MODESTO – A Stanislaus County native is closer to becoming a doctor after receiving a full scholarship to medical school. Sutter Health announced that Anaissa Medina is one of only five recipients in California to receive this scholarship.
Medina, from Salida, is attending Charles Drew University, a historically Black college in South Central Los Angeles. Reflecting on her journey, she shared her family’s struggles with language barriers and navigating the healthcare system. “Language barriers are huge. My family dealt with it, and it was one of the reasons they avoided healthcare,” she said. “I remember my grandmother’s relief when she finally found help.”
Medina hopes to prevent other families from experiencing these challenges. “As a girl, I never saw people like me in these positions,” she said. While she still has medical school ahead, she plans to apply for residency after graduation.
A new accredited residency program at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto will start accepting students next year. Dr. Robert Altman, CEO of Gould Medical Group, emphasized the need to bring California medical students back home due to limited space in the state’s medical schools.
“It’s a dream to go back to the Central Valley and serve there,” Medina said, noting the region’s physician shortage. The residency program will start taking applications in spring 2025 and aims to bring 39 physicians to Stanislaus County to address the local doctor shortage.