United Health Centers Awarded $2 Million Grant

United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley (UHC) announced it has received a $2 million grant from the State of California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) under the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Program’s 2023 Primary Care Residency Application.

This grant will support the launch of a new Internal Medicine Training Program, aimed at addressing the critical shortage of internal medicine doctors in the Central Valley.

UHC is one of 18 recipients awarded grants of $1 or $2 million dollars to establish new residency programs. Recipients of the higher award are required to provide a 25% match of their total award so UHC begins its new Internal Medicine Residency Program with $2.5 million.

The new residency program will host five new first-year internal medicine residents with the goal of increasing the capacity to train up to 15 residents by year three of the program. Residents will train in Fresno and Parlier, which are both located in Medically Underserved and Health Professional Shortage Areas, where 80% of UHC patients are Hispanic, 56% are migrant or seasonal farmworkers, and 75% live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

“We are grateful to receive this grant from the California HCAI Song Brown Program, which will allow us to establish a program to help train the next generation of doctors and increase retention of physicians,” said Justin Preas, president and CEO at United Health Centers. “The program aligns perfectly with our mission because we need physicians that are professional, clinically competent, and trained to deliver culturally appropriate care to our diverse patient population to ensure the wellness of our communities and increase accessibility to comprehensive quality care in the Central Valley.”