Health Care Provider Impact Statement for Lewis County
Number of docs in 2009: 76. That’s 10.2 physicians per 10,000 population1, the fifth-lowest rate in western Washington. Washington’s rate is 21.2 physicians per 10,000; the national average is about 20.2 per 10,000.2 Washington imports about 85% of its physicians from other states or nations.3
Health professional breakout:
---Providence Centralia Hospital employs 31 MDs, one DO and one nurse practitioner.
---Morton General Hospital employs nine MDs and one DO.
---The Veterans' Administration has three MDs and one nurse practitioner working in Lewis County.4
Number of current WWAMI Spokane medical students from
Lewis County: zero
Number of current WSU pharmacy students from Lewis County: zero
Number of current WSU nursing students from Lewis County: 12
Number of current WSU nutrition and exercise physiology students from Lewis County: one
UW School of Medicine clinical faculty in Lewis County: three MDs5
Health professionals in Lewis County who went to Washington colleges:
---Providence Centralia Hospital has seven UW School of Medicine graduates and nine doctors who served their residencies in Washington. Two others had fellowships in Washington. One physician assistant received his credentials from the UW’s program.
----Morton General Hospital has one UW medical grad; one served a fellowship in Washington.6
Centralia is a site where medical school students between their first and second years can practice rural medicine (Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program). Lewis County is currently not a medical residency site.7
Lewis County unemployment rate (Nov. 2012): 11.5% (state average 7.8% seasonally adjusted, 7.3% not seasonally adjusted) 8
Health care/social assistance employment in Lewis County 9: 2,889 (out of 23,300 jobs). It’s the county’s third-largest employer, providing about $26.6 million in payroll, about 13.1% of the county’s total payroll.
1According to the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
2UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
3Association of American Medical Colleges
4Numbers gleaned from hospital and clinic websites
5UW Clinical faculty listing: http://depts.washington.edu/fammed/clinical_faculty/listings
6Numbers calculated from hospital and clinic websites
7http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Education/WWAMI/Documents/2011%20WWAMI%20Maps.pdf
8Washington Department of Employment Security
9Washington Department of Employment Security (third quarter, 2010)
Congressional District: 3
Legislative District: 19, 20
Population: 75,600
County Seat: Chehalis
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