To address the Coachella Valley’s doctor and nursing shortages, local health-care institutions are looking at ways to get more locals trained and educated in the field.
The Desert Healthcare District and Foundation in late May approved a new five-year strategic plan. The plan offers a framework for the funding decisions, partnerships and projects DHCD takes on—and the first of four pillars is workforce development, which includes recruiting and retaining more health-care workers.
Melissa Daniels reported this story while participating in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2026 California Health Equity Fellowship.
“I think it’s important for us to make sure that we really do grow our own, and one of the ways that we’re going to be able to attract that workforce is by making it easier for them to go to school,” said DHCD board president Kimberly Barraza in an interview with the Independent.
A DHCD market analysis from March 2023 identified a shortage of 236 physicians, primarily in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. That includes a shortage of 70 pediatricians, based on the region’s population—a shortage that forces some families to leave the area for care.
But in recent years, local organizations have launched new efforts to train health-care workers. The desert and the broader Inland Empire as a whole are experiencing one of the state’s worst health-care worker shortages—which means it’s very good news that College of the Desert this year graduated a record 91 registered nurses, more than doubling previous class sizes.
That growth didn’t happen organically; it was bolstered by a $2.9 million commitment from OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Healthcare Workforce Leadership Roundtable, which includes the Desert Care Network, Eisenhower Health, the Inland Empire Health Plan and the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation. The funds supported expanded laboratory space, and additional staff and faculty for the nursing programs, as well as scholarships, housing, transportation and food assistance for students. The Coachella Valley needs approximately 350 new nurses annually to fill the needs of the area, per the roundtable’s estimates.
The Desert Healthcare District board in late 2024 approved a two-year grant of $374,900 to specifically support the enrollment of 35 nursing students through scholarships and holistic services.
Barraza said investing in such services can lead to an immediate impact, as many students are living in the valley and do their training at facilities including Desert Regional and Eisenhower medical centers.
“For us, what’s really important is that we’re investing in the community, and seeing that return on investment so quickly,” Barraza said.
“We know from decades of research that where you train is where you stay.”
Kathryn Phillips, California Health Care Foundation’s Improving Access team
Separately, DHCD has been supporting scholarships for locals who want to get into health care. Last year, the board approved a two-year $839,500 grant for OneFuture’s Black and African American Healthcare Scholarship Initiative. It also approved $86,250 to go toward scholarships awarded through the Dr. Carreón Foundation, which it has supported going back to 2017.
The DHCD’s new strategic plan was launched in the midst of a leadership shake-up. CEO Chris Christensen was fired after expressing concerns about board conduct and leadership—at the very meeting where the board passed the strategic plan. Chief Program Officer Donna Craig, who has been with the distinct for 21 years, is serving as the interim CEO during the search for a permanent CEO.
Other institutions are working on the local health-care workforce shortage. California has received about $233 million in federal funds to support the California Rural Health Transformation program. Part of the plan is to fund pipeline and pathway programs, and to expand clinical placement and supervision sites so more doctors and health care workers can train in rural and underserved areas.
Kathryn Phillips, an associate director on the California Health Care Foundation’s Improving Access team, said local organizations are often the most influential organizations in recruiting locals into the health care workforce—but having local training programs is key.
“We know from decades of research that where you train is where you stay,” she said.
But this pattern can work against rural areas that don’t have educational opportunities.
“Most physicians stay within 60 miles of where they’re completing their residency training,” Phillips said. “So while we have a good track record as a state of keeping folks we educate and train within California, we keep them in the city centers.”
This where-you-train-is-where-you-stay philosophy is fueling growth at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, which graduated its first class of about 40 in 2017. This year, around half the graduating class of 78 doctors is staying in the Inland Empire for residency training.
UCR Health’s expansion plan includes a 21-acre site in Riverside meant to complement the school’s growth—an attempt to not only address the region’s growing health-care needs, but also give medical students more opportunities to train and stay local.
“This initiative will strengthen our ability to meet the health-care needs of the Inland Empire by expanding access to primary and specialty care, while also creating opportunities to train more students and support the growth of medical school enrollment,” said UCR Vice Chancellor and Dean Deborah Deas in a press release.
