Although we care for people from 99 percent of the state’s zip codes in a year, we know many Californians still face challenges to getting the care they need. We’re taking actions to improve access through reducing barriers to care, investing in community partnerships, expanding and modernizing our facilities, supporting telehealth programs, and continuing to train health care professionals of the future.
Expanding and modernizing our academic health centers
Our six academic health centers continually explore how we can best serve our communities through care delivery.
In some cases, that means renovating existing facilities to ensure they meet newer safety standards, and in others, it means opening new locations to provide greater reach and services for their communities. Every one of our six locations recently have either completed major projects or are planning updates, upgrades, expansions or new facilities to their physical plants.
UC Davis Health recently completed several new projects that will expand its footprint by 1 million square feet in locations in Davis, Folsom and Sacramento.
UCI Health — Irvine offers a new kind of hospital, a new kind of patient experience at the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital, with 144 beds and 350,00 square feet of clinical space.
At UC San Diego Health, the McGrath Outpatient Pavilion opened in July 2025 at the Hillcrest medical campus. The 250,000-square-foot facility provides greater availability to high-quality, integrated care.
Learn about UC San Diego Health's new state-of-the-art facility
Reducing barriers to care
UC’s health teams are working to make chronic disease management easier for patients. The Diabetes Care Management Initiative, led by UC Population Health, helps to integrate testing protocols, like blood glucose testing and eye examinations, into regular primary care visits. By including these screenings in routine primary care clinic visits, patients are able to take less trips and experience more integrated, team-based care.
UC San Diego School of Medicine study finds virtual clinics lower hospital readmissions
The study results, published in the Sept. 23, 2025 online edition of JMIR Medical Informatics, found the overall 30-day readmission rate for patients seen in the virtual transition of care clinic was 14.9%, compared to 20.1% for the benchmark group.
UC nursing schools collaborate to find new ways to expand the mental health care workforce
The UC Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) certificate program is the first of its kind in California. It draws upon the expertise of the four UC nursing schools to expand the mental health provider workforce and increase access to psychiatric and behavioral health care.
Since its beginnings at UC Irvine School of Medicine, UC PRIME has maintained a steadfast commitment to training the next generation of physician leaders and advocates who will effectively address the needs of the state’s under-resourced communities.
UC PRIME is training doctors for California’s communities
UC Programs in Medical Education (UC PRIME) is an innovative training curriculum, focusing on addressing health care workforce shortages and meeting the needs of California’s communities. Program alums highlight some of the aspects of the program that make UC PRIME a unique and successful model of medical education.