L.A. Care Awards $4.4 Million to Create Nine New Medical Residency Positions in L.A. County

Grants are a Part of the Health Plan’s $155 Million Elevating the Safety Net Initiative

LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, has announced its second round of Residency Support Program grants as part of the five-year, $155 million Elevating the Safety Net initiative (ESN). The health plan is committing nearly $4.4 million to establish nine new residency positions at four medical institutions. Some of the funding will also support required core faculty positions. This is all part of L.A. Care’s efforts to address a growing physician shortage. A University of California, San Francisco report found California faces a shortage of 8,800 primary care physicians by 2030.

 “Studies show that physicians often stay in the region where they complete their residency, and we need them here now,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “Marginalized communities in L.A. County are already experiencing a physician shortage, so we have to do all we can to keep physicians here.”

In July of 2019, L.A. Care committed more than $5.2 million to establish 14 new residency positions at five medical institutions.

L.A. Care’s 2020 Residency Support Program grants will support residency slots launching in fall 2021 at the following institutions:

Adventist Health White Memorial Charitable Foundation
AltaMed Health Services Corporation
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Elevating the Safety Net launched in 2018 with three initial programs – a provider recruitment program, a provider loan repayment program, and a medical school scholarship program. Since the launch, L.A. Care has awarded 144 recruitment grants, 109 new physicians have already been hired, and 69 physicians have been approved for loan repayment grants. Twenty-four students have received full scholarships to medical school. Twelve are attending the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and twelve are attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Elevating the Safety Net has also grown to include the Residency Support Program and training for non-clinical/paraprofessionals through our Community Health Worker (CHW) Training Program and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Home Care Training Program. Forty-seven CHWs have successfully completed a rigorous 10-week training program facilitated by the Loma Linda University Health Promoters Academy, and the IHSS program has trained about 3,000 caregivers to help them better care for their client, who is often a family member, and to make them a more integrated part of the client’s care team. Over the next three years, the program will train another 3,000 caregivers.