Legislation introduced last week in the form of Senate Bill 6093 and House Bill 2443 would add the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine to the Family Medicine Residency Network. The House version is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the Health Care Committee.
The network was established in 1975 to support family medicine residencies in the state and encourage the development of new ones. State law was updated in 2015 and funding provided to incentivize hospitals and clinics to expand such programs and develop new ones. The Family Medicine Education Advisory Board also was established to make recommendations on the selection of areas where affiliated residency programs will exist. University of Washington Medicine and the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences co-chair the board.
The bills in the Legislature would update the law further to call out WSU as an accredited medical school and naming it as a third co-chair to the board. This would establish clarity about WSU’s standing with the Network and aid the university in its efforts to promote the development of family medicine residencies.