FRESNO – The University of California, San Francisco Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research received a $10,000 grant from the Union Bank Foundation to benefit its Doctors Academy.
The Doctors Academy is a rigorous academic program at Sunnyside, Selma and Caruthers high schools that prepares students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in health and medicine for both higher education and careers in the health professions. To date, 100 percent of Doctors Academy graduates have gone on to attend a college or university.
“Too few students from disadvantaged backgrounds graduate from high school and go on to a four-year university," said Katherine A. Flores, MD, director of the UCSF Fresno Latino Center. “Our goal is to provide the academic tools necessary for our students to succeed in high school and prepare them for the rigors of college. The ultimate goal is for our students to graduate from a health professions school and return to the Central Valley to provide culturally competent health care. We are tremendously grateful for the generosity of the Union Bank Foundation and for the bank’s support of our efforts.”
The gift from the Union Bank Foundation will be used to support a series of workshops aimed at preparing students in the Doctors Academy program to take the SAT examination. SAT scores are widely used by colleges and universities in the U.S. as a basis for admission.
“We believe that the long-term success of our organization is dependent upon the existence of healthy communities within our market place,” said Elaine Genevro, Union Bank Central California market president. “UCSF Fresno’s Doctors Academy provides young people from low- to middle-income households the opportunity to go to college, become doctors, and then return to their communities to provide access to healthcare to a population that has been historically under-served.”
The UCSF Fresno Latino Center, in partnership with Fresno Unified School District and Fresno County Office of Education, started the Sunnyside High School Doctors Academy in 1999 as a pilot program to encourage disadvantaged students to focus on careers in health and medicine. A Junior Doctors Academy Program was established in 2000 to encourage and support students earlier in their academic career as middle school students. The Doctors Academy has grown in popularity and scope over the years. In 2007, the Doctors Academy program was implemented at Caruthers High School and Selma High School. The Sunnyside Doctors Academy Program currently has 156 students enrolled. Doctors Academy students take part in a rigorous academic curriculum to ensure their preparedness for higher education.
