Thread by @GovInslee

I’m in Spokane today to hear about all the innovation happening throughout the community. There’s a lot of good work to celebrate here.

Today I got to tour Spokane’s WorkSource and the new Resource Center to learn about their efforts to connect members of their community with local workforce resources, as well as those for legal, housing, health care and justice. @WDCSpokane

I then met w/ Spokane electeds, law enforcement & mental health leaders on their jail diversion efforts. By using new services, like pairing police and mental health experts & a new mental health crisis center, they’re successfully diverting people away from jail & to resources.

According to Frontier Behavioral Health, in the past year, Spokane’s police officer and mental health expert teams diverted 70 percent of the 973 people contacted away from jail, the ER or psychiatric impatient treatment and instead to the behavioral health services they need.

WSU's number one wish for the 2019 #waleg session was for the funding to expand their medical school. Thanks especially to their local legislators Sen. Billing, Rep. Ormsby & Rep. @marcusriccelli, today we got to celebrate @WSUMedicine getting the $14.4 M they needed to grow.

.@WSUMedicine is already breaking barriers. 58 percent of their medical school students are women, and 25 percent are first-generation college students. That’s something to be proud of. Go Cougs!

Eastern WA needs more doctors. With this expansion, @WSUSpokane will be ready to train more Washingtonians to be top medical professionals. Students like Cassidy, @WSUMedicine class of 2022, will be the next generation of physicians bringing health care to more people in WA.

@WSUSpokane @WSUMedicine @WSUNews Today I took a virtual reality tour of the future Avista Catalyst Building, the first in Spokane University District's new innovation hub. The plans for this eco-friendly #cleanbuilding outline 150,000 sq. feet of @EWUEagles labs, office space, classrooms & study areas.

Beyond bringing research & economic development to Spokane, the Catalyst building uses #cleanbuilding tech & materials. Eco features include this cross-laminated timber, rainwater recovery, gray water, showers for bike commuters & smart building tech for max energy efficiency.

I ended the day visiting Eastern State Hospital to discuss their plans for the $33 M slated to them for improvements in the 2019-21 capital budget. They're making much-needed updates to the building that will increase safety for all and give patients a better quality of care.

I also got to tour one of the two new 25-bed wards being built at Eastern State Hospital. These will provide competency restoration services for forensic patients. I appreciate the hospital's continued work in behavioral & mental health in Eastern WA.