UC RIVERSIDE: Medical school gets $3 million Kaiser grant

Kaiser Permanente of Southern California has given the UC Riverside School of Medicine a two-year $3 million grant, school officials announced Wednesday, April 3.

The money will bolster the school’s $10 million annual budget, providing funds for outreach efforts and scholarships for eight of its 50 incoming students. The school opens its doors for the first time this fall.

“It’s a significant percentage of our support,” said medical school Dean G. Richard Olds. “It’s a huge influx of funds for us, and it’s part of our core mission.”

Kaiser Permanente of Southern California has about 3.5 million health plan members in an area stretching from San Diego to Ventura County. It has hospitals in Riverside and Fontana and is exploring building a medical center in Temecula.

Olds said most of the Kaiser grant will be used to strengthen “pipeline program,” which cultivates interest in medicine among students at Inland high schools and middle schools. The goal is to generate greater diversity in potential applicants to the medical school, he said.

The grant will fund a weeklong Medical Leaders of Tomorrow summer camp for as many as 50 students from the seventh through 10th grades who are at risk both educationally and socioeconomically. The students will attend workshops on study skills, leadership and team building and will attend science presentations including lab and clinic tours.

A second summer program, for incoming college freshmen, is a booster for students who have expressed an interest in pursuing medical careers.

The grant also will provide $20,500 scholarships for eight medical students. Annual tuition for the school is $32,000, Olds said.

He said the school is continuing to seek grants and support from outside agencies, even as it tries to secure $15 million in annual funding from the state. State Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, is among those pushing for the money to be included in the state budget for the coming fiscal year. The money has been removed from past budgets by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“I can’t just wait for $15 million to get through the state,” Olds said. “We’re out there looking for funds. We’re really glad to get this one, and we’re obviously trying to get more.”