BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2232
AUTHOR: Gray
AMENDED: June 12, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 18, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : University of California: medical education.
SUMMARY
This bill appropriates from the State General Fund to
Regents of the University of California $1.225 million,
commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year to support the
expansion of the San Joaquin Valley PRIME program.
BACKGROUND
UC operates six Schools of Medicine (at Davis, Irvine, Los
Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and San Francisco). In
2012-13, total enrollment in these programs was
approximately 3,000 medical students (roughly two-thirds of
the State's total) and more than 4,000 medical residents
and fellows (nearly half in the State).
Programs in Medical Education (PRIME). UC PRIME is an
innovative training program focused on meeting the needs of
California's underserved populations in both rural
communities and urban areas by combining specialized
coursework, structured clinical experiences, advanced
independent study and mentoring. These activities are
organized and structured to prepare highly motivated,
socially conscious students as future clinicians, leaders
and policymakers. Each new program has an area of focus
that is selected based upon faculty expertise, the
populations served by each school and its medical center,
and other local considerations. Each continues to develop
and improve its guidelines for admission and recruitment of
students and its new curriculum designed to educate and
train future physician leaders, researchers and advocates
for the communities they will serve.
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ANALYSIS
This bill appropriates from the State General Fund to
Regents of the University of California $1.225 million,
commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year to support the
expansion of the San Joaquin Valley PRIME program. More
specifically, this bill:
1) Makes findings and declarations in support of the
proposed appropriation.
2) Appropriates $1.225 million from the General Fund to
the UC Regents each fiscal year, commencing in 2015-16
for allocation to support expansion of the San Joaquin
Valley PRIME program to admit up to 12 students per
year and operate the program with up to 48 student
participants over the four-year curriculum annually.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, an
invaluable resource for training and attracting more
physicians in the San Joaquin Valley is the UC's
Programs in Medical Education (PRIME). PRIME is a
collaboration between the UC Davis Medical School, UC
Merced and UC San Francisco, designed to train the
next generation of San Joaquin valley physicians. This
program is a tailored clinical track at the UC Davis
School of Medicine for medical students who are
committed to ensuring high quality, diverse, and well
distributed medical care to improve health for
populations, communities, and individuals in
California's San Joaquin Valley. Despite its numerous
benefits for the region, PRIME lacks an ongoing source
of funding for its current enrollment, as well as the
financial resources to expand capacity to meet the
needs of the valley.
2) Immediate Benefits from San Joaquin Valley PRIME .
Building on the success of the PRIME program at all UC
medical schools and its medical education programs
throughout the state, the UC Regents approved the UC
Merced San Joaquin Valley PRIME (SJV PRIME) program in
September 2010 to help provide a unique solution to
the health care issues of the central valley.
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The newest addition to the systemwide program is
collaboration between UC Davis, UC Merced and the UCSF
Fresno Medical Education Program to strengthen the
recruitment and retention of new physicians in the San
Joaquin Valley - one of California's most medically
underserved areas.
Recognizing the population's health problems in the
valley, the program will partner with communities to
reverse long-standing health inequities and to address
the social determinants of health disparities. The
new program will also actively promote
inter-professional education as a pathway toward
improved health and health care. The program is
expected to be fully enrolled with a total of
approximately 20 students in 2014-15. The first five
students matriculated in the fall of 2011.
3) UC Merced in a Broader Context . In 2005, the tenth UC
campus in Merced opened with 875 students and 60
faculty. In 2012-13, enrollment at the Merced campus
reached approximately 5,900 full-time students. The
Office of the President has been providing interim
supplemental support for the campus; given its size,
the campus is not yet able to realize economies of
scale required to absorb growth and instructional
needs without continued support for enrollment growth.
The campus is faced with a growing gap between strong
student demand for admission and the campus' limited
capacity to provide capital facilities and
infrastructure needed to support that demand. The
need to fund the infrastructure necessary for the
future success of the overall campus and its
priorities for various academic, research and public
service initiatives is critical.
The UC has moved forward with a multi-year plan for
the development of future health sciences programs;
resources that must include those necessary to support
the basic sciences (e.g., laboratories for both
research and instruction in the basic sciences, which
are core requirements for medical education) for the
Merced campus. It is critical that the underlying
infrastructure (both programmatically and capital
outlay) for basic sciences is secured and functional.
The UC Merced campus is still growing and maturing as
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a comprehensive undergraduate and graduate
institution, and has yet to achieve its goal of having
10,000 full-time students, be self-sustaining, and
being fully weaned from any supplemental funding.
4) Related legislation . SB 841 (Cannella), as amended,
would have appropriated $1.8 million for the San
Joaquin Valley PRIME program. SB 841 passed this
Committee on a 7-0 vote, but was subsequently held
under submission in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SUPPORT
AFSCME
Association of California Healthcare Districts
California Primary Care Association
California Psychiatric Association
OPPOSITION
None on file.