Harborview Medical Center
Harborview Medical Center is owned by King County, governed by the Harborview Board of Trustees, operated by UW Medicine and managed under contract by the University of Washington.
Harborview Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility dedicated to the control of illness and the promotion and restoration of health. Its primary mission is to provide healthcare for the most vulnerable residents of King County; to provide and teach exemplary patient care; to provide care for a broad spectrum of patients from throughout the region; and to develop and maintain leading-edge centers of emphasis.
As the only Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma/Burn Center in Washington, Harborview Medical Center provides specialized comprehensive emergency services to patients throughout the region, and serves as the disaster preparedness and disaster control hospital for Seattle and King County.
Harborview’s patient care mission is accomplished by assuming and maintaining a strong leadership position in the Pacific Northwest and the local community. This leadership role is nurtured through the delivery of health services of the highest quality to all of its patients and through effective use of its resources as determined by the Harborview Board of Trustees.
Harborview, in cooperation with UW Medicine, plans and coordinates with Public Health Seattle and King County, other County agencies, community providers, and area hospitals, to provide programs and services.
Harborview fulfills its educational mission through commitment to the support of undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and continuing education programs of the health professions of the University of Washington and other educational institutions, as well as programs relating to patient education.
UW School of Medicine
Founded in 1946, the University of Washington School of Medicine is a regional resource for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the WWAMI states.
It is recognized for excellence in training primary-care physicians and for advancing medical knowledge through scientific research. The school’s students, staff, faculty and alumni demonstrate commitment to community service through volunteer activities.
The UW School of Medicine is consistently recognized as one of the nation’s top physician-training sites. In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked UW as the No. 1 primary-care medical school – recognition it has earned 20 of the past 21 years.
The school also continues to rank No. 1 in teaching family medicine and No. 1 in rural-medicine training for the 24th consecutive year. The UW was ranked No. 10 among research medical schools; it was second, after Harvard, in research funding received from the National Institutes of Health.
The school’s physician training was ranked highly in several other specific disciplines: No. 4 in AIDS care, No. 8 in pediatrics and internal medicine. The bioengineering graduate program jointly run with the College of Engineering was ranked No. 9. The MEDEX program was ranked No. 11 for its physician-assistant training.
Full-time physician faculty members of the School of Medicine staff UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center, as well as the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Seattle Children’s. UW medical faculty members also staff UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics located throughout Puget Sound. In addition, UW physician faculty provide expert consultation to practicing physicians throughout the region.
Research scientists at the UW School of Medicine explore every aspect of health and disease, from the molecular mechanisms of gene action to population studies of global illnesses. UW research scientists’ work has contributed to improved understanding of the cause of diseases and to better treatments and prevention of many disorders.
Graduates of the UW medical school – physicians, scientists, allied health personnel, or scholars in medical history and ethics – go on to serve in a wide variety of capacities. Many M.D. and physician assistant alumni practice in areas of need, such as rural towns, inner cities and in developing nations.
One distinguishing characteristic of the UW medical school is interdisciplinary collaboration. Scientists, educators, and clinicians are dedicated to helping each other reach the common goals of improving people’s health and alleviating suffering from disease.