It might be hard to believe that some areas in the US don’t have access to adequate healthcare—but it’s an issue even across the areas that Avista serves. For an area to be considered “underserved”, issues such as infant mortality rate, poverty rate, percentage of elderly, and the primary care physician to population ratio are taken into account. With the new Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane, we can help make a difference in this important issue.
Investing in the communities we serve has always been important to us, so to address this need, the Avista Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to the community-based medical school for two endowed scholarships. These scholarships will work in concert with the mission of the university to train professionals to practice in areas of Washington state that are considered medically underserved. Each year, two students from the College of Medicine will be selected by the university to receive the scholarship awards.
So far in 2017 the Avista Foundation has provided grants totaling $213,250 to support 23 human care services, educational, economic and community vitality organizations. The Avista Foundation is a separate, non-profit community investment program of Avista Corp., providing funding to non-profit organizations addressing the needs of communities and citizens we serve.