[Photo: UCSF]
FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – UCSF Fresno receives $2.15 million grant to expand four residency programs.
The grants are from the Office of Statewide Health and Planning as part of the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act to expand and train the physician workforce in underserved areas.
“The Song-Brown funding from the state is an important supplement to federal funding for graduate medical education,” says Dr. Michael W. Peterson, the associate dean at UCSF Fresno. “Without this state support, UCSF Fresno would not be able to expand the number of physicians being trained in the Valley for the Valley.”
[Photo: UCSF]
Four residency programs at UCSF Fresno are receiving a combined $2.15 million over the span of three years for infrastructure and educational support.
The UCSF Fresno Family and Community Medicine Residency Program received $1.075 million of the funding, while the Internal Medicine Residency Program received $825,000.
UCSF Fresno Pediatrics and the Obstetrics/Gynecology programs each received $125,000 in grant money.
Together, these four programs train more than 140 physicians per year.
[Photo: UCSF]
“These awards are recognition of our progress and they position UCSF Fresno to continue training and retaining physicians for our underserved region,” says Dr. Lori Weichenthal, assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education.
Even while half of it’s graduates remain in the area, UCSF Fresno say more physicians are needed.
According to the Healthforce Center at UCSF, the San Joaquin Valley has just 133 physicians per 100,000 population compared to the average state rate of 222 per 100,000.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
