The 2023 California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and NORC survey at the University of Chicago found that 50% of survey participants did not think that the San Joaquin or Central Valley had an adequate number of primary care and/or mental health providers, nurses, and medical specialists.

The Aria University School of Medicine will meet healthcare needs by serving as a locus for expanded medical care; by educating physicians who are likely to enter residency, and later practice, in the state or region; and by training a culturally competent and diverse physician workforce. To help meet the projected need for healthcare providers, the Aria University School of Medicine plans to create cutting-edge medical programs and collaborate with regional partners in providing healthcare to San Joaquin Valley areas. The university projects that by 2032, its medical programs will have enrolled 520 students in its medical program.

Aria University intends to establish a medical school, which is expected to open in the Fall of 2027. 

Aria University has signed clinical affiliation agreements with three major California hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley: San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp; St. Joseph’s Medical Center, and Dameron Hospital in Stockton.

The community’s $50M investment is potentially matched by $50M in public and private resources for the construction of a new medical education and research center. The facility will allow the School of Medicine to expand its class size to train even more physicians for the residents of the San Joaquin valley.