I write to provide an update regarding UW Medicine’s government relations. During the Washington State Legislature 2020 session that began on Jan. 13, UW Medicine’s government relations team is being led by interim director Madeline Grant. She succeeds Ian Goodhew, who served in this role for five years and who was instrumental in achieving the historic investments that UW Medicine received in the biennial budget passed last year.
The state’s 2019 budget included a $225 million commitment to establish the UW Medicine Behavioral Health Teaching Facility on the UW Medical Center – Northwest campus, $60 million in construction funding to create and build a new Health Sciences Education building, $5 million in new funding to support patient safety net care at Harborview and UW Medical Center, and many other high priority goals for UW Medicine (see Big legislative wins for UW Medicine for more details).
We are extremely grateful to Ian Goodhew for his exemplary service. He worked tirelessly as our voice in Olympia and Washington, D.C., to build supportive relationships with legislators and policy makers. As Ian liked to say, “We have some of the world’s best experts in healthcare at UW Medicine. All I need to do is take their message and translate it into something that can work in the policy world.”
This year, the Legislature meets for a short 60-day session, which focuses primarily on fixes to the biennial budget. For this reason, both the University of Washington and UW Medicine have a limited agenda for supplemental budget requests. Our government relations team will focus instead on advocating for or against legislation that will impact UW Medicine and our mission of improving the health of the public.
As interim director, Madeline Grant brings a wealth of healthcare experience to this role. She worked at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for four years as a public affairs manager and then as a director of public affairs and payer contracting. She has also worked as a director of federal government relations at Group Health Cooperative and as a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Grant will serve as interim director on a part-time basis until the search for a permanent director is completed. For government relations questions and requests, please contact her assistant, Ginny Christofferson, at ginnyL3@uw.edu or 206.616.3974.
Sincerely,
Ruth Mahan, JD
Chief Business Officer, UW Medicine
Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Washington
