Today, I made a specific request for an allocation of $15 million needed to fund the UC Riverside School of Medicine to the education budget subcommittee. I was joined by Assemblymember Jose Medina and we presented a written request for funding.

The budget request was made as our rapidly growing Inland Southern California region continues to be identified as having the most severe shortage of primary care doctors in the United States.

The UCR Medical School is absolutely critical to meeting the very basic healthcare needs of the residents of Inland Southern California. With the implementation of the national Affordable Care Act, our underserved region will face even more demand for doctors and healthcare providers.

The first step for the continued success of our region is to maximize the financial investment UCR and our community has made to get the medical school fully up and running. We did our part with the local community providing $10 million per year for ten years to help get the school's doors open.

It is time for the state to do its fair share in this partnership and provide $15 million of state funds to grow our school to the level the community needs. If we don't have doctors, we can't meet the healthcare needs of our residents, including critical services in hospitals and our community clinics.

The UCR Medical School will help meet California's growing doctor shortage. The medical school will be a critical catalyst for new economic growth for Riverside and Inland Southern California that will attract new biomedical research and development. The school will grow healthcare employment at all levels - from GED's to MD's.

It's time the state steps up and does its part to fund the medical school. We cannot afford to be skipped over again and our community deserves no less.

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