WSU’s Spokane Agenda
2009-2011
State Budget Requests
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Operating
Budget
1.
Protect the university’s maintenance-level budget
2.
Riverpoint Health Sciences Comprehensive Plan $1 million
Washington State University requests $1 million to lead a comprehensive planning
process to expand academic health sciences in biomedical research, instruction
and public service at the Spokane Riverpoint campus. The planning process, to be
completed by December, 2009, will provide a framework and realistic timeline for
growth of programs and facilities in Spokane through the University of
Washington including the UW Medical School of Medicine, Eastern Washington
University and WSU. At a minimum,
the planning shall address critical state workforce shortages, expand clinical
practices and advance
biomedical research and
commercial enterprises around Spokane’s existing healthcare infrastructure. The
planning will be conducted with all three academic institutions and extensive
Spokane community participation. Planning shall be in collaboration with
hospitals, health care providers, and clinics. It will strive to be consistent
with Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), the Downtown Spokane
Plan, the Spokane University District planning processes, and others.
3.
Fast-Track Nursing $1.008 million
This ground-breaking program compresses the time to graduate from 24 to 15
months, focusing exclusively on students who have obtained a baccalaureate
degree and who now want to pursue a nursing career. The year-round,
fast-track model, will enable WSU to admit 24 new nursing students to the
program each May and quickly infuse them back into Washington’s healthcare
workforce just 15 months later. This
Fast-Track proposal is part of WSU’s system-wide enrollment requests. Among
other aspects of WSU’s enrollment request include
increasing Spokane enrollments in its nursing PhD program by 15 students and
graduate 10 new students in Health Policy Administration.
4.
Healthcare Informatics
$2 million
A state biennial operating
package for new research and master’s degree graduates in health informatics at
Spokane is requested by Washington State University and the Inland Northwest
Health Services (INHS), a private non-profit organization. Health Informatics is
the use of information technology in health
care such as telemedicine and electronic medical record (EMR) systems. This
research and technology will be used to improve clinical care, safety, quality
and cost. The request is for a director, three research faculty and support
including four graduate research assistants.
5.
Contract Research Laboratory Pilot/ASL $ 1.3 million
Washington State
University requests $1.3 million for four staff research scientist positions to
augment the Applied Sciences Laboratory in Spokane and to convert it into a
prototype
“Contract
Research Organization” to perform research for
private businesses and federal agencies. The proposed contract research
organization model combines the creativity of academic research with the agility
and customer focus of private industry.
The Applied Sciences Laboratory model would be a pilot
program at WSU Spokane that could be implemented by other disciplines at WSU
campuses in the future. The
university fully expects that this request will be matched within two years by
at least $6 million in funds from federal and private grants and contracts.
6.
Spokane Satellite Veterinary Specialist Teaching Unit
$204,0000
Maintenance and operation funds are requested for an innovative private-public
fourth-year veterinary specialty teaching clinic to open in Spokane in 2009 that
is made possible by a veterinarian’s estate. The building is a former plumbing
business (BPS Supply) on Trent. The building will serve 70-100 veterinary
students and bring specialized veterinarians to Spokane in ophthalmology,
dermatology, and dentistry.
Capital Construction Budget
1.
South Campus Facility Renovation (Phase II) F.O. Berg Building
$4 million
WSU’s state funding request to renovate the Riverpoint South Campus Facility
(Phase 2), will free up space in the Health Sciences Building for growth and
development of highly sophisticated biomedical and science research, and health
science programs. This project will upgrade and develop the interior of a
single-story, high bay, brick masonry and heavy timber warehouse facility,
located on the southeastern portion of Spokane’s Riverpoint campus. It is an
appropriate and cost effective solution to providing critically needed space for
growing programs. This project will allow the continued build-out of sleep
research simulation laboratories.
2.
Riverpoint Biomedical & Health Sciences Building
$250,000
Pre-design of $250,000 is requested for the building that is a joint WSU/EWU
request to address research and instructional program growth in the health
sciences. The building includes space to
consolidate WSU health science programs, to expand biomedical research including
an animal research facility, to house contract research operations such as the
Applied Sciences Lab and to strengthen infrastructure for high performance
computing. The Biomedical and Health
Sciences facility will also strengthen interdependent program and research
connections between WSU Pullman and WSU Spokane (the WWAMI medical program, for
instance), and initiative associated with new federal funding, the Life Sciences
Discovery Fund and private partnerships. Total project cost is estimated at $45
million for 86,000 square feet.
3.
Veterinary Medical Research Building $7.4 million.
Design funding is requested
in the 2009-2011 budget to prepare for construction in 2011-2013 to get
neuroscience, cardiac muscle, and bioengineering research and education out of
old, crowded antiquated space. It is
the number one capital priority for WSU’s Pullman campus (#2 overall.) The
university has identified it as crucial to the success of innovative biomedical
research and high-demand undergraduate, graduate, and professional education
programs of the College of Veterinary Medicine and of related programs and
collaborators in bioengineering and animal science. There are 35-40 faculty biomedical researchers to be moved to this building,
along with the approximately 200 graduate students, post-docs, and technicians
that participate in the research. The faculty are among the most successful and
productive scientists at WSU. About
100 undergraduate students per year also have their education enriched by
conducting research in these labs. Because of the health sciences emphasis, some
of these programs like sleep research work closely with WSU Spokane scientists.
For more information, contact Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
360-534-2333
ganders@wsu.edu
