Rosalia in first stages to renew clinic

Rosalia Mayor Nan Konishi has started a preliminary effort to restore a medical clinic to the town. She has contacted the Washington Department of Health and checked out other options available to get medical services into the town.

“We want to be a thriving community,” Mayor Konishi said. “A medical clinic and pharmacy is pretty crucial to that.”

Rosalia has been without a clinic for close to two years. The former clinic proprietor, Susie Small, relinquished her Drug Enforcement Agency certification at the end of October 2013, after a DEA inspection of the clinic Sept. 26 of that year. The inspection team said they found testosterone medication being kept in unlocked storage, and she opted to relinquish the certification in lieu of undergoing enforcement action.

At the time she relinquished her certification, Small acknowledged she had been under investigation for over-prescribing drugs.

Mayor Konishi said she is seeking input from the community to determine what the needs are and what people want to see. She said she has had responses that show the community is interested in expanding dental options. A dentist currently comes to town once per week, but residents would like to see a dentist in town more often.

Additionally, community responses have shown an interest in having greater access to physical, massage, occupational and speech therapy, chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, alternative health care and family medicine.

Mayor Konishi said she is communicating with residents via e-mails. She also said she feels Rosalia is in the perfect position to serve other nearby communities, including Malden, Thornton, Tekoa, St. John and others.

“We definitely serve a wider community than just Rosalia,” she said.

Mayor Konishi noted that residents of several communities traveled to Rosalia in the past to utilize the medical clinic that was there.

She added that she thought this would be “a good time” to bring in a clinic with a number of different services with the addition of the new Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane.

Floyd successfully lobbied the Washington state legislature to repeal a nearly 100-year-old law that limited medical instruction in the state to the University of Washington.

Mayor Konishi said she sees a potential health clinic in Rosalia as attractive to WSU medical students in Spokane who would be looking to complete their residencies.

“We would be one of the perfect places for them to send medical students,” she said. “What a great way to learn and serve at the same time. It just feels like the time is right.”

Mayor Konishi said there is no timeline yet for establishing a clinic and bringing a doctor to town, but she did say she is prepared to seek funding for it and do all she can to make it happen.

“I think we are better placed to pursue grant dollars as well as federal funding for rural health,” she said. “I am willing to take the time and effort to pursue those options.”

The former Rosalia clinic was located in the former parsonage of the Christian Church which had been donated to the city. The parsonage was remodeled as part of an effort under Mayor Kenneth Jacobs to get a medical office in Rosalia.

The clinic site has remained inactive since Small closed down her practice shortly after she relinquished her DEA certification.

Depending on the type of practice which could be brought to town, the clinic site could go back into use.