HEALWA Serves Washington Healthcare Providers
University of Washington Libraries Help Fill a Critical Knowledge Gap
Due to the pace at which medical knowledge evolves and changes over time, online medical libraries are critical tools for health care providers who need the most up-to-date information, tools and resources available including access to journal articles, databases, and other tools needed for evidence-based practice and research. Many of these “industry standard” resources require expensive subscriptions, and are only accessible through large organizations who pay for institution-wide access for their employees.
Now, imagine you are a recent graduate or clinician working in a small or rural clinic. The clinic does not have its own medical library or the budget to subscribe to the latest medical journals or databases, significantly limiting access to critical health information. This is the problem HEALWA was created to address.
Facilitated by UW Libraries, HEALWA provides a vital service for healthcare providers across Washington State by ensuring affordable, anytime, online access to current, authoritative clinical information and educational resources.
The HEALWA project (“Heal” Washington) was created in 2007 by legislation (SB 5930, 2007) to ensure that providers, regardless of their location or size, can access these critical clinical information tools. HEALWA is a portal to an online library that provides affordable, anytime access to current, authoritative clinical information and educational resources to eligible health care practitioners in Washington State. It is funded by a portion of the medical professional’s license fees. HEALWA provides online access to journal articles, databases, and other tools needed for evidence-based practice and research.
“I would like to thank you and your team for all of the great work you do supporting our clinicians across Washington state…Particularly in rural communities, such as the one I serve, access to scholarly literature to stay updated on the state of the science can be quite challenging. Your virtual library is a vital tool in maintaining our clinicians’ skills and knowledge to adequately care for our community.”
-MD, CMO, Ellensburg, WA
“Having a curated library to look up evidenced based care options is really helpful. It’s easy to turn to google to get maybe inaccurate information. HEAL-WA makes it easy to find solid information that better serves our patients and improves our practice.”
-Director, MSN, RN, NCSN, Renton, WA
“With access to trusted medical journals, and free CE education credits, HEALWA makes staying up-to-date and providing care for our students much easier.”
-MSN, RN, Assistant Manager Health Services, Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, WA
The program is managed by UW medical librarians who are uniquely qualified to create and maintain the online library as part of a contract between the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Health. Each biennium, the legislature approves funding to continue the program and to expand access to additional professions. In the last session, two new professions were added, psychological associates and mental health counselor associates. The additions were part of a bill championed by Rep. Matt Marshall. HEALWA is an exceptionally valuable resource, especially for this level of clinician as they complete their training after graduation but before licensure as a Mental Health Counselor or psychologist.
TOP 5 HEALWA user groups 2026:
- Registered Nurses
- Physicians and Surgeons
- Mental Health Counselors
- Naturopathic Physicians
- Social Workers
Currently, 28 professions are served by HEALWA representing a wide range of providers and specialties and 242,382 eligible users. In addition to access to the full online library, HEALWA provides specialized toolkits for more than 15 different professions with curated links to resources and tools.
“As part of our mission, we are continually working to increase outreach and access to HEALWA across the state,” says Tania Bardyn, MLIS, Senior Director, HEALWA & Community Partnerships. “A few new areas of focus in the coming year include adoption of the Care Provider Toolkit and AI resources in primary care across the State and outreach to providers serving rural and incarcerated populations, in addition to our existing offerings and outreach.”
HEALWA staff work closely with more than fifty community partners across the state to raise awareness and train professionals to use the service, significantly increasing access to resources where they are needed most.
Additional Resources
Annual Reports (2026 – coming soon!)
#WashingtonServes #ResearchMakesAmerica