Health Care Providers Impact Statement for Skamania County
Number of docs in 2009: six. That's 5.5 physicians per 10,000 population1, the 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: The North Shore Medical Group operates a clinic in Stevenson. It has eight MDs, one DO, six physician assistants and three nurse practitioners on staff.4
Number of current WWAMI Spokane medical students from Skamania County: zero
Number of current WSU pharmacy students from Skamania County: zero
Number of current WSU nursing students from Skamania County: two
UW School of Medicine clinical faculty in Skamania County: none5Health professionals in Skamania County who graduated from Washington colleges:
---The North Shore Medical Group, which has a clinic in Stevenson, has three UW medical graduates on staff; one served a residency in Spokane. It also employs two nurse practitioners who graduated from WSU's nursing school.6
Stevenson recently served as, but isn't currently, a medical residency site for new doctors. It is a place where medical students can practice their skills in a rural setting between their first and second years (Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program).7
Skamania County unemployment rate (Nov. 2012): 9.5% (state average 7.8% seasonally adjusted, 7.3% not seasonally adjusted) 8Health care/social assistance employment in Skamania County 9: 68 (out of 2,100 jobs). It’s the county’s sixth-largest employer, providing about $338,000 million in payroll, about 2% 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)