Grant helps fund WSU residency program at Samaritan

“Our program building starts now. The grant provides access to these funds over the next three years, giving us until the summer of 2028 or potentially even the summer of 2029 before we officially welcome residents to campus and open the residency clinic.”

— Theresa Sullivan, CEO, Samaritan Healthcare

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare and Washington State University have received a $750,000 federal grant to begin planning for residency program at Samaritan. Students in the family medicine program at WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine will receive some of their training in Moses Lake. 

Theresa Sullivan, Samaritan chief executive officer, said the residency program is scheduled to start before the end of the decade. 

“Our program building starts now. The (grant) provides access to these funds over the next three years, giving us until the summer of 2028 or potentially even the summer of 2029 before we officially welcome residents to campus and open the residency clinic,” Sullivan wrote in answer to a question from the Columbia Basin Herald. 

Most physician residency training occurs in urban areas, according to a joint press release from Samaritan and WSU. The goal is to build a residency program that would provide opportunities for medical students interested in practicing in rural areas in general and Eastern Washington in particular, the press release said.  

“The WSU College of Medicine program is intentionally designed to train physicians for rural practice. We know that not all future residents will remain solely with Samaritan; however, some of these residents may choose to serve in our neighboring rural communities, which would be a win for the entire region,” Sullivan said.  

Residents participating in the Samaritan program would be practicing in a separate clinic, she said. 

“This partnership requires a full-standing continuity of care clinic for our future residents to practice in. This means, we will be developing an entirely new clinic space that will be open to the community for access to primary care provided by these residents,” she said. “While the exact location for this future residency clinic hasn’t been determined, we continue to evaluate all options including potential space within an existing Samaritan building.” 

The grant was awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. 

“This program planning and development grant from HRSA covers the initial startup costs for building this program, including costs associated with curriculum planning and development, faculty recruitment, accreditation costs, and resident recruitment,” Sullivan said. “We know there will be other costs associated with building out a rural residency clinic space for these residents to see patients and continue their training. Those costs are currently being discussed among the teams, and planning is underway.”  

Samaritan’s will be the first residency program in partnership with WSU in central Washington.  

Andrea Carter, Samaritan chief medical officer, said the program will help the hospital attract, and possibly retain, additional doctors.  

“Having a residency program often attracts more physicians, including specialty physicians to rural areas. This provides the opportunity to work within a teaching organization, allowing them to practice and train the next generation of physicians,” Carter said.