LAKE COUNTY – To meet the growing demand for health care practitioners throughout California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced awards of $1.5 million to enhance family nurse practitioner and physician assistant training programs.

The funds are administered through the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development’s (OSHPD) Song-Brown program.

Since the governor took office, he has awarded more than $33 million in Song-Brown funding which has supported nearly 7,400 training and education slots for family medicine residents, family nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses.

“There is a huge need in California for more health care practitioners, and the health care workforce training programs that are receiving funding have shown a commitment to helping meet this demand while also striving for higher quality, affordable and accessible health care across the state,” Schwarzenegger said.

The following 13 training programs received awards:

Sonoma State University, $253,737

California State University, Long Beach, $192,791

California State University, Fresno, $155,194

University of California, Davis, $107,000

Riverside Community College, $107,000

University of California, Los Angeles, $107,000

Keck School of Medicine – USC, $107,000

Charles R. Drew University, $107,000

University of California, San Francisco, $107,000

Stanford University, $107,000

San Joaquin Valley College, $62,446

University of California, Irvine, $43,416

Touro University, $43,416

The Song-Brown program was established by the Song-Brown Act of 1973 to increase the number of family practice physicians and physician assistants being trained in the state to provide needed medical services to Californians. OSHPD works in conjunction with the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission to award Song-Brown program funding.

Family nurse practitioners were added to the Song-Brown program in 1978, and in 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger expanded the program to include registered nurses. Song-Brown funds come from a fee on health facilities that go into a special California Health and Data Fund administered by OSHPD.

For more information about the Song-Brown program, please contact the program at (916) 653-0733, or visit www.oshpd.ca.gov/HWCDD/manpower/songbrown.htm.

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