From Vision to 50 Years of Medical Education and Regional Impact
The UCSF School of Medicine regional campus in Fresno (UCSF Fresno) has its roots in a historic Fresno family. Milo E. Rowell, a World War II lawyer who contributed to drafting Japan's revised constitution after the war, returned to Fresno to practice law and later became a leader in the grassroots movement to bring the UCSF medical education program to the San Joaquin Valley.
Training Doctors, Improving Health
Founded in 1975, UCSF Fresno was established to address the physician shortage in California's San Joaquin Valley and meet the region’s healthcare needs. As a regional campus of the top-ranked UCSF School of Medicine, it extends UCSF’s expertise and resources to the Valley and Central California.
Fifty years later, we are the largest academic physician training program between Sacramento and San Francisco to the north, and Los Angeles to the south, and the leading contributor to the regional physician workforce.
Through exceptional medical education, quality patient care, research, and strong community partnerships, UCSF Fresno is improving health outcomes and expanding access to care across the region.
Education
UCSF Fresno trains residents and medical students to be exceptional clinicians and patient advocates. Our programs focus on teamwork, culturally sensitive care and equitable, accessible healthcare for diverse populations. Extending health improvements beyond clinics and hospitals is central to our mission.
In addition to residency training, UCSF Fresno offers advanced sub-specialty fellowship programs in areas such as acute care surgery, cardiology, community pediatrics, hematology/oncology, hepatology, hospice and palliative medicine, infectious diseases, pulmonary and critical care, and wilderness medicine.
Fellows, residents, and medical students gain diverse clinical experience across various health care settings, including rural hospitals, clinics, health agencies, faculty physician offices, and remote wilderness locations. They also train at Community Regional Medical Center, the primary teaching hospital, home to one of California’s busiest emergency departments and the region’s only Level 1 trauma and burn center.
Patient Care
UCSF Fresno faculty bring expertise that allows Fresno to handle even the most complex medical cases effectively. Faculty-driven services such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, advanced cancer care, orthopaedic surgical oncology, and programs and clinics for cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, lung nodules, and sickle cell disease provide life-saving treatments, ensuring patients receive high-quality care locally.
Faculty also play a key role in advancing local health care, including elevating burn treatment and care to the highest levels in the nation and establishing emergency medical services protocols still in use today.
UCSF Fresno physicians proudly serve veterans at the Fresno VA Medical Center, where the campus was originally housed, continuing a tradition of caring for those who served in the U.S. military.
Research
Research is a cornerstone of UCSF Fresno’s mission to improve health in the San Joaquin Valley. From leading the first global COVID-19 multi-center trial to participating in studies on chronic skin disease and Valley fever, UCSF Fresno focuses on addressing critical regional health challenges. The Clinical Research Center, which opened in 2013 and expanded in 2023, centralizes research efforts and supports more clinical trials and multidisciplinary studies. During the pandemic, UCSF Fresno’s clinical trials grew six-fold between 2019 and 2022, giving Valley participants early access to COVID-19 treatments like Remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies, and immunomodulators not yet available to the public.
Research at UCSF Fresno continues to grow, prioritizing health issues affecting the Valley, improving equitable access to treatments, and fostering collaborations with other University of California campuses.
Community Partnerships
The UCSF School of Medicine Fresno regional campus provides training and patient care through affiliated partners including Community Health System, VA Central California Health Care, Family HealthCare Network, Inspire Health Medical Group, and many other clinical sites.
For some residents and fellows, training takes place in nearby national parks. A unique collaboration between UCSF Fresno and the National Park Service (NPS) established the Parkmedic Program in 1977. The Program trains NPS rangers and enables UCSF Fresno Emergency Medicine residents under faculty supervision to serve as emergency medical services directors for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
UCSF faculty, residents and medical students at UCSF Fresno are improving health through collaborations with school districts to give free sports physicals for high school athletes and serve as medical personnel for sports teams or at community events, and work with community-based organizations to hold free clinics for disadvantaged communities.
Extending Health Equity and Access to Care
Expanding access to health care and improving health beyond clinic walls are core to UCSF Fresno’s mission.
Established in 2018, UCSF Fresno’s Mobile Health and Learning (Mobile HeaL) clinic brings care to underserved areas while providing hands-on training for resident physicians, medical students, health professional students, and pre-health students.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, UCSF Fresno led Fresno City and County’s largest ongoing mobile response. With federal CARES Act funding, the COVID-19 Equity Project was launched to deliver testing, vaccines, treatments, health education, and social support to disadvantaged populations through partnerships with local government and community organizations.
In 2023, partnerships with the City and County and UCSF Fresno Mobile HeaL extended free health care services to unsheltered and rural communities, respectively. In 2024, UCSF Fresno introduced no-cost, patient-centered contraceptive services in Fresno County in collaboration with Upstream USA.
Preparing the Next Generation
UCSF Fresno is a leader in residency training. We also address the San Joaquin Valley’s physician shortage by creating pathways and mentoring local students from middle school through college for careers in health and medicine. Programs like the Doctors Academy, SJV-MedBridge, SJV PRIME, and SJV PRIME+ prepare Valley students to attend medical school and pursue residency training, locally.
Many UCSF Fresno graduates stay in the Valley to provide care, teach, or continue their education through fellowship programs. However, the region still needs more physicians to meet the health care needs of its growing, aging, and diverse population. UCSF Fresno is committed to expanding pathways to medical school for Valley students, especially those who reflect the Valley’s demographics.
Through initiatives like the California Area Health Education Center, the Department of Surgery’s Intentional Recruitment Coalition, Summer Biomedical Internship Program, and ROAD for the San Joaquin Valley, UCSF Fresno is preparing the next generation of health care professionals.
We are committed to expanding high-quality medical education, developing a diverse physician workforce, and increasing access to culturally competent care. For 50 years, we have served the Valley, and we remain committed to its future.
We are your UCSF Fresno.
Congratulations and Reflections
Colleagues, elected officials, and partners share best wishes and memories from the past 50 years.
