A California lawmaker is putting pressure on the University of California to build a medical school in Kern County, which has been federally designated as a physician shortage area since 1978.
On Feb. 10, Jasmeet Bains, MD, a Democrat representing Delano, Calif., in the state assembly, introduced the Kern County Grow Our Own Doctors Act. The bill would give California State University, Bakersfield and the Kern Community College District authority to establish a medical school if UC does not do so by next year.
Under the state’s Master Plan for Higher Education, signed into law in 1960, UC is the only public higher education system authorized to award medical degrees. Private universities in California also grant MDs. In a statement, Dr. Bains’ office said the university has a “long history of opposing projects in the Central Valley,” despite persistent physician shortages in the region.
Kern County is situated in California’s Valley region. According to data cited in the bill announcement, the Valley region has fewer than 45 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, compared with a statewide average of 156. Across all MDs, the Valley has 157 per 100,000, compared to 411 in the Bay Area.
“We’ve been waiting on the UC to act since the Carter Administration,” Dr. Bains said in a news release. “I wasn’t even born when the federal government first declared a doctor shortage in Kern County. We cannot wait another half-century for the UC to decide we are worthy of their investment. If they won’t build it, we will.”
A UC spokesperson said the university is reviewing the bill and declined to comment further. California State University did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
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