Innovative Partnerships
WWAMI Regional Network
Regional Community Partnerships
The educational and practice network in the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region serves and trains physicians for a widely dispersed and largely rural region in the Pacific Northwest covering 27% of the US land mass. 
Compared with 19% of the overall U.S. population, 26% of the population in the WWAMI region
lives in rural areas, and over half of these individuals live in small or isolated small rural areas.
We are working to engage and form collaborative research partnerships within the WWAMI region's clinical practices based in primary care training programs.
We aim to:
- Support the creation of new research networks involving practices in the WWAMI states,
including the Family Medicine Research Network.
- Develop a bi-directional relationship between practices in the
WWAMI states and other ITHS members to ensure the relevance of
translational research for clinical practice and community members.
- Offer training to local researchers on successful research implementation and
collaboration with practice settings in the WWAMI states.
- Offer training to local researchers on translating study
findings into practice in order to improve the health and well
being of rural and underserved communities.
- Connect researchers/networks in the WWAMI states with ITHS resources.
- Educate UW faculty and ITHS members about research topics of special
interest to and communities in the WWAMI states.
These activities will be guided by Dr. Laura Mae Baldwin:
- Senior Investigator, UW Rural Health Research Center
- Professor, UW Department of Family Medicine
Dr. Baldwin brings strong ties to training programs in the WWAMI states,
and a deep understanding of rural health and health
care delivery.
Laura- Mae Baldwin, M.D, M.P.H
Professor, Family Medicine
UW Department of Family Medicine