The Community Health Association of Spokane (CHAS) formed in 1994, and a year later it opened a single clinic with two exam beds and a desire for a healthier Spokane. Now, as CHAS Health marks its 30th anniversary on Sept. 8, it’s grown to 25 locations with nearly 2,000 employees providing medical, dental and behavioral health care. Over the years CHAS opened facilities around the Inland Northwest to ensure care was available. In 1999, the organization opened a clinic in the Valley (Spokane Valley wasn’t its own city yet), in 2005 it opened a clinic in Deer Park and then in 2009 it opened a health center in Lewiston, Idaho – its first location in another state. CHAS has also begun operating health clinics in the region’s schools to ensure that students and their families can easily access health care. The first opened in Airway Heights at Sunset Elementary School in 2012 and then another opened inside Spokane’s Rogers High School in 2020, providing more than 1,500 students access to medical and behavioral health care. Since then, two more clinics have opened at North Central and Shadle Park high schools. (COLTON RASANEN)