It was a landmark Tuesday night, so the shovel was in. Lots of shovels. Full size, posterized, gift boxed? Miniaturized. All to mark a symbolic global shift for the University of California, Merced Medical Education Center.
But this tool evoked something more. It's a metaphor that Dr. Kenny Vine talked about almost a year ago. He was talking about San Joaquin Valley PRIME. San Joaquin Valley PRIME was a program at the University of California that trained students to practice in the region after receiving medical training in the Valley.
“With SJV PRIME, we take these talented students from the Valley and train them in San Francisco. It's not about growing your own garden,” said Vine, assistant dean of medical education at UCSF Fresno.
Scheduled to open in 2026, the Medical Education Building will host the undergraduate phase of the SJV PRIME+ program, which includes several years of undergraduate and medical school training within the Fresno campuses of UC Merced and UC San Francisco.
“SJV PRIME+ is about taking kids out of the backyard and keeping them in the backyard,” Vine said. “It’s about building community.”
Medical training that stays in the Valley is one pillar of SJV PRIME+. The other is just as important, if not more important. Students accepted into the program must express an intention to practice medicine in the Valley and thereby improve the quality of health care in a region where it is desperately needed.
Many socio-economic and cultural pressures make access to health care difficult in the Valley. According to a 2020 study by the Council on Graduate Medical Education, the region has 130 physicians per 100,000 people, compared to 191 per 100,000 for California as a whole.
The study also looked at so-called medical professional shortage areas. Examples of HPSAs include low-income communities, homeless populations, and immigrant farm worker groups. In California, 28% of the population lives in his HPSA. In volleyball, that number jumps to 92% for him.
“We all recognize the numbers and how underserved we are. This campus, which came to the Central Valley and enhanced educational opportunities, is now also recognized for healthcare opportunities. It would be great to see that increase,” said association member Jack Garamendi. University of California, Merced Board of Regents.
Fred Lewis, a longtime benefactor of UC Merced, has lived in the Valley since he was 9 years old. He has witnessed health care disparities, especially in rural and underserved communities.
“It's great to have a place where we can train doctors who can actually serve the community,” he says. “This is the beginning of something really special.”
In the Medical Education Building, the university hosts more than just the so-called BS to MD program. It will also be home to UC Merced's Health Sciences Institute, its School of Public Health and Psychological Sciences, and other allied health programs developed in collaboration with area community colleges. In short, this is a full-fledged realization of UC Merced's fundamental commitment to community service.
“The mission of the University of California, Merced is to have an economic impact on our region in general health, including reducing health disparities and increasing access to care and health professionals,” said Nancy Public Health. Professor Burke said. “We also have faculty, graduate students, and postdocs here doing research that addresses the social, political, and cultural structures that impact health. It's pretty unique.”
Dr. Maricela Rangel Garcia, a Fresno gastroenterologist and one of the first students in the original SJV PRIME program, has a unique perspective on that mission.
“As a freshman at the University of California, Merced in 2005, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but after being influenced by several people here, I decided to pursue medicine. Mercy “I was inspired by the patients I saw as a volunteer at Medical Center Merced,” said Rangel Garcia.
“UC Merced has been a big part of my journey, and now I'm excited to return to the Valley and serve patients here and look forward to what the future holds for the Central Valley with the Medical Education Building.” I’m so excited.”
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the word “seventh” was mentioned many times. This refers to his six medical centers within the UC system. Someday, but not anytime soon, the University of California, Merced will add to that number. This building and the programs within it represent a major leap in that direction.
“Five million people live in the San Joaquin Valley. If we were a state, we would be the 27th largest in the nation, but we would be the largest without a medical school,” said the state legislator. Joaquín Arambula said. “I spent 10 years on the front lines of medicine as an emergency room doctor. I look forward to seeing reinforcements.”
As a cloudy dusk fell during Tuesday night's ceremony and six golden shovels hit the ground, it was a time to celebrate not just the moment, but the months, years and decades to come.
“What we are doing tonight is ushering in what will happen 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now,” said Betsy Dumont, executive vice president and provost. We build the capacity to protect ourselves and take care of the rest of California. ”
