WSU to open vet clinic in Spokane
Veterinary students will be trained at site
Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will bring specialized care to Spokane when it opens a clinic at the Riverpoint campus by the end of the year.
The satellite clinic will provide training to WSU veterinary students while offering outpatient care previously unavailable in the area, including advanced dentistry, dermatology and internal medicine, said Bryan Slinker, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The first tenant to sign on with the clinic is veterinarian Bill Yakely, owner of Animal Eye Clinic of Spokane, who teaches WSU classes in veterinary ophthalmology, Slinker said. Yakely will move his practice and staff into the new clinic.
“It is a very important and cost-effective benefit for us to have Dr. Yakely and his staff continue to train our students,” Slinker said. “His affiliation with teaching ophthalmology in this college extends over many years, and we are very grateful.”
More veterinarians will be contracted by the college to teach, supervise students in their senior year, and provide services at the clinic, Slinker said.
“The whole idea is to enhance veterinary education programs without being in competition with local providers,” he said, adding the clinic will provide local vets the opportunity to interact with specialists.
The clinic is being paid for with private and state capital funds.
On Jan. 30, the WSU Board of Regents approved nearly $1.8 million to renovate the former BPS Plumbing building, 218 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., which WSU owns.
The 7,000-square-foot building will provide space for four to six veterinarians, including exam, radiology and two surgery rooms. Construction, due to be competed in December, is financed by an $800,000 gift from the estate of West Richland resident Charlotte Hays and $700,000 from state minor capital funds.
Private funds will cover the rest of the cost.
The costs of the clinic’s development and operation will be paid with interest from a $2.7 million endowment from the estate of Tacoma veterinarian Bernard Pinckney, a 1944 WSU graduate.