TACOMA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee took a tour of Mount Tahoma High School Wednesday morning to look at how Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) is bringing healthcare resources directly to students, thanks to a partnership with MultiCare.
The district partnered with MultiCare to open up a healthcare clinic on the school campus, which TPS Strategic Communications Manager Kathryn Mcarthy said is a big help.
“When we opened this September, we saw so many students accessing the clinic for things like sports physicals, things that are required for our high school sports,” she said. “Having a clinic on-site and the ability to do that is a natural fit for our families.”
Mount Tahoma, along with Stadium High School, hosts a Healthcare Academy, a four-year, part-time high school program that gives students the chance to learn what it takes to be a healthcare worker.
Inslee watched students interact with advanced training equipment, and learn various techniques from putting in sutures to checking blood pressure.
Inslee says that state investment in programs like this is critical when it comes to addressing the state’s shortage of healthcare workers.
“We need healthcare practitioners. The answer for that is right here in Mount Tahoma and other schools, so what we’re doing is financing this,” he explained. “The Legislature put $30 million dollars for advanced postsecondary education. We have a $4 million dollar grant that helps schools become Medicaid-eligible so they can get money to do this kind of work. This is just money in the bank when it comes to solving our healthcare problems.”
Inslee wants to see the program expanded statewide in the hopes of getting students interested in healthcare. Investing in this type of education is critical when it comes to training the state's next generation of healthcare workers, Inslee said.
“These 16-year-olds are doing things I never dreamt of doing at 16,” Inslee said. “They tell me, oh I want to be a sports medicine person, I want to be an endocrinologist or a dermatologist, so it’s already got them thinking about their careers.”