Valley needs a med school

Fresno Bee 2/25/07

A business plan for a much-needed medical school in the San Joaquin Valley is expected to be completed by June. That's a positive step, although we'd have preferred that this proposal move through the University of California system much more quickly.

The medical school would be based at UC Merced, and would have clinics in the Valley and other health providers as partners.

The need for a medical school is great, and we can't bungle this opportunity. The Valley has 25% fewer primary care physicians and 41% fewer specialists than the rest of the state.

Do you think there's a correlation between a lack of doctors and the fact that you can't get into a specialist for six months? That should be enough to get you lobbying state leaders for a Valley medical school. It will only get worse as the region's population increases.

A medical school in the Valley would help because we'd essentially be growing our own doctors. That should be coupled with an effective strategy to encourage other doctors to relocate here. Otherwise the Valley's health care mess will only get worse.

There would also be an economic benefit to getting more doctors to serve the region. A UC study says the Valley has lost more than $845 million because insured patients living here were forced to go to the Bay Area or Los Angeles for medical care they couldn't get locally.

We should be looking to Riverside for advice. That region's effort to get a medical school is far ahead of the Valley's because Riverside leaders came together on the issue faster than we did. In November, the UC Board of Regents authorized UC Riverside to proceed with its planning for a medical school.

At the time, UC officials said the advancement of the Riverside proposal wouldn't hinder the chances of a second new medical school at UC Merced. Now supporters of a Valley medical school must make sure that our proposal gets approved.

The irony is that at one time, it was believed that the Valley and Riverside were competitors for the next medical school. Now we're hoping to be the next medical school after Riverside.

UC Merced officials said that submitting the business plan to the UC Office of the President will begin the review process that is required for the proposal to advance. The UC Board of Regents must approve the Valley medical school.

The Valley has a strong case to make for a medical school. But this proposal will not be successful unless the entire region gets behind it.