FRESNO – Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, Surgeon General of the United States, will join leaders from UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program and the UCSF School of Medicine on Friday, April 22 for the grand opening of the UCSF Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research.
Special guests also will include Congressman Jim Costa, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry and nearly 400 members of the community.
“As a UCSF-trained physician, it is an honor to join the UCSF Fresno community in celebrating this world-class center,” said Carmona. “We are fortunate to live in an era when education and research are recognized as the keys to improving health literacy and eliminating health disparities for all Americans.”
Media availability: with Carmona and Joan Voris, associate dean of UCSF Fresno, will be held from 6:30 to 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the new center, which is located at 155 N. Fresno Street on the Community Regional Medical Center campus in downtown Fresno. Parking is available on the north side of the building.
Invitation-only event: Will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception and tours of the facility, followed by dinner at 7:15 p.m., and a keynote address by Carmona at 8:30 p.m.
“UCSF Fresno has been training medical professionals and providing health care for patients in the Valley for 30 years,” said Voris. “It’s only fitting that we have a home of our own.”
“In addition to consolidating the educational and administrative components of UCSF Fresno, this center will help us attract additional top physicians, faculty and researchers to the Fresno area,” she added.
UCSF Fresno has trained one-third of Valley physicians currently practicing in one of the seven specialties in which UCSF Fresno provides training. Since its inception in 1974, UCSF Fresno has graduated approximately 60 resident physicians every year, totaling more than 2,000 to date. UCSF Fresno faculty and medical residents also care for the overwhelming majority of the area’s underserved populations. In addition, UCSF Fresno educates about 200 medical students each year as well as provides academic preparation programs for middle- and high-school students interested in the health professions. For more details: www.fresno.ucsf.edu
Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, was sworn in as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service on August 5, 2002. Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Carmona dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted, he received his Army General Equivalency Diploma, joined the Army's Special Forces, ultimately becoming a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine. After leaving active duty, Dr. Carmona attended Bronx Community College, of the City University of New York, where he earned his associate of arts degree. He later attended and graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, with a bachelor of science degree (1977) and medical degree (1979). For more details: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/
