As UW President Ana Mari Cauce and Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh prepare to step down from their roles, this year’s Health Partnership Report to the Community reflects on the impact our programs have had on health care in eastern Washington during their tenure.

It has been nearly three years since UW acting professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, and drug epidemiologist, Caleb Banta-Green came to Spokane to talk about the fentanyl crisis in Spokane and eastern Washington.

Since then, there has been a surge of hundreds of new street drugs, and researchers and care providers are struggling to learn how to treat people who have used substances never intended for human consumption. Banta-Green has coined this the “era of synthetics,” and will be back in Spokane to talk more about this problem and how it can be addressed. A registration link will be available soon on the Health Partnership website.

• Spokane high school students get hands-on medical experience at UW School of Medicine // KXLY
• McCulloh, Cauce look back at developing UW–GU Health Partnership // Spokane Public Radio
• The Journal’s View: Spokane's medical education growth should be lauded // Spokane Journal of Business
• Opinion: Want a higher birthrate? Make having babies safer, more affordable // The Seattle Times