Giving

 The Need

Where in the world will you find a place that has a higher post-neonatal mortality rate than Ecuador, Indonesia or Vietnam?  You will find it among the Pacific Northwest rural communities.

How far from Seattle would you need to go to find a place that has fewer doctors per capita than Afghanistan, Mexico, Cambodia, Bolivia or Kenya?  A day's drive will put you in Idaho or Montana where small communities have no doctors and no access to basic primary health care.

Whose neighbors suffer from significantly lower immunization rates and have little or no access to primary health care?  It is the men, women, and children of the Pacific Northwest who live outside the major urban centers.

It is not necessary to travel outside the United States to developing countries to find Third World health care. It is right in our backyard . . . no more than a few hours away from where you are now sitting--Pocatello, Idaho;  Colville, Washington; Valley Falls, Oregon; Homer, Alaska; Havre, Montana.

Fewer and fewer communities in the non-urban Pacific Northwest have local physicians to provide primary health care.

It is not a question of "if" one must travel for health care in the rural Northwest, but "how far." Family doctors are needed.

The root cause is two-fold:   (1) With only two medical schools serving five states and a total population of nearly 13 million, the Pacific Northwest graduates less than 300 doctors per year--fewer new physicians per capita than any other region of the United States. (2) Those physicians who are trained and practice in the Northwest are concentrated in larger cities far from the smaller outlying communities where they are vitally needed.

It will only worsen.  For example, 50 percent of Alaska's physicians are over age 55, a situation similarly shared by Montana and Idaho.  When today's rural and small-town community doctors, few as they are, close their practices and retire, today's serious problem becomes tomorrow's critical one.

The Fundamental Solution

The solution is to train more physicians who will practice their profession in the rural, underserved areas of the Pacific Northwest.  To do this, the Pacific Northwest needs another medical university.

The Pacific Northwest University based in Yakima, Washington, in the heart of this medically underserved population, this new medical school will make a significant contribution toward solving Washington and the Pacific Northwest region’s health care crisis.

PNWU-COM is dedicated to attracting young men and women from the rural, small cities and communities in the underserved areas of the Pacific Northwest region, offering more affordable tuition rates, and developing community-based scholarship programs for these students.  PNWU will utilize rural and community hospitals and physician preceptor clinics for student clinical rotations and residency programs as part of its comprehensive community and campus-based educational curricula.  The training of students in the very environments in which they will ultimately practice is our goal.

Library Donations

A one-time opportunity exists for physicians to support the PNWU library and the training of our students.  Physicians may purchase books and have their name inscribed inside the book as being the donor.  After selecting a book (first choice, second choice or third choice), please send a check to PNWU, 111 University Pkwy, Suite 202; Yakima, WA  98901.  You will receive confirmation of your purchase.  Remember this is a tax deductible contribution.