Bloglander

Top of the Class
It's a good week to see how Spokane measures up. For the 19th year in a row the Gonzaga men's basketball team is fighting its way through the NCAA tournament. After eking out a win on Thursday, they'll defend their No. 1 seed again on Saturday.

But GU basketball isn't the only group in Spokane with a national No. 1 ranking — and a long record at the top. Earlier this week, the University of Washington School of Medicine and Gonzaga University were cited in U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools for excellence in medical education. For the 23rd time in 24 years, the UW school, which recently joined forces with GU, is considered the No. 1 option in the U.S. for education in primary care. Family medicine and rural medicine training have been at the top of the heap — rated No. 1 — for 26 years in a row. Darryl Potyk, M.D., Chief for Medical Education at the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Regional Health Partnership noted, “This honor speaks to the quality, expertise and commitment of our talented faculty, staff and students in Spokane, and our talented clinical partners throughout the state. And without decades of support from our state legislators we would not have a medical education program, much less one that is preeminent in the U.S.”

Read more about Potyk's unique program to create thoughtful, caring physicians.

Rehab Recognized
Rehabilitation Hospital of the Northwest has been ranked among the top 10 percent of rehab hospitals in the U.S. The rehab hospital in Post Falls provides services to patients who have experienced strokes, brain or spinal cord injuries, or amputations, as well patients with diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's. Each year the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation critiques facilities based on whether care they provide is "patient-centered, effective, efficient and timely." This is the third year the Post Falls hospital as been rated in the top 10 percent of more than 780 facilities that were assessed.

Help for the Laboring
Women giving birth in Spokane are now allowed to use nitrous oxide — the same stuff dentists use to help you calm down and endure work on your teeth — to ease the discomfort of labor. Self-administered "laughing gas" does not completely block pain, but rather offers some relief of pain, as well as a calming effect. Though nitrous oxide is used by up to 60 percent of laboring women in the UW and Europe, Deaconess Hospital recently became the first in the Spokane area to offer nitrous oxide to laboring women.