03.25.24

Health Care Providers & Researchers Across WA to Receive $13.9M in Federal Funds Secured by Cantwell

Health care providers in Spokane, Pierce, Okanagan, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, & King counties to improve services for patients, boost research capacity

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that five health care facilities and one pathogen research lab in the State of Washington will receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve services for patients, make care easier to access, or boost the research capability of staff.

“By passing this budget, Congress is delivering $13.9 million in critical funding to six health institutions across the State of Washington to expand capacity and make health care more accessible – especially for our rural communities,” said Sen. Cantwell. “These projects will help cancer patients in eastern Washington find housing near treatment and expand dentistry services in Okanogan County. With this funding, seniors in Jefferson County will be able to receive care closer to home, and the Grays Harbor hospital will be able to double the number of hospital beds for patients who need acute care. I’m also pleased to announce that the University of Washington is receiving funding to support its essential viral diseases and pandemic response research.”

The funding for the projects was championed by Sen. Cantwell in the latest round of appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 passed by the Senate late Friday evening. The projects that received funding include:

  • $1.5 million for Cancer Can’t in Spokane County to build housing for patients who need to travel for cancer treatment. With these funds, Cancer Can’t plans to build two two-bedroom apartments, six one-bedroom apartments, and eight studio apartments. Cancer patients often commute to Spokane from rural Washington counties, where cancer treatments are unavailable. Radiation treatments may be needed 5-6 days a week and can last up to 6 weeks. The drive back and forth from their homes is taxing for the patient and family members providing transportation, who have to either pay for a hotel or make the exhausting commute day after day. To support cancer patients and their families, Cancer Can’t is planning to build housing for cancer patients to reside for free while receiving treatment in Spokane. Cancer Can’t has already purchased land that is easily accessible to public transportation and centrally located to treatment centers in the Spokane community. Eleven units will be used for short-term stays for oncology patients traveling for treatment. The remaining five units will be designated as long-term rentals. These long-term rentals will provide a revenue stream to pay for the units designated for cancer patients, so the program will be self-sustaining.
  • $1.5 million for Comprehensive Life Resources in Pierce County to renovate the second floor of the space, which is used to provide integrated care for people with severe mental illnesses. Comprehensive Life Resources is the first federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in Pierce County. CCBHCs aim to connect people with serious mental illnesses to behavioral health, medical, dental, and pharmacy services. Comprehensive Life Resources anticipates a 7% growth in the number of clients it serves for the first three years of moving into the building. Its medical partner, Community Health Care, will expand its services from two days per week in the current location to five days a week in the new integrated care center. The renovation will include demolition of existing walls, HVAC system improvements, fire suppression, thermal protection, bathroom renovations, window upgrades, building meeting spaces, flooring materials and installation, painting, furniture, fixtures, and equipment acquisition and installation, audiovisual equipment, electronic health records systems upgrades, and parking lot safety.
  • $2.9 million for Family Health Centers in Okanogan County to build a new dental clinic in its largest medical clinic, doubling its capacity to serve area residents. Family Health Centers offers primary and preventative health care for residents of Okanogan and North Douglas counties without regard to their ability to pay. It currently offers medical services in six locations and dental services in four locations, plus a mobile dental clinic. These communities are extremely rural, and one of the biggest care needs in the Okanogan region is dental care. There is a waiting list of hundreds of patients at each clinic location. To address this, Family Health Centers plans to co-locate a new dental clinic with its largest medical clinic in Omak. This will facilitate and augment services provided in small towns to the north and south of Omak. The new clinic will allow Family Health Centers to add 20 new dental operatories and recruit four general dentists. When built, the project will allow Family Health Centers to double the number of patients able to get dental care and support, bringing the total number of annual patient visits to approximately 20,000. U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04) also supported this project.
  • $2.5 million for Summit Pacific Medical Center in Grays Harbor County to build a 30,000-square-foot hospital expansion and 7,000-square-foot renovation. This will increase the number of acute care beds from 10 to 20, expand the current emergency department from 10 to 16 treatment spaces, allow for designated mental health treatment rooms, expand the patient waiting area, expand the imaging department to include 24/7 MRI services, add a 1,150-square-foot public access corridor, relocate the helipad to the roof for critical care patient transfers, and improve patient parking and emergency triage.
  • $2 million for Jefferson Healthcare in Jefferson County to help construct new clinic space and ten new patient exam rooms for pulmonology, neurology, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), and geriatrics care for seniors in Jefferson County.  It can be difficult for seniors in Jefferson County face difficulty to access specialty medical care because of geographic isolation. With almost an hour drive each way to the nearest locations for specialty care, including having to cross a bridge that faces routine closure during winter months, Jefferson County seniors rely on Jefferson Healthcare for most of their care. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D, WA-06) also supported this project.
  • $3.5 million for the University of Washington in King County to upgrade the facilities and equipment at its aging Biosafety Level-3 facility, which studies viral diseases and pandemic response. The facility received especially heavy use during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these investments will preserve and enhance UW’s research capacity for pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, monkeypox virus, valley fever, tuberculosis, and other new pathogens as they emerge as threats. This funding will upgrade infrastructure like HVAC and replace critical equipment.

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