Health care in northeast Washington

While Newport supports a hospital and new care center, the communties in north Pend Oreille County struggle to hire a single doctor.

Section:Gallery

Fri., Sept. 27, 2019

The former Mt. Linton Hospital in Metaline Falls, Washington. After closing in 1988, the building served as a motel.

Arielle Dreher The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
The now-closed motel that used to be Mount Linton Hospital sits right across the bridge on Highway 31 in Metaline Falls.
Metaline Falls in northeast Washington just shy of the Canadian border was originally founded to supply labor for mining and cement manufacturing. The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 20.

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Metaline Falls’ sleepy main street, pictured in 1999.
This is a 1965 aerial photo of the Ione Lumber Company, at Ione. The mill began operation in 1947, owned by William Sinn. The mill at one time had a capacity of 60,000 board feet per shift, with a crew of 24. The mill was closed in 1995. As resource-based businesses in northeastern Washington have dried up, so too have health care options for area residents.
This is American Zinc, Lead and Smelting company's Grandview Mine and Mill operation in the Metaline district northeast of Spokane. Thee mines used to operate in the Metaline district. The last one closed this summer.
Miners pose in the Grandview Mining tunnel in this file photo. The mining industry around Metaline Falls meant there was a need for good health care in the region.