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  • 7/10/12

    Grand Opening of Veterans Resource Center at EWU

    EWU Grand Opening Photo

    Dave Millet, US Army Veteran and Director of the new Veterans Resource Center at Eastern Washington University, addresses the crowd gathered to celebrate the Center's grand opening in Showalter Hall. The Center will provide critical resources and support for veterans as they transition back into civilian life and learn to navigate the university system.

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  • 4/20/12

    Today's Gas Price

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  • 3/19/12

    World Down Syndrome Day is March 21

    Guest Post by Dr. Karen Summar, Joseph P. Kennedy Foundaton Public Policy Fellow.

    Efforts to increase awareness about Down syndrome are reaching new heights.  I am very excited that the United Nations has officially designated March 21, or 3/21 as World Down Syndrome Day.  A big thank you goes to Down Syndrome International who has coordinated World Down Syndrome Day since 2006 and was instrumental in gaining the recognition by the UN.

    The 3/21 date is significant because of the underlying genetic cause of Down syndrome, three copies of chromosome 21.  Soon, the combination of 3/21 will be as easy to recognize as the wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day.

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  • 3/14/12

    Honoring Pearl Harbor Survivors
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  • 3/12/12

    PHOTO: Visiting Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus

    Microsoft

    Read more about my trip here. Visit my Flickr to view more photos.

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  • 1/9/12

    NBC Nightly News Special on Congressional Disabilities Internship Program

    My office's intern, Jessica Huizinga (and others!) were featured in an NBC Nightly News special about the Congressional Disabilities Internship Program! In case you missed it, here's the story:

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

     

    Find more information on the internship program here.

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  • 1/4/12

    The Keystone XL Pipeline

    America is Waiting for President Obama's Decision

    Learn more here.

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  • 1/1/12

    2011: The Year in Photos

    View more photos from 2011 on Flickr and Facebook.

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  • 12/15/11

    The Primary Care Workforce Access Improvement Act: My Perspective

    Guest Post by Dr. Karen Summar, Joseph P. Kennedy Foundaton Public Policy Fellow.

     

    According to the most recent information provided by the Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA), there is a shortage of nearly 6,000 primary care physicians in the US.  Like so many other rural areas in the country, Eastern Washington is especially hard hit.  In this area alone, there are 73 areas identified as having a health professional shortage for primary care.  Four counties have fewer than 10 primary care physicians per 10,000 people and one county has zero primary care physicians.  This is significantly less than the national average of 25 primary care doctors per 10,000 people.  This shortage of primary care physicians has led to limited access to medical care and long waits for services.

     

    Many different factors have contributed to this shortage.  Fewer medical students go into primary care than in previous times.  Practicing primary care physicians are aging, with an estimated one third planning to retire in the next ten years. There is evidence to suggest that traditional Graduate Medical Education (GME) model is not getting the job done for primary care.

     

    Congressmen Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) have led a bipartisan effort to introduce legislation to help remedy this problem.  The “Primary Care Workforce Access Improvement Act” explores innovative ways to promote the training of primary care doctors in rural communities by allocating a portion of GME funding toward the funding of a pilot project.

     

    Under this bill, four community-based medical education models that focus on training primary care physicians will be funded.  The funding will be allocated from the current GME budget and therefore is budget neutral.  The trial period for this pilot program is five years.

     

    Spiraling healthcare costs and decreasing numbers of primary care physicians have placed us at critical crossroads and we need a new compass to navigate these waters. The “Primary Care Workforce Access Improvement Act” is an important part of the solution to these challenging problems.

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  • 12/12/11

    PHOTOS: Wreaths Across America

    Staff was honored to participate in the Wreaths Across America Ceremony at the Medical Lake Veterans Cemetery this weekend.

    Wreaths Across America

    View more photos from December 2011 on Flickr.

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