California Senator Richard D. Roth Sworn into Office; Introduces Legislation Funding UC Riverside Medical School

December 03, 2012

The California State Senate opened the 2013-14 legislative session today. Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) was sworn into office by the Honorable Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. Senator Roth was elected on November 6, 2012 to represent the newly redistricted 31st  State Senate District.

Senator Roth said, “It is a great honor to have been elected to represent the people who live in this very diverse Senate district. I am proud to continue my public service to my community and to the State of California.”

The 31st State Senate District includes portions of Riverside County including the communities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, March Air Reserve Base, Perris, Corona, Norco, Eastvale and Jurupa Valley. Each State Senator represents approximately 931,349 Californians.

On his first day in office, Senator Roth introduced Senate Bill 21, legislation to provide the new University of California Riverside (UCR) Medical School with ongoing funding to ensure completion of the accreditation process. Fully funding the medical school will maximize the number of students eligible to enroll and allow the UCR Medical School to grow medical school to its largest sustainable level.

“This is my top priority and it was the primary reason I ran for elected office. I’m working as hard as I can to secure the on-going funding for the UCR medical school,” said Senator Roth. “I will be working closely with UCR, the UC Regents and my colleagues in the Legislature to meet our growing regional and statewide doctor shortage.”

California is suffering from a shortage of physicians and the projected statewide physician shortfall is expected to be 17,000 by the year 2015. “There is an immediate need for more doctors to provide critical health care services to our residents and all of California. The UCR Medical School will be part of the solution to the challenge of increasing primary care physicians to meet increasing demand for healthcare services,” said Senator Roth.

A recent New York Times news story stated, “The Inland Empire has about 40 primary care doctors and 70 specialists per 100,000 residents — the worst shortage in California, in both cases.”