The University of Washington-Gonzaga University Health Partnership is based in what is now called the 840 Building, at the south end of the Gonzaga campus. A few years ago, it became the Spokane home for the UW School of Medicine. It’s now also the new home to the UW dental school, which began in the Spokane area in 2008. The program is called RIDE, Rural Initiatives in Dental Education. Eastern Washington University is the partner institution. It enrolls 16 new students each year, up from eight annually in 2024.
For the last month, dental school dean André Ritter has lived in Spokane to get a deep look at how RIDE operates.
This interview is lightly edited for length and clarity.…