Representative Pete Aguilar today announced over $2.1 million in grant funding for Inland Empire resident physicians.
California is facing a statewide doctor shortage, but it’s especially bad in the Inland Empire.
In 2017, there were only 39 physicians per 100,000 residents in the area, far below the recommended 70 doctors per 100,000 people.
The $2,142,792 grant announced Monday will go towards addressing that issue.
It’ll go to the SAC Health Care System, a non-profit community healthcare corporation that serves the Inland Empire.
It comes from the Affordable Care Act Teaching Health Center program, which provides graduate medical education funding to community-based health centers that expand or establish new primary care residency programs.
In a press release, Aguilar said that “[a]s the Inland Empire’s population continues to grow, we need to ensure we have sufficient number of doctors and other medical professionals to provide high quality and affordable health care to families in our region.”
Representative Aguilar, a Democrat, is the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
