California continues to face a mounting healthcare access crisis, especially in its underserved regions. The state averages just 230 primary healthcare physicians per 100,000 residents, well below the national benchmark of 284 set by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
In some regions of Southern California, the primary healthcare disparity is more glaring: Riverside and San Bernardino counties report only 50 and 44 primary healthcare physicians per 100,000 residents, respectively.
Primary healthcare physicians are not alone when it comes to shortages. Physician assistants, who work alongside physicians and provide integral care especially in underserved communities, are also challenged with meeting the growing demand in the U.S. At a national level, there are about 56 physician assistants per 100,000 residents, below the 60 to 70 that experts suggest.
In California, the physician assistant shortage is more severe, with about 36 per 100,000 residents. In the Riverside-San Bernardino County area, the number is lower at about 33 per 100,000 residents.
These numbers represent real barriers to care for millions of Californians and spotlights a systemic challenge that is ready for change.
Closing this gap requires more than policy reform or increased funding — it demands partnerships that align education with community health needs. One such partnership between California Baptist University and Riverside University Health System – both in Riverside County – offers a scalable model for how universities and health systems across the country can work together to train and retain the next generation of primary healthcare providers where they’re needed most.
Since CBU established its accredited Physician Assistant program in 2016, a main tenet has been to prepare graduates to provide quality healthcare in underserved communities. This mindset begins locally, through clinical assignments and involvement in Riverside County, and extends globally.
As the primary healthcare provider and public safety net hospital system for Riverside County’s 2.5 million residents, RUHS has been a critical partner in advancing that mission, offering CBU PA students valuable supervised clinical experiences throughout its network of hospitals and clinics. These rotations allow students to work alongside physicians, gaining hands-on experience in the very communities where provider shortages are most severe.
The partnership was established in large part because CBU and RUHS are aligned in their mission to provide equitable healthcare to underserved communities. With the healthcare system serving those most in need throughout the county, it was the right condition to provide PA students with community-based training. This principle is grounded in the belief that localized training fosters professional retention within the community. As PA students develop a sense of commitment to the populations they serve, they are more likely to contribute to the provision of dignified, community-centered care.
This approach has seen strong results as nearly half of all CBU’s PA graduates stay in the region, where their training is deeply rooted and their impact is almost immediate. Of these, about 37 percent work in primary healthcare. At RUHS about 35% to 50% of family medicine and internal medicine graduates trained stay to practice in the region. In the 2024-25 school year, there were 917 students from various institutions that trained at RUHS.
Together, CBU and RUHS are demonstrating how academic institutions and health systems can collaborate on solutions that are both replicable and sustainable. By aligning mission-based training with regional health needs and embedding students in community health practitioner settings, universities like CBU can help close provider gaps while fostering long-term retention in the region.
Health systems, in turn, must see themselves not just as employers but as co-educators. RUHS’s investment in clinical training ensures that students graduate with the skills and cultural competence needed to thrive in underserved environments.
The success of the CBU–RUHS partnership offers a blueprint for other regions facing similar challenges. Expanding PA programs is a practical, cost-effective strategy that can be scaled across California and beyond, but its impact depends on collaboration. When universities and health systems align in their mission and values, it makes it fundamentally easier to develop a formal partnership that is mutually beneficial. They can build resilient pipelines of healthcare providers who are not only clinically prepared but also deeply connected to the communities they serve.
In the Inland Empire, this partnership is already making a difference to help bridge the primary healthcare gap. We encourage health systems and universities across California and the U.S. to explore organizational synergies that can help transform how we train, retain and deploy the future healthcare workforce.
Dr. Daniel Kim is the Chair of Medicine and Director of Medical Education for Riverside University Health System and Dr. Heather Ontiveros is the Chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at California Baptist University.
