Health Care

New simulation lab honors medical pioneer

Facility's goal said partly to attract future healers

June 30, 2016

A new clinical simulation lab that has opened on the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital campus will enable medical staff and students to experience lifelike medical situations through the use of robotic mannequins. The lab, de

Gonzaga set to host influx of UW medical students

Schoenberg Center gets upgrades as preparation

June 30, 2016

Treva Lind

Crews are updating Gonzaga University's Schoenberg Center to host 100 medical students starting studies Aug. 22, and that attendance includes the largest first-year class in Spokane undergoing University of Washington School of Medicine training. Augus

Rockwood Health System starts interventional stroke program at Deaconess

Rockwood launches interventional program at Deaconess

June 30, 2016

LeAnn Bjerken

Spokane-based Rockwood Health System has begun a new interventional stroke program at Deaconess Hospital. Located on the 11th floor of the hospital, at 800 W. Fifth, program employees treat patients who have or have experienced strokes, vascular malforma

Working out wellness plans

Spokane gets $1 million in grant money over four years

June 30, 2016

Some Spokane-area employers recently have started taking advantage of federal grant money made available to help them set up wellness programs for their workers. Spokane's share of the grant will amount to $1 million over the course of four years, from

Summit Rehabilitation opens its third physical therapy clinic here

Practice establishes office in new North Side building

June 30, 2016

Mike McLean

Spokane-based physical therapy practice Summit Rehabilitation Associates PLLC has opened a new clinic on the North Side, its third Spokane-area location. The clinic, which is outfitted with state-of-the-art physical and occupational therapy equipment, oc

St. Luke's absorbs practice, expands physiatry staff

Outpatient area remodeled, more exam rooms slated

June 30, 2016

Samantha Peone

St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute has bolstered its physiatry department and is expanding and remodeling its outpatient physiatry area, says Nicole Stewart, director of communications for Inland Northwest Health Services, which operates St. Luke's.

Providence Health, St. Joseph merger gets green light

Systems review conditions imposed by California AG

June 30, 2016

Kim Crompton

A proposed merger between Providence Health & Services, the Renton, Wash.-based parent of Spokane-based Providence Health Care, and smaller Irvine, Calif.-based St. Joseph Health has been cleared to move ahead, albeit with a host of conditions. The Calif

Bye-bye to medical marijuana dispensaries

Deadline elevates concerns for customer patients

June 30, 2016

LeAnn Bjerken

Senate Bill 5052, the Washington measure to close all medical cannabis dispensaries not licensed with the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board, will take effect this Friday, July 1. Signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee this past April, the bill, now titled

Rockwood Health owner set to sell 10 hospitals systemwide

Company might divest itself of more centers

June 16, 2016

LeAnn Bjerken

Community Health Systems Inc., the Tennessee-based hospital operator that owns Rockwood Health System in Spokane, reported during a first-quarter earnings investor call last month that it has transactions underway to divest itself of 10 hospital facilitie

â€”LeAnn Bjerken, Center for Disease Control

Zika virus poses little risk in Northwest, health district says

Pregnant women advised not to go to some regions

June 2, 2016

LeAnn Bjerken

Despite the beginning of mosquito season and rising national concerns over cases of the Zika virus, officials at the Spokane Regional Health District say there is little to no risk of an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease occurring here. The Zika vi