Fresno County residents will have a chance to offer ideas and suggestions about plans for a medical school in Merced at a meeting Tuesday evening.
The meeting at Fresno State's Satellite Student Union is the first of nine organized by the Valley Coalition for UC Merced Medical Center to share information about the medical school plans.
"Our intent is to do a listening tour and get feedback from residents of the Valley on this medical school," said Lynn Forhan, a Fresno businesswoman and community leader who is co-chair of the coalition.
The drive for the medical school at the University of California at Merced needs continued support from Valley residents, Forhan said.
Money for the school is an issue, she said. The coalition recognized the state's financial difficulties when it supported a phased approach to the medical school earlier this year, Forhan said.
The coalition supports recommendations for creating a pre-baccalaureate bio-medical track that would begin in 2010, she said. It also endorses the creation of a branch campus of the UC Davis medical school to be established as part of the UC Merced medical school.
It supports working in tandem with the UCSF-Fresno Medical Education Program, Forhan said.
But the coalition deviates on the timeline for a full medical school from that recommended by the Washington Advisory Group, which was hired by the university to help with planning. The group proposed a completed medical school by 2020. The Valley coalition is pushing for an independent, fully accredited medical school in Merced by 2015, Forhan said.
"We have a crisis," she said. "We have a very serious physician shortage."
The Valley Coalition formed in February 2008 at the urging of Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. More than 200 elected officials, health-care providers, community leaders and citizens joined to rally support for the medical school.
In February, the coalition received a $147,000 grant from The California Endowment for outreach, Forhan said.
The coalition hopes to broaden its support base through the nine community meetings, she said. It plans to present a report detailing the Valley support for the school to the state Legislature, the UC Regents and the UC Office of the President.
"The Valley is so wanting this medical school," Forhan said.
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