Tomorrow’s doctors train today in new Richland medical center

Dr. Erick Isaacson starts to smile when he talks about what the future of medicine is going to look like.

“Delivering medical care is so complex you have to have a team to do it effectively,” says Isaacson, Kadlec Regional Medical Center’s family medicine residence program director.

Whether it’s a medical assistant, a paramedic, a doctor or an emergency medical technician, the entire breadth of a patient’s experience can be experienced at the new Wortman Medical Science Center.

Construction crews are putting the final touches on the new $17.7 million facility, and the clinic has opened its doors to the public. Within sight of Kadlec’s Richland headquarters, the new four-story building is part of a growing partnership between Columbia Basin College and the regional medical center.

Kadlec donated $3 million toward the 72,600-square-foot building. The remainder is being paid for with a loan taken out by the college.

The first floor is a working family medicine clinic, where the 18 residents can get the three years of training they need before they can begin practicing medicine on their own.

The American Medical Association reports the U.S. needs at least 40,800 more physicians by 2030, and at least one of the stumbling blocks to getting more folks into the profession is the lack of spots for them to conduct their residency.

The claim is disputed in a New England Journal of Medicine article.

Many of doctors studying at Kadlec are more likely to stay in the area when they finish their three years.

The medical center is getting ready to start its third group of six residents, bringing the amount to 18. For now, the program is expected to stay at the same size, but officials designed the building to allow for the program to expand.

Tucked away behind each of the exam rooms is a central room where the medical residents can meet with the doctor overseeing them. While for the first year, a doctor accompanies them into the room, the medical residents gain more autonomy as they advance, and they meet with the doctor before the patient leaves.

With the overseeing physician having a spot to wait, patients can leave sooner, making visits quicker and allowing them to see more patients, said third-year resident Patrick Johansing.

The new building is an improvement compared to their previous quarters, he said.

“There was just not enough room,” Johansing said. “As you go on through the program, not only are there more providers, but the providers see more and more patients. So having those extra rooms allows for quick turnaround.”

While many of Columbia Basin College’s students may end up using the building, its paramedic, emergency medical technician, medical assistant and fire science programs will be housed at the Wortman Medical Science Center.

On the third floor is an open section.

“What’s really hard to visualize here is our ambulance simulator,” said Mary Hoerner, the college’s dean for health sciences.

When it’s installed, students will be able to load a cot into it and practice taking patients to a hospital.

“Not only do we have our local paramedics, we provide continuing education for our paramedics and EMTs throughout our whole region,” Hoerner said. “We have a big continuing education component to this program.”

Along with the ambulance simulator, students will have access to simulation mannequins. While people may be familiar with the mannequins used to teach CPR, the complexity of some of the mannequins available at the college is much higher.

“Some deliver babies. All of them have hearts and pulses. Some of them talk,” Hoerner said. “If you give the simulation mannequin the wrong drug, it could die. If you don’t notice the cardiac monitor, and they’re dying, then they die.”

The building is named after longtime Kadlec CEO Rand Wortman. A medical executive who ran the medical center starting in 2000 and spent 41 years in the profession, he said it’s really gratifying to see the continuing growth in the relationship between the medical center and the college.

“I get a really good warm feeling,” he said. “The people who live in this region will have better health care from better trained professionals. I was really honored when they decided to name the building after me.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Tomorrow’s doctors train today in new Richland medical center."