highly competitive Rural Residency Planning and Development Program grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

"This award represents a major step forward in establishing a Family Medicine Residency Program here in Moses Lake," said Theresa Sullivan, Samaritan Healthcare CEO. "Together, we look forward to advancing access to primary care and meeting the physician demand of our growing region."

The grant application was submitted in partnership by Samaritan Healthcare and WSU College of Medicine earlier this spring and received an outstanding score of 99 out of 100, highlighting the strength and quality of the proposal. This award is part of HRSA's national initiative to increase physician training opportunities in rural communities, and provides funding to support planning, program development, and accreditation steps needed to launch a rural residency program.

We received the award: now we have the task of building a residency program that matches the score and brings that quality of care to Moses Lake and greater region.

"The cooperation between Samaritan Healthcare and the college demonstrates the power of partnership in fulfilling the collective mission of supporting the health of our rural communities," said Dr. Jeff Haney, vice dean for clinical affairs at the college. "We received the award: now we have the task of building a residency program that matches the score and brings that quality of care to Moses Lake and greater region."

Historically, only 2% of residency training occurs in rural areas, despite significant health care shortages in these areas that lead to greater rates of chronic conditions, preventable hospitalizations, and more. As regional health care demands continue to increase, providing residency training will develop a path for physicians committed to ensuring quality care for rural communities this side of the state and beyond.

The residency will be WSU's second rural family medicine residency program, and the third east of the Cascades, advancing WSU and Samaritan's mutual vision to improve both health access and outcomes for rural communities.