Ghost Kitchens: Restaurants for the pandemic era

Tuesday, 25 August 2020 / Published in News + Updates

This article first appeared in the Spokane Journal of Business on August 13 2020. Written by Virginia Thomas.

An emerging restaurant model known as “ghost kitchens” is gaining popularity in some parts of the U.S. and could find a foothold in Spokane, industry experts say.

The concept appears to be becoming more appealing as COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions continue to batter the restaurant industry.

Ghost kitchens refer to restaurants that operate exclusively on a takeout-and-delivery model, without in-house dining. There are three types: commissary kitchens, pop-up kitchens, and pods, according to digital food-tech publication The Spoon. Commissary kitchens are shared kitchen spaces owned and operated by a third party. Popups are areas within the main kitchen of a restaurant that are dedicated to fulfilling pickup and delivery orders and typically have a distinct menu and branding from that of the established restaurant. Pod kitchens operate within shipping containers and can be placed nearly anywhere.

Adam Hegsted, owner of the Liberty Lake-based Eat Good Group LLC., says the company had planned to open a ghost kitchen space in Spokane Valley, but it’s holding off until the area’s economy stabilizes.

Hegsted says Eat Good’s partner, GVD Commercial Properties Inc., bought the former liquor store building at 5004 E. Sprague earlier this year. Hegsted planned for four companies to share the space: Incrediburger & Eggs, Taco Suave, Doughlicious Bakery, and either a fried chicken or healthy food restaurant.

Hegsted has experience dabbling in the ghost kitchen model. Eat Good Group’s cafe, located in the Meadowwood Technology Campus, in Liberty Lake, also produced orders for Incrediburger Express, a takeout- and delivery-only version of Hegsted’s hamburger restaurant. That has been suspended temporarily, partly due to the impacts of the pandemic, Hegsted says.

“The idea works great, as long as you can get enough delivery orders,” Hegsted says. “There’s a lot of savings as far as the buildout. And same with labor. You don’t have to have as many front-of-the-house people doing customer service and helping guests. You just have a cook back there to create the food, and someone getting orders ready, taking orders, and cashing people out.”

Adam Stinn, director of business solutions at Rosemont, Illinois-based national foodservice distributor US Foods Inc., says the idea was catching on in some U.S. cities before the pandemic struck, but it’s become an important way for entrepreneurs to launch their food businesses, as well as a way for existing sit-down restaurants to add another revenue stream to compensate for lost revenue due to COVID-19-related occupancy restrictions.

“We have seen growing popularity and growing interest across all segments around ghost kitchens,” says Stinn, whose company operates the Food Services of America warehouse in Spokane. “I’ve seen some numbers saying that in the next 10 years, this could be a trillion-dollar industry. There’s definitely a lot of growth potential.”

Ryan Wilcockson, owner of Spokane Salad Delivery LLC, says he chose to use a ghost kitchen model to start his salad delivery business in order to keep overhead low. Wilcockson, the sole employee of Spokane Salad Delivery, works out of the Kitchen Spokane commissary space in the Northtown Mall.

“They have all the supplies we need, all the fridge space, freezer space, and dry (ingredient) space,” Wilcockson says. “It saves a lot, and I can afford to buy fancier products for the customers.”

Kitchen Spokane is a nonprofit that offers commissary kitchens as incubators for small food businesses. Jayme Cozzetto, director of Kitchen Spokane, launched the first commissary kitchen under the Kitchen Spokane name in 2014. Since then, it’s grown to include two locations in Spokane, two in Coeur’ d’Alene, one in Ponderay, Idaho, and another in Vancouver, Washington. Most of its commissary kitchens are in malls.

Donita Humrich, kitchen manager for Kitchen Spokane, says malls are a good fit for commissary kitchens because the infrastructure already exists, and clients can access the space at all hours. Also, mall security keeps the space safe, and the mall itself is responsible for maintenance. With many malls struggling to fill spaces, it’s a partnership that works for everyone, she says.

In the early days of the pandemic’s presence in the U.S., Kitchen Spokane’s revenue dropped by about 30%, Cozzetto says. Around late April, that changed.

“We started to see something we did not expect: a rise and growth in the industry,” he says.

In the past few months, nine new businesses have signed up to use Kitchen Spokane’s spaces. That brings the total number of businesses operating through Kitchen Spokane’s locations to nearly 90.

Cozzetto says the organization is continuing to expand, with two new spaces in the Spokane Valley mall and one in Coeur d’Alene’s Silverlake Mall expected to be established within the next two months. He claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought rental rates for commercial spaces, especially those located in malls, down significantly.

Kitchen Spokane charges clients $15 an hour to use its space and equipment, with dry and refrigerated storage space offered at a starting rate of $3 a day.

Cozzetto says many new clients had planned to launch elsewhere but have found their options severely limited by the pandemic.

“We’re seeing people who maybe had an idea before that they were going to do, and they were going to (sell at) farmer’s markets and public festivals,” Cozzetto says. “What I’m seeing is that instead, they’re focusing their efforts online. They’re selling everything online, and they’re doing remarkably well.”

Stinn says that when Washington restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms in March, many eateries grappled with switching to takeout- and delivery-only models.

“While there was definitely revenue and continued sales there, it was clearly not what restaurants are used to, and there’s also additional costs that come with those delivery and carryout mechanisms,” Stinn says.

Some restaurants have embraced the ghost kitchen model, either by starting a second ghost kitchen restaurant that has a separate menu within their existing kitchen, or by adding a “digital franchise,” Stinn says.

In the digital franchise option, for example, a local restaurant that makes its own Mexican-inspired food could add revenue by partnering with a national pizza franchise, enabling the franchise to use part of its kitchen to produce pizzas for delivery.

“I think the most attractive thing about the model is if there’s consumer demand for a certain menu type, a lot of operators already know their fixed costs, whether it be a lease, cost of utilities, those kinds of things,” he says.

The ghost kitchen model enables restaurant operators to continue to have a sales channel, even if it means providing a different menu altogether, Stinn says, adding that it can be done with relatively low startup costs.

“You’re not starting an entirely new brick-and-mortar location,” he says. “You’re really just expanding a menu, which can be done with relatively low risk.”

However, launching an unconventional restaurant through a ghost kitchen comes with its challenges. Chief among them, Hegsted says, is brand recognition.

“If you don’t have an established name, it’s difficult to get the marketing out there, because you don’t have a physical space for people to connect with,” he says.

Spokane Salad Delivery’s Wilcockson says the technological aspects of running a delivery-only business have created an unforeseen obstacle.

“Not everyone is tech-savvy, so unfortunately for people who aren’t used to it, using the internet or their cell phone makes it complicated,” Wilcockson says.

Vying for time in the kitchen also can be challenging, he says. If another Kitchen Spokane client reserves the space for the time Wilcockson had intended to use it, he’s in a tight spot.

Despite these hurdles, Wilcockson says he believes the ghost kitchen model will stick around.

“Not only in Spokane, but nationwide, worldwide. With the whole COVID situation, it’s kind of going to have to go that way,” he says. “I think it’s going to be the way of the future, at least for a couple of years.”

Midtown Drive Up Deli owner Mikele Williams visits with employee Lori Nirk’s daughter, Amanda Flom, before opening for the day. Midtown is in the southeast corner of the My Favorite Things parking lot on Seltice Way in Post Falls. Photo credit: Devin Weeks

Hegsted likens opening a take-out or delivery restaurant through a ghost kitchen to launching a restaurant in an unpopular neighborhood.

 

“In the beginning, it may be a little more difficult to get people to latch onto the idea of coming to that neighborhood,” he says. “It’s the same with people figuring out the idea that it’s delivery only. But once you get that clientele and build that loyalty, people are willing to get food delivered that they know is going to be good quality.”

Spokane company leads with virtual solution to teach children with autism

Monday, 13 July 2020 / Published in News + Updates

Long before the era of COVID-19, Laura Kasbar was a Spokane mother who merely wanted to find a way to address her children’s autism.

Almost by chance, she noticed that video lessons would help, particularly with a child who doctors had declared would never speak.

Nine years later, in 2011, her son Max was mainstreamed, and her Gemiini Systems, still based in Spokane, has become a worldwide leader in online distance learning for people with autism, Down syndrome, dyslexia, speech delay, stroke and other issues.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, Gemiini has seen “an avalanche” of interest as families and school districts seek virtual solutions to real-life challenges of learning from home, Kasbar said from her home in Southern California.

The company, with about 50 employees, is run by her son Nicholas out of the Holley- Mason Building in downtown Spokane. After an initial adjustment, Gemiini has adapted to a surge in business.

Gemiini has opened its certification program to professionals and has waived the $490 fee for certification.

Gemiini is also offering schools and clinics the use of its system at no cost as long as they agree to submit the cost of the program to Medicaid.

Gemiini has proven to be a valuable solution for special education administrators, who are struggling to navigate this crisis to continue to meet the needs of special needs students and families.

For many children, “this can be the only link to therapy,” Kasbar said. “And now with COVID everyone is on that boat.

“Our team has been able to get to work immediately. Our subscription base has increased dramatically.”

Gemiini – the unique spelling is Kasbar’s tribute to her autistic twins, Max and Anastasia – was the product of Kasbar’s yearslong search for a solution.

Nicholas Kasbar is ready for a busy day at Gemiini Educational Systems located in the Holley-Mason Building in downtown Spokane. Gemiini Educational Systems, which Kasbar co-founded with his mother Laura, is a video-focused system to teach autistic children. Business is booming for Gemiini since the COVID-19 pandemic sent students home for school.

It was in 2001 that Kasbar recalled walking into a room in her Spokane home, saw all six of her children lined up in front of the television and “couldn’t really tell which were the autistic ones.”

At that time, conventional wisdom dictated the television should be turned off if autistic children were nearby. But that experience told Kasbar video was the answer.

She and her husband Brian had noticed that young Max wouldn’t make eye contact with them but would interact with the television.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got to get my mouth on the TV,’ ” Kasbar said.

That night, they made one-minute videos of a cup and Barney, the TV dinosaur.

“It was a close-up of my mouth saying the word ‘Barney’ next to the actual Barney and then saying the word ‘cup’ next to a cup. We did three sets in a row,” Kasbar said.

That night, after watching several times from his highchair while eating, Max made his biggest breakthrough.

Kasbar held up a cup and he said “cup,” his first word – 3 years and 8 months of age.

During the next decade, and with the help of her oldest son, Nicolas – who also had been on the autism spectrum – Kasbar developed the video program.

In 2012, thanks to funding from the Spokane Angel Alliance and Inland Imaging, Gemiini was launched.

Backed by studies from four universities, Gemiini serves 30,000 clients in 40 countries.

Its use of discrete video modeling, which presents only a specific piece of audio information, was showed by a Portland State University study to be 300% more effective than standard video modeling.

Kasbar was so inspired by the success of her program that she shared her experiences in a book, “Embracing the Battle: Secrets of Victory from a Warrior Mom.”

Closer to home, Gemiini has worked with former NFL star and Spokane native Mark Rypien to develop an application to address suicide prevention.

The goal, Rypien said last fall, is to connect circles of friends of persons at risk so they can better monitor their state of mind.

Lately, the main focus has been reaching children who have been isolated by COVID-19.

“It’s been pretty easy,” said Nicolas, who runs the Spokane headquarters. “After a few headaches, we’ve been able to keep going and helping people, and we’ve updated a lot of our instructions on Facebook Live to walk people through how our lessons work.”

Jim Allen can be reached at (509) 459-5437 or by email at [email protected]

Design-build Cd’A contractor continues to thrive and grow

Friday, 19 June 2020 / Published in News + Updates

First published in the Journal of Business, June 4, 2020. By Kevin Blocker.

Not even the COVID-19 pandemic has been able to blunt the tide of growth the design-build construction company Verdis is experiencing.

Since becoming a member of the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program in 2016, Verdis has secured 99 federal projects, 19 of which are currently active, says Sandy Young, founder and principal of the Coeur d’Alene-based company.

Verdis founder and principal Sandy Young, left, sits with senior planner Stephanie Blalack in the company’s offices in the Parkside Tower, in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

The 8(a) program is a nine-year business development program that provides business training, counseling, marketing, and technical assistance to small businesses that have applied and then been accepted to the program.

Verdis has a greater ability to secure federal work with certifications as both a woman-owned business and an 8(a) operation. The federal government’s goal is to award at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to small businesses and women- and minority-owned businesses.

Now doing business in 13 western states, Verdis recently secured its largest federal contract to date, an almost $4 million project in Alaska, where Young is from originally.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck south central Alaska on Nov. 30, 2018, continues to generate engineering and construction repair work through the federal pipeline.

Despite the flourishing federal work, Young says one of the requirements of 8(a) status is to maintain local work in the community. While she declines to disclose the firm’s annual revenue, she says close to a third of all income is generated by local projects.

Deemed as an essential business, Verdis anticipates annual revenue to double in 2020 over 2019. First-quarter revenue alone this year exceeded calendar year 2019, she says.

The company forecasts a nearly four-fold increase in revenue by 2022, compared with 2019 earnings, Young says.

“We’ve been able to self-perform much of our work, which is a big deal for an 8(a),” she says. “Very few firms do both engineering and construction. We seal fish ladders, rip up rails in powerhouses at dams, and restore old buildings and windows.”

With 25 employees, Verdis occupies roughly 2,000-square feet of space in a second-floor suite at Parkside Tower, located at 601 E. Front. It’s the company’s fifth location since its founding in 2007, Young says.

A vice president of construction, Colin Meehan, oversees five project superintendents and six members of a field-personnel team, constituting the firm’s largest concentration of employees.

Young, who is 64, moved to Idaho from Alaska in 1997 and spent the next decade working in Kootenai County’s community development department. Along the way, she met her late husband, Gary, who worked as the director of community development for the city of Post Falls, she says.

The two married in 2006, and the following year, Young says the couple began the process of going into business for themselves.

“He had been in business for himself for a while; he was a licensed landscape architect,” she says. “He’d say, ‘It’s not as easy you think, not every hour is billable.’ I remember sitting on a plane—we were going on a trip somewhere—and telling him, ‘Let’s do it.’’’

In the basement of a building in Post Falls, the couple set up an independent development and planning operation.

“Fortunately, because of our public-sector jobs, people knew us,” she says. “There weren’t many planners around, so we got a few clients right out of the gate.”

Young says the company steadily grew. Landscape architecture work quickly expanded, and Verdis began using subcontractors for civil engineering projects.

In 2012, Verdis was granted woman-owned business status through the SBA, but the business didn’t qualify for the 8(a) program due to the couple’s combined assets, she says.

Then, in 2014, Gary Young contracted cancer and died the following year. It was his death that allowed Verdis to qualify for 8(a) status, she says.

“On his death bed he said, ‘Get the 8(a). I want you to kill it. I don’t want to have to worry about you,’’’ Sandy Young says, fighting back tears.

Reflecting on that time, Young says the business took off as she poured herself into work as way to deal with the grief.

“That wouldn’t have happened if I would’ve had a spouse at home, right?” she asks rhetorically. “Who doesn’t want to be home at night?”

Young says she bought a new car and “hit the road” religiously in an effort to generate new business.

“Honestly, it seemed like such a longshot because you’re sitting there trying to sell your capability, and I really didn’t understand the world I was in,” she says. “We didn’t have any idea how to put a bid together, we didn’t know what we were going to do. We were designers.”

As Young tried to recruit clients, she was asked if Verdis did construction work. Upon answering no, she was met with a consistent message: Come back when you do.

“Three times I heard that. The fourth time I was asked, my answer was, ‘You bet we do,’’’ she says. “I came back and told staff we’re going to figure this out.”

A year later, Verdis secured its first federal contract, a $327,000 Kachess River Bridge project in Cle Elum, Washington, Young says.

Stephanie Blalack, a senior planner with Verdis, has a perspective about Young and the firm, unlike any other employee. She is the company’s first hire.

“I hired Steph out of college (2004) when I still worked for Kootenai County,” Young says. “When I jumped ship, I brought her with me.”

Says Blalack, “She was a phenomenal boss at the county, so when she left in 2007, I was just devastated.”

Seven months later, Young reached out to her with a job offer.

“I was 25, 26, and I’m thinking of leaving my government job? My parents were like, ‘Are you crazy?’’’ says Blalack.

“But I just had this feeling that I knew she was going to make it,” she says. “If it were anybody else, I would not have left my government job.”

Contact author at [email protected] or 509.344.1267

Prepare to dine al fresco and sidewalk shop in Spokane.

Friday, 29 May 2020 / Published in News + Updates

First published in the Spokesman Review, Sun., May 29, 2020. By Adam Shanks.

In an executive order issued Thursday, Mayor Nadine Woodward established the Restaurant and Retail Program, which eases the city’s regulations on how and when a restaurant or retailer can expand onto a neighboring sidewalk or parking lot.

Woodward’s executive action complements the efforts already taken by the Spokane City Council, which earlier this month waived application fees for businesses that want to set up on a sidewalk or curbside, and revised city law to reduce the lag time between application and permit approval.

“We felt it was really important to allow businesses that are opening in Phase 2 to increase their capacity. … If you know anything about those businesses, that profit margin is so slim, it is very difficult for many of them to operate at 50%,” Woodward said.

As Spokane entered Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start reopening plan last week, its restaurants were allowed to open at 50% capacity. In response to business owners’ concerns that this would still hinder profitability, the city has scrambled to relax rules and allow restaurants to spread outside, increasing the number of customers they can serve at any one time and improving their odds of operating in the black.

The city’s new program is also aimed at helping retail businesses, which face similar limits, including operating at 30% of normal capacity during Phase 2.

Under the program, clusters of restaurants and businesses can also apply to have a street closed by applying for a special events permit.

Outdoor seating will still be subject to the 6-foot social distancing rules between tables that apply to restaurants in Phase 2, but outdoor customers will not count toward their occupancy limit. The Elk Public House in Browne’s Addition was the first to apply for a special events permit, which is under review by the city. If approved, it would close down the small section of South Cannon Street for use by The Elk and neighboring restaurants.

The Elk Public House was the first to apply for a special events permit that would close a small section of South Cannon Street for use by the Elk and neighboring restaurants in Browne’s Addition. COLIN MULVANY/ THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The city launched a new page on its website Thursday that provides details about the regulations.

In addition to sidewalk cafes – in which tables are set up on the sidewalk directly outside a restaurant – the city is also encouraging businesses to apply for a streatery or parklet permit. A streatery is an outdoor seating area that encompasses up to two parking spaces at the curbside in front of a restaurant or a nearby loading zone. A parklet is effectively the same thing, but open to the public, not just customers of a specific restaurant.

Under Woodward’s order, the city will consider granting variances to the normal requirements of a sidewalk cafe or streatery, as long as they meet basic safety requirements and still conform to the requirements of Inslee’s Safe Start program.

The order was swiftly and unanimously ratified by the Spokane City Council on Thursday. The program is set to sunset at the end of 2020, but could be rescinded earlier if it becomes unnecessary or extended if needed.

Earlier this month, the council also asked the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to relax restrictions that force a restaurant’s outdoor alcohol sales to directly connected to its premises. The temporary standard would allow restaurants that share space in a closed-down street to sell alcohol, the sales of which are a vital piece of many establishments’ profitability.

The liquor board has already temporarily eased some rules during the stayhome order, including allowing the sale of premixed cocktails to go from licensed restaurants.

During the pandemic, it’s allowing restaurants to apply for an extended floor plan that stretches outside, but “floor plan revisions must be adjacent and contiguous to a licensed premise,” and “areas of responsibility must not be communal or shared with other licensees,” according to the liquor board’s guidance.

“They are eager to work with restaurants to make what adjustments they can,” said Councilwoman Lori Kinnear, who has spearheaded the council’s efforts to ease restrictions on restaurants and retailers.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5136 [email protected]

A ten-point preparedness plan for our communities

Thursday, 09 April 2020 / Published in News + Updates

Published on Brookings Institute. Article written by Richard Florida and Steven Pedigo. 

As the dreaded coronavirus rips across the globe, city after city has locked down, transforming urban business centers, suburban malls, and other public spaces into ghost towns. This is not the first time this has happened—since time immemorial, cities have been epicenters of communicable diseases.

No pandemic or plague or natural disaster has killed off “the city,” or humanity’s need to live and work in urban clusters. Not the Black Plagues of the 14th century, or London’s cholera epidemic in the 1850s, or even 1918’s Spanish Flu, which killed tens of millions of people worldwide. That’s because cities’ concentration of people and economic activity—which serves as the motor force for innovation and economic growth—is just too strong.

We will get through this pandemic, too. We will go back to work and school and gather in restaurants and theaters and sports stadiums again. But when we do, cities and their leaders should not simply return to business as usual. Not only does COVID-19 threaten to reappear in subsequent waves if we do not remain vigilant, but there will always be future pandemics to brace against as well.

Our mayors, governors, and community leaders must do whatever is necessary to get their cities back up and running as soon as they safely can. After, we will need plans in place to prepare for future pandemics, and any social or economic lockdowns they necessitate. The federal government must do its part too, with bold and unprecedented programs to bolster the economic situation of our states and cities as well as our workers and business, especially small business.

Getting this response right may be as important as what we are doing today. Below is a 10-point plan based on detailed tracking of the current pandemic and historical accounts of previous ones, presenting some key measures to prepare our cities, economy, and workers for the next phase of the coronavirus crisis and beyond.

  1. Pandemic-proof airports: Airports are a critical engine of economic development—they cannot be idled indefinitely. We need to make sure they can get up and running again quickly, and that means mobilizing like we did in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by adding temperature checks and necessary health screenings to the security measures already in place. It also means reducing crowding: Simple things like stanchions or painted lines on floors can promote social distancing in waiting areas. Airports should have large quantities of masks and hand sanitizer available, and airlines will need to reduce their passenger counts and keep middle seats open during future health crises.
  1. Prepare large-scale civic assets: Cities are also home to other forms of large-scale infrastructure: stadiums, arenas, convention centers, performing arts centers, etc. Because they bring together large groups of people, city leaders must pandemic-proof these assets as much as possible, too. Audience sizes may need to be reduced in theaters, with seats left open. Masks may need to be required and made available to patrons as needed, and temperature checks carried out. This will be critical for communities that are dependent on such attractions: A Brookings analysis shows that COVID-19’s economic downturn will hit tourism-driven cities such as Orlando and Las Vegas hardest. The sooner such large-scale civic infrastructure can be safely reopened, the faster our urban economies will be able to rebound in the aftermath of a pandemic. 
  1. Modify vital infrastructure: As we’ve seen during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis, buses, subways, and trains need emergency infusions of cash to keep the systems solvent when ridership is low or nonexistent. When they are back in service, design changes in stations and seating will be needed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Streets may need some retrofits too; New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for pedestrianizing some New York City streets to promote social distancing during COVID-19. Some of these changes should be permanent. Cities need to expand and better protect their bike lanes too, while refining bike- and scooter-sharing programs for when public transit in compromised.
  1. Ready key anchor institutions: Medical centers, hospitals, and universities are on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19, and many are already overtaxed. With dormitories, dining halls, and large groups of people, they will be highly vulnerable to the secondary waves of contagion. How can we ensure that they can operate safely to carry out vital research during pandemics? Just as with other large-scale civic assets, classes in these institutions can be kept small, but institutions will need to retrofit dormitories and dining halls with temperature checks and ensure adequate social distancing so they can safely function.
  1. Embrace telework: We are in the midst of a massive experiment in remote work. Most people will eventually go back to their offices, but some workers and companies may find remote work to be more effective. Tulsa, Okla. has leveraged this concept through its Tulsa Remote initiative, which pays remote workers a small grant to relocate there while helping them forge community and civic connections. Cities can learn from one another about how to best support the growing cadre of remote workers and make them connected, engaged, and vital parts of their communities.
  1. Ensure Main Street survives: The restaurants, bars, specialty shops, hardware stores, and other mom and pop shops that create jobs and lend unique character to our cities are at severe economic risk right now. Some projections suggest that as many as 75% of them may not survive the current crisis. The loss of our Main Street businesses would be irreparable, and not just for the people whose livelihoods depend on them, but for cities and communities as a whole. The places that have protected their Main Streets will have a decisive competitive advantage as we return to normalcy. Loan programs from government, foundations, and the private sector as well as support from small business and technical organizations will be essential for ensuring these businesses survive. Cities need to provide this type of assistance and advice to these vital small businesses so they can safely reopen and weather the storm of future lockdowns.
  1. Protect the arts and creative economy: The creative economy of art galleries, museums, theaters, and music venues—along with the artists, musicians, and actors who fuel them—is also at dire risk. Cities must partner with other levels of government, the private sector, and philanthropies to marshal the funding and expertise needed to keep their cultural scenes alive. Once they are allowed to reopen, these places will also need to make interim and long-term changes in the way they operate. Cities should provide advice and assistance on necessary procedures—from temperature screenings, better spacing for social distancing, and other safety measures—for these venues to continue as part of the urban landscape.
  1. Assess leading industries and clusters: It’s not individual firms but clusters of industry and talent that drive economic development. Some of those clusters are at greater risk than others: Sectors such as transportation, travel and hospitality, and the creative arts will be hit the hardest, while e-commerce and distribution or advanced manufacturing for health care and food processing may grow. Cities and economic development organizations must assess the industries and clusters that are most vulnerable in their territory, evaluate the impacts future pandemics will have for their labor markets and communities, and plan to make their economies more resilient and robust. They should pull together cluster working groups of business and non-profit representatives and local academics and experts to best assess the impact of the pandemic and pandemic-related response on key clusters and develop medium-range plans.
  1. Upgrade jobs for front-line service workers: Nearly half of Americans work in low-wage service jobs. A considerable percentage of them—emergency responders, health care aides, office and hospital cleaners, grocery store clerks, warehouse workers, delivery people—are on the front lines of the pandemic. They need better protection, higher pay, and more benefits. States such as Vermont and Minnesota have paved the way by designating grocery store employees as emergency workers, making them eligible for benefits including free child care. Having a well-paid cadre of front-line service workers who can keep our communities safe and functional will help protect us from future wave of this pandemic and others that may follow.
  1. Protect less-advantaged communities: The economic fallout of pandemics will hurt most for the least-advantaged neighborhoods and their residents, who lack adequate health coverage and access to medical care, and who are the most vulnerable to job losses. This, too, is a fundamental issue of both safety and equity. Concentrated poverty, economic inequality, and racial and economic segregation are not only morally unjust—they also provide fertile ground for pandemics to take root and spread. Economic inclusion and more equitable development are critical factors for the health, safety, and economic competitiveness of our places. Cities and local leaders can work with federal and state agencies, community development organizations and local foundations to target needed funds, support services and technical assistance ot these areas.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. In the not-too-distant future, the pandemic will end and our cities will return to something approximating normal. What we do over the next 12 to 18 months can ensure that our city and metro economies get up and running again while protecting themselves against similar scenarios in the future. This is a time when our cities and their leaders can and must show the way forward.

 

RFlorida

Richard Florida

Professor – University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and School of Cities

Distinguished Visiting Fellow – New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate

Author – The Rise of the Creative Class and The New Urban Crisis

Headshot

Steven Pedigo

Professor of Practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs – University of Texas at Austin

Business librarian helps Spokane-area startups

Monday, 30 March 2020 / Published in News + Updates
First published in the Spokesman Review, Sun., March 29, 2020.By Amy Edelen.

Mark Pond received very few questions from visitors about starting a business at the reference desk when he began a career at the Spokane Public Library in 2006.

“I just sat at the downtown library at the reference desk waiting for business questions to come to me. It was complete radio silence,” said Pond, the library’s business reference librarian. “People didn’t know what the library had to offer. I didn’t know how to market what we had to offer, and the tools we had available weren’t necessarily anything close to the toolbox we have now.”

Mark Pond, business reference librarian for the Spokane Public Library, is working out of StartUp Spokane while the downtown library is under construction. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Mark Pond, business reference librarian for the Spokane Public Library, is working out of StartUp Spokane while the downtown library is under construction. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

 

Pond jumped into action and led an effort to provide resources to entrepreneurs at the Spokane Public Library. By 2016, the library’s business offerings had expanded to include the Level Up Coworking Space at the downtown branch that provides meeting rooms, Macs with Adobe Creative software and access to a Bloomberg Terminal.

The Spokane Public Library is the second in the nation – the New York Public Library being other – with a Bloomberg Terminal, which provides access to financial news, analytics and charts.

In addition to providing one-on-one business consultations and conducting workshops on various business topics at local organizations, Pond maintains resources at spokanebusiness.org that help people research market information, find potential customers, develop business plans and take online job-training courses.

“One of the primary drivers in opening up the Level Up Coworking Space is the gig economy. It gives them tools and resources to figure out how to do their jobs,” Pond said. “Having those kinds of ongoing education and learning opportunities for the Spokane workforce can be huge in terms of business retention and expansion.”

Becoming a business research librarian

Pond, a Kettle Falls native, graduated with a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Washington in 2000. He worked as a reference assistant at the University of Washington library while attending college. After graduation, Pond was hired as a reference librarian for the Seattle Public Library, a position he held for more than six years.

Pond said he was drawn to library work because of the opportunity to help people with a range of questions and subjects.

“One of the things that appealed to me about the library world is – if you want – you can get super specialized, but sometimes just sitting at the reference desk taking whatever questions coming your way is really fascinating,” he said.

Pond and wife, Maggie, contemplated a move back to Eastern Washington in 2006 to be closer to family and raise their two children. Within hours of discussing the potential move, Pond saw a job posting for a business research position at the Spokane Public Library.

Although Pond had some experience with business research while working at the Seattle Public Library, he was a little concerned at first that the position would be too specialized and might not be a good fit.

“But I love it,” he said, adding it’s a combination of specializing in business topics while also providing the opportunity to answer many different questions from a variety of entrepreneurs.

“At the same time, there’s some common threads in the business research world – who you are selling to and what’s your business model. So those things, (the library) can really help them,” he said. “I enjoy being able to work with a whole span of different businesses around town. I find that really fascinating.”

Growing resources

It took more than a decade for Pond to develop business resources for the downtown library branch. He said the idea to improve the offerings was planted when he met a man who created a device that assists with safety checks for tractor-trailers.

Pond shared with the man some of the library’s business research tools and directories, and compiled a list of trucking companies on the West Coast within seconds.

“The guy said he paid $1,800 for the exact same list two days ago,” Pond said. “So, I had a couple of interactions like that for the tools we have. They are in need and of value to the business community.”

Technology has changed how people access information at the library. More people are gravitating toward digital access to books and reference materials, Pond said.

“I realized it will be a thing of the future and thought, ‘I have to get outside of the library and meet businesses on their own terms,’ ” he said.

After Startup Spokane – a program of Greater Spokane Incorporated – launched in 2015, more entrepreneurs began seeking Pond’s assistance for market research.

About half the businesses Pond works with are startups, and he recently assisted teams of students with business research for the upcoming Northwest Entrepreneur Competition.

“Even today, people don’t realize how incredible the resources and options he’s created for startups and small businesses,” said Mark Gustafson, director of innovation and strategy at Avista Corp. and managing partner of Mind to Market LLC. “For a startup, there’s no way they would have access to this rich of a system in their company.”

Mind to Market LLC is a program by Avista that connects startups with experienced coaches to prepare them for early-stage investments.

Mind to Market participants find business resources – especially PitchBook – useful at the library, Gustafson said.

PitchBook

The Spokane Public Library, with Pond’s help, became the first library in the country to secure a subscription to PitchBook, a venture capital and private equity database.

“Most mom-and-pop businesses in town aren’t looking for venture capital funding, so it doesn’t address them,” Pond said. “But, for the companies that are looking for venture capital funding, it’s really helpful to have the industry standard tool available to them when they come in and consult with me.”

University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs provided grant funds to cover a one-year subscription for PitchBook, totaling more than $18,500 per year.

Pond said the Spokane market and its location in Eastern Washington and proximity to Gonzaga, Whitworth and Washington State universities appealed to PitchBook.

“The universities don’t have a subscription, but I can present it to MBA classes and when they go back to their hometowns, they are aware of PitchBook,” Pond said.

Greater Spokane Incorporated, the Health Sciences & Services Authority of Spokane County and the Spokane Angel Alliance donated more than $13,000 toward a second-year subscription for PitchBook.

“It seems like the library is really well-positioned to be a crowdsourcing hub for access to more resources, even if they might be kind of industry specific, like PitchBook,” Pond said.

A win for the economy

Although the Spokane Public Library’s downtown branch is closed for renovations, Pond is continuing to accept online and phone consultations.

Pond said during the downtown branch closure, the Bloomberg Terminal will be moved to the Spokane Academic Library at the Riverpoint campus.

Prior to Gov. Jay Inslee’s order to restrict gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pond was holding several meetings at local organizations such as small-business resource SCORE, a volunteer mentorship program, to help people with writing a business plan and other topics.

Pond aims to continue working to provide resources for Spokane businesses and entrepreneurs.

“We are spending $100,000 per year just for business research tools. There’s zero startups anywhere in the nation that are going to spend $100,000 on market research,” he said. “The library can step in and reduce that scope of risk for our local businesses. It’s a win for them and it’s a win for the Spokane economy.”

Among the databases available through the library are:

  • Washington State Legal Forms, offering state and federal forms.
  • Statista, with market data, market research and market studies.
  • Reference USA, with market research, competitive analysis and sales lead generation.
  • Microsoft Imagine Academy, with online courses for Microsoft technology.
  • Demographics Now, offering demographics, consumer expenditures and interactive maps.

Local Leaders Are Reshaping America One Small Town at a Time

Friday, 06 March 2020 / Published in News + Updates

Article first appeared in StrongTowns on March 6 2020. Written by Quint Studer.

I’ve spent the last two years traveling across the country working with small to mid-sized towns on their revitalization efforts. And what I find is they’re getting lots of things right.

Civic-minded entrepreneurs and private citizens have taken the bull by the horns and are working hard to make their communities the best they can be. They’re finding ways to reinvent themselves, attract the right kinds of business, and transform into great places to work, live, and play.

Here are a few strategies community leaders are embracing as they work to create vibrancy:

They’re changing the conversation on who drives revitalization. It’s important to get citizens engaged in change. They (not government) have to lead the way. Leaders are getting people talking about and looking at the community in a new way. How can we develop and sustain communities that serve all of us and satisfy our human desire to be connected, all without putting unfair liabilities on future generations?

Decorah, Iowa. Image credit.

Decorah, Iowa. Image credit.

They’re tying their plans to economic growth. There’s just no other path for long-term job creation and a strong, sustainable tax base. It’s important for a community to know where its revenue comes from and, more importantly, know what isn’t generating revenue. For example, don’t build a beautiful bike path unless you are confident that it’s part of a plan that will ultimately spark economic growth.

They’re getting smart about the psychology of change. It’s only human to resist change, even when we know we need it. Someone is going to object to even the best-laid, most well-thought-out plans. That’s why leaders go into change initiatives expecting barriers and crafting plans to deal with them. The whole community will never get behind anything, so don’t waste energy on trying to convince the unconvinceable.

They’re connecting change initiatives to what citizens care about most. For example, it’s important not just to throw data at people, but rather to find a “burning platform” that speaks to their emotions. People make decisions with their hearts, not minds. You have to connect to something they care about. In Pensacola our burning platform was: What can we do to keep our children and grandchildren from leaving town? Once we framed the issues that way, we were able to get momentum behind the change.

They’re using objective data to drive decisions. Community dashboards keep critical metrics front and center. Just like a company, a community needs objective metrics to know how healthy they are, to identify areas that need improvement, and to gauge progress over time. They need to see all of them together and updated regularly. Think of how the dashboard of a car shows gas, oil, engine performance, temperature, and so forth. It’s a way to constantly be asking, How is our community doing on areas that are important to us? Wages? Crime? Education? High school dropout rate?

They’re rebuilding their downtowns. To attract businesses and talent to a community, it must have a walkable, livable, vibrant downtown with lots of great restaurants, shops, fun activities, and trendy residential areas. Young people, in particular, want to live, work, and play in the same area. When you start by revitalizing your downtown, it gets people activated and sparks growth in the rest of the community.

They’re making education a priority. A strong education system creates a strong talent base and appeals to investors. That’s why leaders are doing everything they can to improve theirs. In 2014 Pensacola had a 66 percent graduation rate and also a 66 percent kindergarten readiness rate. We connected the dots and realized if we focused on early brain development, we could impact graduation rates long-term. So we started a pilot program with local hospitals to work with new mothers. Now we are on track to become America’s first Early Learning City.

They’re getting aggressive about attracting investors. Local, organic investment is great. Leaders do everything they can to find, engage, and attract investors who already live in or have ties to the community. But they also know they need to attract external investors. This is both a science and an art. The “science” part is the dashboard, because it gives investors the metrics they need to know. The “art” part is the compelling story you build around that data: Does your community have a high graduation rate? Are there a lot of Millennials? Is the cost of living affordable? Focus on these selling points.

Denton, Texas. Image credit.

Denton, Texas. Image credit.

They’re managing incentives more thoughtfully. Incentives to attract big businesses tend to be overused. Sometimes they’re a good idea. Sometimes they’re not. It’s crucial for leaders to carefully evaluate these deals before deciding, handle them with transparency and fairness, and insist on clearly defined success metrics. And remember: The best strategy is to create such a dynamic, business-friendly community that incentives won’t be necessary. Businesses will want to come anyway.

They’re partnering with government the right way. More and more, leaders are realizing they shouldn’t depend on local government to drive growth. They likely don’t have the budget, nor are elected officials likely to be around to see long-term development projects through. Private investment must lead the way. Government is a wonderful partner and wants the same outcomes citizens do. Elected officials can focus on keeping the community clean and safe, being consistent and fair with guidelines and zoning rules, and enforcing codes.

They’re going to extraordinary lengths to engage citizens. The more successful leaders are at doing this, the more engaged the community becomes, and the more likely it is to meet its goals. His advice to leaders is to seek citizen feedback on everything. Communicate relentlessly. Connect back to the why behind what you’re doing and how it affects them. Once citizens are galvanized, they will turn out, take action, make their voices heard, and applaud leaders for making the community better.

They’re galvanizing their small business communities in ways that go beyond “business-friendliness.” Community leaders are starting to realize it’s not just about starting businesses, but about keeping them growing. Entrepreneurs rarely start out with a strong grasp of basic business skills. This is why Pensacola holds monthly training and development workshops, small business “roundtables,” and even an annual business conference (EntreCon). Once you galvanize the army of citizens who are business owners, they’ll be your catalysts for change and your sustainers. They’ll keep your growth on track.

They’re leveraging small successes to keep the momentum going. Great leaders never declare victory. The work of creating a vibrant community is never done. Use each success to grow more enthusiasm and grow the project base. Once you start having success, everyone starts feeling good about the community, and it becomes easy to keep the less successful projects from bringing down momentum. Community pride has a huge multiplier effect.

Creating a vibrant community is a journey. It’s not easy. But once you can get some wins under your belt, and get citizens behind you, you’ll start to see what is possible. That’s when the magic happens. When individuals come together with a common goal, it creates a synergy that’s unstoppable. This is how we’ll change America for the better—one community at a time.

Featured image via Unsplash.

About the Author

Quint+Studer.jpg

Quint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader’s Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive. He is founder of Pensacola’s Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community’s quality of life, and Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. Quint speaks and works with communities across the country, helping them execute on their strategic plans, create a better quality of life, and attract and retain talent and investment. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida, Executive-in-Residence at George Washington University, and Lecturer at Cornell University.

For more information, please visit www.thebusyleadershandbook.com, www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com, and www.studeri.org.

Inland Northwest workforce training programs help close the skills gap

Wednesday, 26 February 2020 / Published in News + Updates

“The land of opportunity”— that is the promise of the United States. And one of the reasons the country has been able to deliver on that promise is that it has been able to develop the talent it needs to create wealth and to adapt to ever-changing economic realities.

— Martha Laboissiere and Mona Mourshed, McKinsey & Company

In rural regions, where populations are more dispersed and farther from major job centers, a well-trained workforce faces different challenges than those in metro areas, where people are closer to education, training, and employment opportunities.

The need, for both business and society, is clear: we need to better prepare people without college degrees for jobs with promising career paths.

KTEC students during Health Care and Natural Sciences Day at NIC

The Inland Northwest boasts 18 universities and colleges within an 80-mile radius of Spokane, accounting for nearly 90,000 students who study at area colleges and universities.

Building the talent pool for the region requires a dependable source of employees who are well-trained, ready to work and valued for loyalty. The region’s public and private higher education institutions work collaboratively with one another and the business community to ensure a workforce is developed to meet the needs of the Inland Northwest’s residents and industry.

Our region offers a wide variety of daytime and evening classes in the classroom, online course, and via correspondence.

Dream It. Do It. High School students from Idaho and Lewis Counties visiting with area employers

According to a 2019 Federal Reserve System article titled, Strengthening Workforce Development in Rural Areas, declines in prime working-age individuals and closing businesses, highlight the need for strategies that address both labor demand and supply issues.

“For these skills-oriented policies to be effective, community leaders must also implement strategies to retain skilled workers and to address nonskill barriers to work faced by vulnerable populations. Community amenities, quality job policies, transportation systems, affordable housing, health care, child care, and broadband should all be aligned with workforce development efforts.”

— Ashley Bozarth and Whitney M. Strifler, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

 

There is no one solution to tackle all of the workforce issues that communities face. Take a look at the region’s offerings:

IDAHO WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS:

WASHINGTON WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS:

Colfax Nanotechnology Startup Poised to Receive $1.5M Grant from US Air Force

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 / Published in News + Updates

Colfax-based Nanotechnology Company Challenged By U.S. Air Force to Raise $1.5 Million to Help Crowdfund Military Research

COLFAX – A local Colfax based tribology company is set to receive a $1.5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Air Force, if it can raise the matching funds in time.

TriboTEX technology has won numerous awards, and obtained funding from a variety of institutions, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and NASA.

To date, the company has sold over 36,000 units worldwide. They have a range of products suitable for the smallest lawn mower engines to the largest semi truck engines.

TriboTEX applied for a Small Business Innovation Research program through AFWERX, in order to obtain access to the defense market. AFWERX is a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service. Encompassing a number of programs supported with relatively small amounts of funding, the initiative is intended to circumvent bureaucracy and engage new entrepreneurs in Air Force programs.

The U.S. Air Force has challenged the TriboTEX team to raise up to $1.5 million for matched funding, which is necessary to scale the business operation and produce more products for military testing. TriboTEX is working with AFWERX to test TriboTEX products in military equipment. The TriboTEX team plans to raise the money necessary to fulfill their grant requirements through crowdfunding, by launching a Kickstarter campaign that went live today, for the company’s latest nanotechnology product, “TriboTEX Transmission.”

TriboTEX Transmission uses the familiar two-sided nanoparticles specifically designed for automatic transmissions. The nanoparticles reduce friction, which prevent accelerated wear, lower temperature and noise, and extend the life of the transmission. Transmissions with TriboTEX will last longer, potentially saving thousands in expensive repairs.

Currently, the Department of Defense spends millions of taxpayer dollars in maintenance costs. TriboTEX is aiming to save Americans millions by preserving equipment used by the military. “Helicopter gear boxes are limited in flight time, and longevity is critical for safety of the flight,” stressed CTO Rudenko, who says the product will work for anyone who wants to improve the functionality of their transmission, whether its a 2002 Toyota Prius or a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Collaboration between UW & Dayton brings mental health care to rural communities

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 / Published in News + Updates

first appeared in Crosscut on January 6, 2020 /  by Emily McCarty

A small team in southeast Washington is leading the charge in telepsychiatry

In tiny Dayton in southeastern Washington, the local hospital district has developed an innovative mental health program that has caught the attention of rural hospitals around the state.

The Columbia County Health System previously retained an in-house psychiatrist, but financial realities made continuing that approach impossible. CEO Shane McGuire didn’t want to give up, so he began the search for solutions.

 

Wayne Pollard teleconferences with Dr. Matthew D. Iles-Shih M.D., M.P.H. at the Columbia County Health System Clinic in Dayton, Washington December 19, 2019. (Rajah Bose for Crosscut)

Last July, McGuire found an opportunity to work with the University of Washington’s psychiatry program and its Advancing Integrated Mental Health Center (AIMS). The center’s primary focus is creating collaborative care models between primary care providers and their mental health care counterparts.

Dayton’s model weaves behavioral health care directly into primary care appointments. In Dayton, a mental health screening that indicates the patient would benefit from specialty care prompts a referral right away.

McGuire says the program extends beyond the AIMS model, because the UW psychiatrists not only support the medical staff, but also work directly with patients.

“They were willing to think outside the box for us,” he says. “I don’t think they really have a name for what they’re doing here yet.”

 

Rural Washington has struggled with behavioral health care solutions, with most citing problems in recruitment, retention and the high financial burden of providing specialty services. These hospital districts must be creative in building programs robust enough to meet basic mental health care needs, especially as Gov. Jay Inslee prepares to fully integrate behavioral health in the new year.

The 2019-2021 state operating budget provides $350.5 million to improve the mental health system, with over $35 million dedicated to community services and beds. Close to $120 million in the capital-construction budget was set aside for community-based beds to keep patients in their communities instead of being sent to Western or Eastern State Hospital.

Two bills making their way through the state Legislature would further change telemedicine for rural communities. Currently in committee is Senate Bill 5385, which seeks to pay out telehealth services at the same rate as in-person care. Senate Bill 5387, which took effect last July, allows the remote telehealth physician to access the patient’s local health records.

For now, each district is expected to find mental health solutions that will work best for them with the resources they have.

A Dayton city flag flies in front of the Columbia County courthouse
Columbia County is the third-least populous county in the state, yet hosts one of the most robust behavioral health programs in rural communities. (Rajah Bose for Crosscut)

“I think there’s 14 rural hospitals in the state that are operating in the red, year after year, working in their communities,” McGuire says. “We’re safety net organizations for our communities. We don’t turn people away.”

Rural communities are taking a variety of approaches toward mental health. Some, like Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster, provide crisis services only in the emergency room through the county health department. Newport Hospital, an hour north of Spokane, has a visiting psychiatrist once or twice a month. Cascade Medical in Leavenworth is looking at using pharmacists for more specialized prescribing assistance. Many towns have started building their mental health programs only within the past two years, starting with a few social workers, a dedicated nurse or a clinical psychologist.

But even in rural hospital districts with existing behavioral health care, psychiatrists are uncommon. Those services are usually provided by monthly visits from a visiting psychiatrist or, in more recent years, utilizing telemedicine services with psychiatrists in other cities using video conferencing.

Patients in Dayton do just that. They have access to top-tier psychiatric services from UW using Zoom, an encrypted video conferencing platform that meets federal HIPAA privacy regulations.

“You’ve got some of the best psychiatrists in the nation working in guiding the care of our patients … which is really an amazing overlap,” McGuire says.

Leading the charge is Dr. Matt Iles-Shih, an adult psychiatry and addiction specialist from the University of Washington’s Medical Center. His team initially started working in outpatient care, but this fall they rolled out inpatient services to the hospital with two additional attending psychiatrists who dedicate two hours a day.

Iles-Shih does one-on-one telemedicine for every new patient’s first appointment to start them on their course of treatment, prescribing psychotropic medication as needed or managing their current doses. About three months later, the patients will have a follow-up. If they have ongoing issues that need more treatment, repeat telehealth appointments can be made.

He also works directly with the doctors and social workers, providing curbside consultations to answer questions and provide clarification. He says this model not only benefits the patients, but allows the doctors to grow in their knowledge as well, strengthening the team across the board.

“Just through the process of clinical support that we’re doing through the program, there’s an upscaling and a sense that the PCP [primary care physician], she’s just absorbing a lot and actually changing their practice,” Iles-Shih says. “It’s not like you’re just reliant on someone else in another city, but this is an opportunity to really build up your own skills and capacities as an individual clinician.”

For outpatient needs, he communicates directly with one of Columbia County’s two social workers, Wayne Pollard and Tasha Willoughby.

Tasha Willoughby talks to high schoolers in front of a chalkboard
Social worker Tasha Willoughby talks about social work to Dayton High School students, where she or Pollard staff open office hours every Monday. (Rajah Bose for Crosscut)

On Thursday mornings, Iles-Shih video conferences with Pollard about four to eight patients. Iles-Shih will enter notes into the shared electronic database, which the patient’s primary doctors can access during regular appointments.

Physicians at Columbia County screen their patients every year for depression and anxiety. Those already in the newly created behavioral health program are rescreened with every visit. Depression and anxiety are the main diagnoses, but post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorders follow closely behind, Pollard says.

Pollard has been Columbia County Health System’s clinical social worker for the past two years. When he started, there was no program; McGuire created an entirely new system from the ground up.

The first half a year was clunky, Pollard says, but they saw the number of clients grow substantially. They hired their second social worker, Willoughby, to help handle the ever-growing caseload. Pollard averages about 60 clients, while Willoughby sees upwards of 90.

In crisis situations, where mental health services are needed as soon as possible, Pollard says the team can get patients in front of a UW specialist within two hours. This kind of expedited service from a psychiatrist is almost unheard of in rural health systems, he says.

There are no face-to-face psychiatrists in the area, Pollard says, and while the Tri-Cities offers such services, patients may have to wait up to a year to see one.

“It’s unusual that I could see somebody last week and tell her, ‘There’s a spot to see Dr. Matt next week. Let’s get you in front of him,’ ” he says. “That just doesn’t happen anywhere. People are blown away that they’re in front of this super specialist psychiatrist within a week or two.”

Both social workers are also certified in EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, commonly used to treat trauma.

“We are offering a specialty care here, which is very hard to find anywhere, much less than little Dayton, to have some EMDR therapists dealing with psychological trauma [and] PTSD symptoms,” Pollard says.

The wraparound care patients receive doesn’t stop at counseling, psychiatry and primary care services. The team also includes Paul Ihle, another social worker at Columbia County. He helps clients in everything from insurance complications to housing, but Dayton has him fill a unique need with mobile outreach, which provides transportation assistance for appointments.

About half of Ihle’s clients need transportation because of their mental health, and people were missing appointments because they lacked transportation, Ihle says. So the hospital licensed him to drive a hospital van, including for referrals outside of the community. They’ve brought patients from as far away as UW Medical Center in Seattle and Moscow, Idaho.

“The state provides People for People services, but it has a very rigid criteria for qualifying,” he says. “Some people are successful meeting that criteria, but there’s always circumstances that set up insurmountable hurdles to being successful and it tends to hit most profoundly the sick and the disabled and the poor.”

McGuire has also expanded into the local high school, down the road from the hospital. Pollard or Willoughby spends every Monday at the school with an open-door policy for students to talk about everything from standard “high school drama” to drug use and problems at home, Pollard says. They work with students over 13 years old. so the students can access services without needing parental permission, allowing students to drop in during school hours.

CEO Shane McGuire stands outside the Dayton clinic

CEO Shane McGuire has lived in Dayton for 16 years and been at Columbia County Health for almost 10 of those. He says they don’t turn people away and their services are unique: people come from as far as Walla Walla. (Rajah Bose for Crosscut)

“We are surprised at the amount of kids coming to see us already,” Pollard says. “We just started at the beginning of the year and easily there’s five or six kids popping in every day, which is pretty significant with being brand new there.”

McGuire wants to make sure the services are available to Columbia County’s whole network of services, so the staff also visits the nursing home attached to the hospital. Therapy is more difficult with cognitive issues, Pollard says, but they attend monthly psychotropic meetings where Iles-Shih is present via video conferencing.

This comprehensive behavioral health care all stems from McGuire, Pollard says. He made an effort to build a program, starting at square one.

“He’s wanting to do much more than the minimum of what’s required in any community. … He has a heart to see people get better,” Pollard says. “He gets the support from the board and a small community here who just want … people feeling as good as they can, instead of shoving this under the carpet like we’ve done for hundreds of years.”