The Spokane chapter of the HEC brings together students from EWU, WSU, UW and Gonzaga.  We are a member of the Spokane Alliance and have teams working on the following issues

Lead Organizers

Child Health

 

Language Access

   

Leads: Domeg Moore, Delphine Zhu

The Language Access Team works to decrease healthcare barriers and improve medical care for non-English-speaking patients in Spokane and Washington. We collaborate with interpretation organizations, health systems, medical school administrations, and community members to understand challenges for these patients. Currently, we are developing workshops for medical students to learn how to utilize interpreters and better serve non-English-speaking patients. Additionally, we are pushing for prescription label accessibility for patients with limited English proficiency in WA state through legislature and rule-making. Looking ahead, we hope to continue uplifting these patients’ voices and create sustainable changes in local clinical processes, medical curricula, and the Washington State legislature. Please reach out to Domeg Moore ([email protected]) or Delphine Zhu ([email protected]) if you’re interested in getting involved. We’d love to have you!

Environmental Health

Leads: Leslie Kenefick, Kate Torareva

The Environmental Health Action team is focused on coupling improvements in environmental health and health equity in Spokane. Our call to action comes from the changing climate and its disproportionate impacts on low-income, people of color. We hope to approach these injustices through the many intersections of climate justice, including housing access, racial justice, education, and advocacy for environmental regulations. We are further interested in working towards solutions for extreme heat, smoke, and cold in Spokane, as the existing infrastructure may not be adequate to address the needs of all our neighbors. We are excited to build relationships with individuals and organizations passionate about climate justice, so please reach out to the team at [email protected] and [email protected]

Harm Reduction

Leads: Lisa Khairy, Piper Wright 

The Harm Reduction Action Team (HRA) was established in response to a shared sense of urgency and opportunity to ensure the health equity and wellbeing of people who use drugs. We are committed to learning through research and community engagement about the best practices in substance use destigmatization, harm reduction, and treatment. We are further committed to working inclusively to achieve positive structural change in Spokane and across the region.If you would like more information about our team, please email [email protected]and/or [email protected]

Racial Equity

Leads: Lensa Moen, Shayla Reed

We are medical students at the Washington State Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine (Class of 2025). As co-leads of the Racial Equity Team, we are passionate about advancing health equity and dismantling institutionalized racism that exists within medicine. One of our current projects involves bringing awareness to the new guidelines recommending the cessation of using an African American modifier when medical laboratories calculate patients’ estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Using race as a factor in determining eGFR is not based in sound scientific evidence and puts the health and lives of Black patients at risk. The race-based multiplication factor assigns Black patients as having higher kidney function, resulting in delays in referral to nephrology specialty care, as well as kidney transplantation evaluation. This also leads to late diagnoses of chronic kidney disease and impacts the correct dosing of nephrotoxic medications. The Racial Equity Team is reaching out to Washington State hospital and clinic laboratories to encourage the use of the new race-free eGFR calculation as recommended by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). If you like more information about our team, please email [email protected]and [email protected]