HSSA announced today that its Board has awarded $300,000 among four Spokane area non-profits who provide innovative and collaborative heath care delivery in Spokane County. View more here.
HSSA's Board strongly supports a diverse and multi-cultural community, free of harassment and hate. The Board expressed its concerns at a recent Board meeting about incidents of harassment of multi-cultural people, students, families, organizations and others. HSSA appreciates the many multi-cultural students, researchers and faculty at area universitiess, and other members of our community, especially those who may appear different than us.
In order to help grow a robust health sciences research industry in the Spokane region, which is its mission, HSSA has invested in researchers, both public and private, and core laboratories where research may be conducted on the best available scientific equipment. Our desire is to both grow in number the research and intellectual capacity of our region, and increase the number of researchers.These researchers may just find the next cure for a disease, or a device that makes life easier for someone in treatment. These highly educated people are sought after and may literally live anywhere they wish.
If Spokane is to be successful in achieving its vision for a world-class health sciences and heath care region with great medical schools, top-notch researchers and faculty and an economic competitive edge, then we must join together to care for and support one another. This region should not and will not tolerate verbal, written or physical harassment of any kind.
HSSA cares deeply about the well-being of our community, and its rich diversity of people, cultures and religions that make Spokane a better community, and a most welcome place to live, attend school, conduct research, teach, own a business or simply be a resident, in a harassment-free environment.
Dr. Francisco Velazquez, president & CEO of Spokane-based PAML, and HSSA Board Member, has recently been featured in the Spokane Journal of Business. You may find his article on the potential economic growth in the life sciences here http://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/life-sciences-could-become-economic-engine-for-spokane/. His article about personal health technology and how it is changing the health and wellness industries and our health may be found here http://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/consumer-....
HSSA has announced that its annual "Access to Care" grant is open for applicants to submit a Letters of Interest (LOI) online at www.hssaspokane.org. The grant is for up to $300,000 for one or more non-profit and other organization who provide innovative health service delivery and increased access to health care for certain populations.
HSSA seek grants that durably increase access to health care through innovative and collaborative health care delivery in Spokane County.
"HSSA's mission includes increasing access to health care through innovative and collaborative health care delivery in the county, as well as to improve the capacity of the region to contribution to advances in research," said Nancy L. Isserlis, HSSA Board Chair.
The LOI is due by 12 noon on November 1, 2016. Applicants will apply online and receive notification from HSSA if they are to submit a full proposal, also submitted online. The full proposal is due by 4 pm on November 15th. Grants will be announced on or before December 9th.
HSSA has moved its office to the historic Paulsen Center. The address is 421 West Riverside Avenue, Suite 661, Spokane, WA 99201. HSSA's new phone number is 509.474.0798. Please don't hesitate to contact us or drop by for a visit. You may also reach us at info@hssaspokane.org, or contact Susan Ashe, Executive Director at susan@hssaspokane.org.
To those of you desiring to submit an SBIR grant application, just a reminder that the National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR grant deadline is June 16th, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) deadline is September 5th. If you need help with your grantwriting for a health sciences research grant, HSSA may be able to help fund a professional grant-writing consultant for you! Check us out at www.hssaspokane.org!
Better Health Together (BHT), was recently named an Accountable Community of Health (ACH) by Washington State's Health Care Authority, one of two in the state. Led by Alison Carl White, BHT is partially funded by an HSSA "Access to Care" grant for its Hot Spotter Program, which it has successfully grown to meet the needs of frequent users of medical emergency departments rather than primary care physicians, a costly result. Allison is being promoted to Chief Strategy Officer for Community Development under Philanthropy in Action, a newly formed entity by Empire Health Foundation (EHF). She will retain her executive director position at BHT. Meanwhile, Alisha Fehrenhabacher will serve as the Interim Director of Better Health Together programs. The BHT program will be in the new WSU Teaching Health Center on the WSU campus.
Iasis Molecular Sciences, an HSSA grantee, was recently informed of a nearly $2 million award by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), that will fund research on Iasis' next generation urinary catheter, in collaboration with the Department of Urology, St. Joseph's Hospital, Ontario, Canada. Healthcare-associated infections, specifically catheter-associated urinary tract infections, are a serious complication for wounded war fighters.
Spokane's Prescription Drug Assistance Network (SPAN) is featured in the April edition of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy in an article titled "Connecting Patients to Prescription Assistance Programs: Effects on Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization." The research that led to the publication was conducted by Spokane researchers and health care experts, and concludes that since its began its work it has resulted in a 51% decline in the rate of Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization. SPAN has brought to patients more than $15 million worth of prescribed medicines from national sources since it began. Its ROI is 18:1. It receives referrals from 62 entities, utilizes over 38 different pharmaceutical companies and obtains over 115 different medicines. This is another HSSA-funded success story. A key leader in the creation of the SPAN. now a statewide entity, is Spokane's own Dr. Sam Selinger. Dr. Selinger was instrumental in the founding of the former Project Access which brought health insurance to thousands of Spokane citizens who either had no insurance or were underinsured. It was an excellent program prior to the national Affordable Care Act.
WSU's Board of Regents announced on March 25th that Kirk Schulz, the current president of Kansas State University, will be the new president of WSU."President Schulz's colleagues consistently praise his integrity, passion for the job, and belief in the transformative power of education," said Regent's Chair Ryan Durkan. During his tenure at KSU, Durkan moved the institution from the "very high research activity" classification in 2010 to the "highest research activity" in 2015 rankings by the Carnegie Foundation. Schulz replaces Dr. Elson S. Floyd, who served as WSU president for eight years and died last June following a several months' battle with cancer. The Elson S. Floyd Medical School on the Spokane health sciences campus is named after him.
Dr. Thayne McCollogh, Gonzaga University president, announced in late February that Gonzaga and the University of Washington had signed an agreement to enhance and expand medical education and research in Spokane. The unique public-private partnership intends to provide a regional community-based medical education program and to advance health related research, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary health sciences teaching in Spokane.
Former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen just announced an initial commitment of $100 million to Frontiers Group, which will fund out-of-the-box scientific research around the world. The first funded projects were four "Allen Distinguished Investigators" and the first two "Allen Discovery Centers" at Stanford and Tufts universities. He plans to announce additional Discovery Centers over the next 10 years. Frontiers founding executive director, Tom Skalak will be housed in the Allen's Institute new building on South Lake Union in Seattle. Read the full story here.
On the other side of the U.S. in Asheville, NC, The Collider has been created for "really big ideas" around climate change, sitting on a "possible gold mine of innovation" in which The Collider sees climate change as an opportunity. Its intent is to nurture and support entrepreneurial, market-based solutions to climate challenges, which requires public and private interests to come together in unique ways. Read the full story here.
