Treva Lind

As '80s tunes played and people queued up at an ice cream truck, Touchmark South Hill senior living center staff began hosing water onto a 75-foot-long orange Slip ‘N Slide Thursday for a summer camp-themed afternoon. The water feature drew a lineup of seniors seeking to slide down nostalgia lane.

At Spokane Symphony's helm since 2016, Jeff vom Saal is departing to take a job as Nashville Symphony's chief operating officer. Russ Lee, former symphony board chair, will step in as interim executive director until a search for vom Saal's replacement starts later this symphony season.

Former Frontier Behavioral Health CEO Jeff Thomas built a legacy as a key architect of the region's shift to integrated mental health care, a practice that considers both physical and mental wellbeing. A year after his death from respiratory complications, both a local university scholarship and a Frontier outpatient site are being named for him.

After decades in construction, Bert Rohrbach two years ago found what he considers the right tools to help a coworker struggling with mental health. He previously lost three close coworkers who died by suicide, but he learned in recent training to notice signs, ask questions and use intervention tools – steps he wants others in the industry to learn.

North Idaho officials issued a harmful algal bloom alert on Monday for Fernan and Avondale lakes, after recent water sampling indicates the presence of toxic cyanobacteria – previously called blue-green algae. People and pets should avoid swimming or water sports in bloom areas until the advisory is lifted, as symptoms of exposure can include rashes, hives, diarrhea, vomiting, coughing or wheezing.

Lindsey Klein felt inspired by her pediatrician, who talked directly to her during 18 years of visits. Growing up in Kent, Washington, Klein recalls how the doctor made sure she understood her health, including early severe asthma.

It's well known that wildfire smoke can hurt the lungs and heart, but now the hazy pollutant is being linked to brain harm and higher dementia risk, based on a California study of 1.2 million people.

When Madison Stoltz began baking at age 8, she quickly layered on a creative flair for cakes and buttercream frosting. A few years later, she launched her sole Spokane business, Snak Rabbit, as a bakery and now operates out of a small home kitchen  to handle special orders, sweets catered for small events and more recently treats cooked up for the Perry Street Thursday Market during most weeks this summer.

ParaSport Spokane is scrambling to find another training facility for about 200 athletes by August, when the clock runs out on a lease at Valley Christian School.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers introduced a bill this week seeking a federal study on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, caused when newborns withdraw from opioids and other substances after birth and inspired by Maddie's Place, a 2022-founded Spokane pediatric transitional care nursery. The study and report would consider the width of the problem and outcomes at four pediatric transitional care centers, including Spokane's.

A year ago in Spokane, Kane Nash at 23 weeks was born a micropreemie, what specialists call the tiniest of premature newborns, weighing 15 ounces. Parents Amber and Chris Nash were told their baby's odds for survival: a 21% chance. 

The nonprofit Cancer Pathways' day camp for ages 5-17 ran at Manito this past week. With 20 years on the state's west side, Camp Sparkle in Spokane finished a second year at no cost to children and teens impacted by cancer, either for themselves or a family member affected.

Taylor Swanson, 31, of Spokane has her sights set on Paris this summer, but not for her once-held Olympic dreams as a sprint runner. After competing about 15 years as an "able-bodied" track sprinter, she is set to go to the July 18-20 U.S. Paralympics Trials, because it was only about a year ago that Swanson learned she has cerebral palsy.

A few years after World War II, Margaret Craig Dikes told her mother about a family business idea for improving senior care, saying, "Mom, I think we can do better." That 1949 company – still operated by a third generation of family members  –  is Sunshine Health Facilities in Spokane Valley, offering longtime senior and behavioral health services, and it plans to celebrate 75 years with activities on Thursday.

MultiCare cancer center nurse practitioner Marie Brenden, 59, has a record for a 270-pound bench press. She's also a grandmother who got a pacemaker in April.

Carl Garabedian still recalls sickly, lethargic children staying at his parent's house, and then days later, those kids after heart surgeries couldn't stop running. He was struck then by his dad Hriar Garabedian's work as a pediatric cardiologist and entered the same field. Two Garabedian doctors, father and son, have since helped shape children's critical care.

After a national search for a new director, Panhandle Health District selected one of its own. Erik Ketner, first hired by the district in 2001, began the new job May 24 and was previously administrator of the agency's environmental and health protection division.

U.S. heart failure mortality is climbing after decades of a decline, and it started with a 2012-21 reversal, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Association that relied on death certificate data. It cited a peak particularly among people under age 45. Two Spokane cardiologists asked about the JAMA report said the picture is broader. One key: People are living longer after heart attacks, cardiac treatments and with other diseases that affect the heart.

When breastfeeding moms used cannabis, low amounts of the psychoactive component THC showed up in the milk they produced, a new study showed. The Washington State University-led research in testing breastmilk found no consistent time when THC peaked and then declined. Next,  a follow-up is examining potential effects, if any, on infants.

Recent graduate Jessica Murphy heard the stories describing how hard-hit respiratory therapists were among the hospital workers who battled the pandemic in 2020. They manned the ventilators for breathing when the virus caused respiratory and cardiovascular system issues and watched many patients die. Murphy felt drawn to run toward those challenges, entering the Spokane Community College's four-year bachelor of applied science in respiratory care in fall 2021.

Marble looked mellow as she strode next to Bev Gostovich outside their Spokane home Wednesday – unruffled by her performance at the recent Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The 7-year-old English springer spaniel is Gostovich's first dog to get an invitation to the Westminster Masters Obedience Championship, and Marble did her best work in an open obedience contest.

When anxiety plagued him as a college freshman, Grant Hagen leaned into one repeated thought: Keep going. The Gonzaga University student replayed that phrase in his head, across months of unexpected mental health issues. With therapy, support, antidepressants and outreach, Hagen said he finally improved later that year. He graduated Sunday. Hagen has launched a "Keep Going" information campaign.

A trip with mom to the E.J. Roberts mansion this Sunday will raise more than tea cups for Mother's Day at the historic home in Browne's Addition. With events around two tea-and-tour ticketed sessions, proceeds will help owner Mary Moltke begin restorations – estimated at $250,000. Separately, free outdoor activities are also planned. It's a joint venture with Moltke and Girls Gone Styled, a preservation and design business running the kickoff fundraiser, with plans for once-a-month events toward that goal.