New funding could help Central Coast combat ‘severe’ primary care shortage. How?
Primary care physicians are in short supply on the Central Coast, and that shortage is predicted to only get worse through the end of the decade.
But two initiatives that recently received state funding with support from Central Coast lawmakers are aimed at helping fill the gaps.
The initiatives include a University of California partnership that aims to recruit and train medical students on the Central Coast, which received $3.3 million in the latest state budget and was backed by Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, as well as a $1 million healthcare research and feasibility study slated to be completed by Cal Poly with support from Assembly member Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay.
“One of the most urgent needs across California is healthcare — and that starts with the ability to see a doctor,” Addis said in a news release. “Through numerous committee hearings, I have fought to secure funding that invests in increasing the physician workforce on the Central Coast, and I am proud that we are delivering for California, especially at a time when H.R. 1 is rolling back healthcare in ways we have not seen before.”
UC initiative aims to recruit, train doctors on Central Coast
PRIME Central Coast is a newly funded partnership between UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz that aims to shore up the medical workforce in the California communities with the largest need.
“Because most physicians practice near where they train, PRIME Central Coast is a ‘grow-your-own’ initiative: recruiting local talent, training them in area hospitals, and keeping them local to close the gap,” UC Santa Cruz spokesperson Allison Arteaga Soergel said in an announcement Wednesday.
According to a news release, the PRIME Central Coast partnership was first announced last year with a $1.5 million allocation and started accepting applications for its inaugural cohort in May — and it just received $3.3 million in the California budget to help support its mission of recruiting and training medical students from the Central Coast.
The money will help the program hire personnel to build out the program and to provide professional development opportunities for participating physicians, the release said.
State funding for the program was supported in the California Legislature by Santa Cruz Democrat John Laird, the release said.
“Last year, I worked to get money in the state budget for the first students — now being recruited — who will return to the Central Coast for their clinical coursework and residency,” Laird said. “I am pleased that the budget we just approved provides an additional $3.3 million for the next round of students. This will be a long process over the coming years, and I look forward to continuing to be a partner in this effort.”
According to the release, interested students can apply to the UC Davis School of Medicine by October. If accepted for a second interview, they can indicate their interest in the PRIME Central Coast program and accepted students would start their studies in July 2027.
Medical students participating in the program will then complete their clinical rotations under the supervision of doctors on the Central Coast.
“Studies show that more than half of physicians practice within a 100-mile radius of where they trained in residency, highlighting the need to expand clinical training opportunities in areas of need,” the release said. “PRIME Central Coast aims to cultivate a physician workforce that is from the Central Coast, trained in the Central Coast, and stays in the Central Coast, addressing health disparities in the region.”
According to the release, California as a whole is predicted to have an 11.5% shortage in physicians by 2030 — and the Central Coast and Central Valley face an even more “severe” shortage at 18.7%, making it “one of the worst gaps in the state.”
“The UC Davis School of Medicine is eager to train students from the Central Coast who are committed to returning to their communities to address physician workforce shortages and improve the health of the people they serve,” Melody Tran-Reina, executive director of community health scholars programs at UC Davis, said in the release.
Funding secured for Cal Poly research into healthcare solutions
Meanwhile, Cal Poly now has funding to complete a study into long-term solutions to the healthcare worker shortage across the Central Coast, and explore the possibility of building a medical school in the region.
According to a news release from Addis’ office, the research will examine at physician shortages and what barriers get in the way of recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce in the area.
The study will also evaluate future workforce demands, and researchers will receive input from healthcare providers as well as residents, the release said.
The project will also serve as a feasibility study to look at establishing a medical school somewhere on the Central Coast, the release said.
“Cal Poly is proud that Assemblymember Addis invited us to partner on this feasibility study, and we look forward to exploring solutions that help attract and retain healthcare providers in our region,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said in the release. “We hope the findings will not only benefit Central California but also provide a model for other rural communities facing similar workforce challenges nationwide.”
Addis also supported a $2 million allocation to a loan repayment program that helps subsidize the cost of medical school for students hailing from the Central Coast region, the release mentioned, among other line items supporting local mental healthcare.
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