dignity health

On Wednesday, 39 California congressional members wrote a letter to the UC Board of Regents to oppose UC affiliations that may impose religious restrictions on health care.

The university must recognize that this continued partnership with Dignity Health stands in direct contrast to UC core values.

The partnership between the UC system and Dignity Health has been recently called into question over the health care provider’s denial of both abortions and gender-affirming care at some of its hospitals.

The ASUC Senate met Wednesday to discuss possibilities of revising a contract with Dignity Health and making the fourth-floor bathrooms in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union gender-neutral.

ASUC Senator Jenny Jungmin Kim announced her resignation at the second ASUC Senate meeting of the semester Wednesday, during which controversies behind potential campus partnerships with religiously-affiliated hospitals were also discussed.

Seven million Californians currently live in Health Professional Shortage Areas — a federal designation for communities that lack adequate primary care, dental care or mental health care providers. By 2030, as millions of baby boomers move into retirement — increasing the demand for care while simultaneously taking a significant number of experienced professionals out of the workforce — the state is projected to face a shortfall of 4,100 primary care physicians and 600,000 homecare workers and will have only two-thirds of the psychiatrists it needs.