Aims to transform community health with knowledge and resources
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) and Tacoma-based MultiCare Health Systems (MHS) are collaborating to improve the health of rural communities throughout Washington State.
PNWU will gain access to more than one decade of aggregated knowledge of the communities the university aims to serve by partnering with the State of Washington’s largest community-based, locally governed health system. Similarly, through a partnership with the mission-driven health Sciences University, MHS will have an opportunity to effectively guide the training of tomorrow’s healthcare providers.
This partnership is finding ways to strengthen the education pipeline to better recruit and retain students interested in health care and figuring out how to engage with charitable organizations aimed at improving health care in small and rural communities.
To help students to gain knowledge of the health system
Representatives from each of the non-profit organizations hope that the partnership will serve as a model for future collaborations, as well as medical education and healthcare delivery in the Pacific Northwest.
MHS and PNWU have been working together for several years on medical education. Medical students from the university train at East Pierce Family Medicine and Tacoma Family Medicine and many have transitioned to employment with MultiCare. With this new partnership, MultiCare will be able to ensure that even more students receive the right training to best meet the needs of the communities both organizations serve.
Michael Lawler, PNWU President said, “PNWU is proud to partner with an established, well-respected organization like MultiCare. Our communities need transformational change. As we partner to improve healthcare education and delivery, those communities will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
