Dean Richard Olds on The Need for The Ucr School of Medicine

Hi. I'm *** Olds and I'm the founding dean of the new medical school at the University of California Riverside, scheduled to open its doors in the summer of 2012. By the way the first new medical school in the state of California in over four decades. There are at least three very important reasons why we need a new medical school in California despite our very difficult economic times. The first reason is really a position-manpower issue. We do not have enough positions in Southern California for our needs. Today we have a three-thousand physician deficit in Inland Southern California. And perhaps even more concerning we have less than half the primary care doctors that we need. Because this area of California is the most rapidly growing area of the state, because our population is aging, and because almost 40 percent of our doctors are 55 years of age or older and will be retiring, we will have a 5,000 physician deficit in Southern California in ten years no matter what anyone does. The second most important reason why we need new medical school is research buildings like this. In laboratories just like this one here at UCR's new medical school campus, there will be cutting edge biomedical research which will have an immediate economic impact on our area and ultimately improve the health of all Americans. But the most important long-term impact of this medical school will be the products of the school the students and the doctors themselves. For every primary care doctor I can train and get to stay in Inland Southern California that's a million dollar small business. And for every dollar billed by those physicians, there will be 30 dollars in health care related revenue in the hospitals and clinics of our region. But the third and perhaps most important reason to have a medical school is to improve the health of everyone living here in Inland Southern California. Today, Inland Southern California is in the bottom quartile of virtually every measurable health outcome. Life expectancy, infant mortality, childhood immunization rates. Because of that, we need to both study the problem and come up with solutions. In addition to basic scientists here in this research building, we will have experts in population-based health improvement and health interventions. It's through that process that we will improve the health of every Californian living in our area of Inland Southern California. I need all of your help to make this med school a reality. Please join with me to create the first public medical school in the state of California in 44 years.