Veteran public health professional Alicia Thompson has assumed the role of administrative officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, filling the position that had been vacant for over a year. 

Thompson, 64, began her career in public health as an epidemiologist at Spokane Regional Health District in 1999. Thereafter, she moved on to pursue leadership roles within public health, taking on posts as a deputy director for the Cowlitz County Health Department in Longview, Washington, and similar roles with the Great Falls, Montana-based Cascade City-County Health Department. Most recently, Thompson was the chief operations manager for Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc., in Sierra Vista, Arizona. 

Thompson’s father, John Musgrave, moved the family to Spokane when he became the director of marketing for the 1974 World's Fair, known as Expo ’74. Thompson graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s in psychology from Whitworth University; a master’s in social work from Eastern Washington University; and a doctorate in public health policy and management from the University of Arizona. 

Spokane Regional Health District is headquartered at 1101 W. College, northeast of Kendall Yards. The organization has about 300 employees and serves a population of more than 500,000 in Spokane County. SRHD is supported by state, county, and local funds and fees, and federal grants that flow into the district to operate 20 programs including disease prevention, emergency preparedness, food safety, pollution prevention, and opioid treatment services. 

The Journal recently sat down with Thompson to discuss her return to SRHD, what she hopes to accomplish, and the most pressing public health issues in Spokane today. 

 How does it feel to return to the Health District after leaving in 2007? 

I love Spokane, and I love my community. I can’t even tell you how amazing it was to walk into the building and know that I had achieved my ultimate career goal. When you’re on the journey, you have absolutely no idea whether or not you are going to succeed, and so it broke my heart to leave SRHD. But I knew I wanted to be a leader, and I firmly believe that I have the strong ethics and values to make good, solid decisions that are informed by my team. 

Now that you’ve returned and are leading the organization, what will you be focusing on? 

In these first 90 days, my primary goal is to get to know the employees and the board of health members and dig into the processes and systems that are in place at the health district. Our programs are focused on helping the community be as healthy as possible, and that is done in multiple ways. What sets Washington apart from the rest of the country is the Legislature supports the idea that everyone in our community should have access to fundamental foundational public services. 

For example, we work with day care centers and provide them with disease investigation and help them ensure that their processes are as tight as possible so that they don’t have outbreaks within their small businesses. Similarly, we work with restaurants on proper storage, equipment, and safety. 

Another focus of mine is analyzing our organizational strategic planning process for business, education, and health care sectors. They are our partners, so we want to hear from the people who are providing services to the community. Right now, I’m just getting my sea legs for the health district again. That involves hearing from our stakeholders and hearing from the community about their greatest concerns surrounding the health of the community.  

 What are the most pressing public health issues in Spokane? 

 The ones that immediately come to mind for most people is what they see in the news, which is the unhoused community. That’s not something we would take on; that’s the housing department. But we support the efforts within the shelters. Recently, there was a shigella outbreak (intestinal infection) in the Spokane shelters. In a community that doesn’t have great access to washrooms, it can spread very quickly. It’s been a quick downturn. We’re very proud of our epidemiologist team. 

The opioid epidemic is huge. We have opioid treatment centers, but what is challenging about these outpatient programs is that they are highly regulated systems built around heroin addiction. Now, fentanyl is the primary opioid we are seeing, which is a whole other creature. All those rules and guidelines that were set out to address heroin are very specific in how much methadone we can prescribe to people who enroll in our programs. It is not enough for a fentanyl user. Even the highest amount of methadone that we are allowed to prescribe to patients is still not enough to curb those fentanyl cravings. 

It presents an opportunity for policy change and working together with community members. The guidelines need to be reworked with fentanyl in mind. It’s a huge public health challenge that we have to figure out. 

What are some of the big dreams you have for this role? 

I love being a mentor to others. It’s important to me to provide those opportunities to all the staff that have a hunger and desire to be in a leadership role and to help prepare them to the best of my ability, so that when it’s time for me to retire there will be an internal candidate ready. 

I had to leave SRHD. I love SRHD and I didn’t want to leave Spokane, but I had this hunger and desire to be a leader. I didn’t see that opportunity at SRHD. So one of the things I want to build while I’m in my position, is a way of growing our own, giving them real-life experiences and opportunities that will help them be ready. This position was empty for over a year, and everybody stepped up and did a great job. But a gap like that is hard for an organization. It’s different when you have someone who’s actually at the reins making the decisions and leading the organization in the direction that it wants to go. 

This other dream might sound funny, but SRHD has an image problem. We have this wonderful building that is part of the Spokane skyline, and everybody is wondering what it is. We use SRHD, everywhere thinking everyone knows it stands for Spokane Regional Health District. So one of the things I’m hoping to accomplish in my career is that when you look at the Spokane skyline and you see Chase and Nordstrom, you also see Spokane Regional Health District. I would be thrilled if one day we could have a sign that complements the building's Byzantine architecture.

I really want people in our community to know what services we offer, because everyone in our community should have access to these fundamental health services. People might not realize they are accessing our services, like when they go out to dinner then come home, go to sleep, and wake up healthy. You really cannot go through your day without being touched or impacted by public health.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.