UCSF Fresno marks 50 years of training doctors, advancing health in Valley | Opinion

Anyone who has waited months to see a specialist or had to travel outside the region for medical care understands the urgent need for more doctors in the San Joaquin Valley. This year marks a major milestone: the 50th anniversary of UCSF Fresno, the regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine dedicated to training outstanding physicians for the Valley and beyond.

Founded in 1975 with support from the Veterans Administration, the California Legislature, and a coalition of community leaders, UCSF Fresno was created to address a persistent physician shortage in the region. Our mission remains unchanged: to deliver exceptional medical education and meet the evolving health needs of a growing and multifaceted population.

There is much to celebrate. Today, UCSF Fresno is the largest academic physician training program between Sacramento and Los Angeles and the leading contributor to the regional physician workforce. Approximately 40% of our graduates remain in the Valley to provide care, teach and pursue further medical training, and more than 70% practice in California.

The impact of growing and attracting physician talent is visible across the region. UCSF faculty in Fresno and UCSF Fresno-trained physicians provide care for patients in hospitals, clinics and private practices from Bakersfield to Stockton. Our faculty, fellows and residents provide trauma care at Community Regional Medical Center — the only Level 1 trauma center in the San Joaquin Valley — and deliver essential primary and specialty care across the region.

They treat cancer, heart disease, liver cirrhosis and other complex conditions. UCSF Fresno is home to the only California Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Central California. Among many faculty leaders, Dr. Haifaa Abdulhaq is advancing cancer care in the region, and Dr. Mohammed Sani Bukari established the only comprehensive adult sickle cell clinic in the greater Fresno area.

Each year, we proudly serve about 29,000 veterans in the region at the Fresno VA Medical Center — our first home 50 years ago. Graduates of the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) are returning to the Valley to care for their communities and teach the next generation. They provide high-risk obstetric care, neonatal intensive care, mental health support for transitional youth and specialty services such as gastroenterology — helping to close critical care gaps in the region.

In addition to medical education and clinical care, UCSF Fresno has also become a vital hub for clinical research that responds directly to the needs of the Valley. Since the opening of the UCSF Fresno Clinical Research Center in 2013, UCSF Fresno has secured $92 million in research funding. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our faculty led and participated in global multi-center trials, giving local residents early access to treatments like Remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies and immunomodulators.

In 2020, UCSF Fresno partnered with the City of Fresno and community-based organizations to launch the COVID-19 Equity Project — a national model for university-community collaboration. Together, we brought care into communities with trusted messengers, in multiple languages and in familiar, accessible settings.

Over the course of the pandemic, we provided 200,000 COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. Today, our UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL unit continues to deliver critical services — including chronic disease screenings, prescription refills and reproductive health care — in partnership with Fresno County, especially in rural areas.

We are building pathways for students in the Valley to become health care leaders of the future. From the Junior Doctors Academy in middle school to undergraduate and medical school partnerships with UC Merced and UCSF, and through our robust residency and fellowship programs, UCSF Fresno offers a continuum of training opportunities.

Since 2011, we have launched key initiatives such as SJV PRIME, now a specialized UCSF track for students committed to practicing in the Valley. More recently, SJV PRIME+ — a partnership with UC Merced — offers an eight-year baccalaureate-to-MD pathway for aspiring physicians. These programs, along with the Doctors Academy founded by Dr. Katherine A. Flores, are creating a new generation of clinicians and health care professionals deeply rooted in the communities they serve.

This May, a new Vice Dean position was created to support UCSF Fresno’s expansion as a regional campus, including overseeing medical education, faculty development, research growth and our expanding partnership with UC Merced.

None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our clinical partners — including the VA, Community Regional Medical Center, Inspire Health Medical Group, United Health Centers — and our partner educational institutions, elected officials and community leaders. We are grateful.

Our story is one of vision, resilience and shared purpose. On this milestone anniversary, we celebrate the people who built UCSF Fresno and those who continue to move it forward. We remain steadfast in our mission: to train highly skilled, compassionate physicians who deliver outstanding care and improve health across the Valley and the state.

The next 50 years begins now — and we are ready.