Dr. Jasmeet Bains says the establishment of a University of California medical school in Kern County would address the shortage of health care professionals and improve access to care.
- Video shows Kern Medical and statistics detailing the lack of access to health care in Kern County
- Kern County is one of the most medically underserved areas in California.
- Dr. Jasmeet Bains proposed AB 2357 to create an endowment in the California State Treasury for funding the medical school.
- Local doctor, Glenn Goldis, says having a local medical school would help ease the burden on hospitals like Kern Medical.
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Burnout from the pandemic and limited staff have been causing issues for medical professionals across the country.
Locally, the possibility of a new medical school might ease that burden for hospitals like Kern Medical and keep doctors and nurses in Kern.
Visiting a local hospital or doctor's office for preventative care is common for people to regularly check on their health, but physicians in Kern County may run into trouble providing that care.
"Kern County is one of the most medically underserved areas in California, and we desperately need physicians," Dr. Glenn Goldis, Chief Medical Officer at Kern Medical, said.
Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the 35th district assemblywoman, says it's not just physicians who are struggling.
"People are struggling to get into their doctor's appointments," Bains said.
Because of that, Bains introduced Assembly Bill 2357 which would create an endowment to fund a medical school in Kern County.
That bill now awaits final approval on Governor Gavin Newsom's desk.
"To get this far, truly shows how much my colleagues understand that Kern County has needs that the state of California really has to get a handle on," she said.
The San Joaquin Valley has only 47 primary care physicians for every 100,000 people, according to the California Health Care Foundation .
That's lower than the recommended supply of primary care physicians and one of the lowest in the state, and Goldis says having a local medical school would promote retention.
"If we can partner with a local medical school, that would just help the whole process and fill a gap that we currently experience," Goldis said.
If the bill passes, it ensures once a funding requirement has been met, the University of California will be required to build the school.
"We are so underserved here in general in Kern County that we can't even adequately offer good preventive care to all of the citizens in the community because there's just not enough doctors to do it, but what a great opportunity we have to do that."
Assembly Bill 2357 has been sent to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk and is currently waiting approval.
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