SPOKANE — Sen. Michael Baumgartner and Rep. Marcus Riccelli say they will introduce bipartisan legislation next year to support a new Washington State University medical school in Spokane.
The Spokane lawmakers held a news conference Tuesday to announce their plans to change a 1917 law that limits medical education to the University of Washington. WSU is seeking state approval to open its own medical school, which would focus on increasing the number of physicians practicing in underserved rural areas.
Baumgartner, a Republican, and Riccelli, a Democrat, say WSU’s proposal is a way to expand medical education to underserved areas of the state.
The University of Washington is the only public medical school among the five states, and it enrolls 120 Washington students each year.
UW had opposed WSU’s proposal, but leaders from both schools have agreed to independently pursue their respective proposals to meet the state’s medical education needs and physician shortage.
