Posted on August 22, 2014

Dr. Elson Floyd

YAKIMA, Wash. On Monday, Washington State University President Elson Floyds daughter gave birth to his granddaughter, Victoria. He used the occasion Thursday at the Yakima Rotary Club to talk about one of his biggest projects to date at the helm of WSU.

Floyds daughter and granddaughter had accessible and immediate medical care, he said, but the same cannot be said for many Washingtonians.

We were able to go 10 minutes and she was at the hospital and her (OB/GYN) was right there with her at the same time, Floyd said. But then, I reflect on the fact that in a great number of our counties, one would have to go 40 minutes or more to see a primary care physician.

With the shortage of primary care doctors in rural communities a major issue, WSUs chief reassured Rotarians many of them Cougars that the Pullman school is working to reverse the status quo.

And Floyd believes that to make any dent in the problem, a new medical school is needed on WSUs Spokane campus.

WSU and its rival, the University of Washington, continue talking on how to proceed with the proposal, a difficult discussion since UW officials have spoken against another publicly funded medical school. WSUs medical school would be only the third medical school in a five-state region, encompassing Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Floyd described his discussions with UW as very, very intense. He told Rotarians that the state can no longer rely on just one public institution for more doctors. Yakimas Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is the only other medical school in the state, but it is privately funded.

There is room and space for us to consider a third model a third model that is much more community-based and more collaborative, he said.

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Exec talks up need for WSU medical school in Spokane