Premera Blue Cross and MultiCare Health System Representatives Visit PNWU’s Yakima Campus
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Our Yakima campus is dotted with faces and spaces capable of revolutionizing community health. As our partnerships with MultiCare Health System and Premera Blue Cross grow, representatives from each organization visited our campus on Wednesday, April 20, to witness the shaping of our mutual missions.
In addition to the $8 million that MultiCare invested in growing our efforts to train clinicians for rural health care, Premera recently invested $5.5 million to support our rural family medicine educational pathway and training, which was developed in collaboration with MultiCare.
The comprehensive program establishes a new rural family medicine residency in Omak, WA, accepting two new residents every year. It also includes enhanced recruitment efforts, specialized curriculum to prepare medical students for their residencies, and a living stipend during students’ rural-focused clinical rotations.
Addressing the Rural Health Crisis
President Lawler Joins Premera VP and MultiCare’s Chief Medical Officer for Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce Panel
Following their campus visit, leaders from each organization visited Yakima Valley College to participate in the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce’s “Addressing the Rural Healthcare Crisis” panel.
“By partnering with MultiCare and PNWU, and getting involved in the education of the next generation of healthcare providers, we can create positive impacts across our communities,” explained David Condon, Premera’s vice president of Eastern Washington, speaking to the Chamber. “Partnership creates this ecosystem.”
“This all happened because of you,” added Dr. Lawler at the close of the panel. “Our communities believed in our ability to create change, and our ongoing partnerships are fueling that change. Together, we’re moving in the right direction.”