California is home to approximately 1.5 million veterans, the largest veteran population in the country. Returning to civilian life with specialized health needs, veterans often feel left behind by the country they served.
At UC, veterans and their healthcare needs are at the forefront — from patient care to breakthrough research to partnerships that help train the next generation of health professionals.
Roman Roque, DO, MPH, is among the physicians who came out of residency training at UC with a commitment to serve the veteran population.
As a resident, Roque trained at the Veterans Affairs Central California Health Care System in Fresno, caring for veterans facing complex mental health and substance use challenges.
Dr. Roman C. Roque, attending psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Central California Health Care System and a health sciences assistant clinical professor at UCSF Fresno
“The department is a place where it felt like people really cared about you personally and professionally, but also, the work that we do here is making an impact on the community, even as a resident,” Roque said. “So, it was easy for me to picture myself being here right after residency.”
And Roque is here — as an assistant clinical professor with the UCSF Fresno Department of Psychiatry and a staff psychiatrist at the VA Central California Health Care System.
A partnership spanning decades ...
The longstanding partnerships between University of California medical schools and VA medical centers across California expand access to specialized care for veterans, strengthen the physician workforce pipeline, and prepare future physicians to serve communities across the state. UCSF Fresno’s partnership with VA Fresno Medical Center dates back to 1975, when UCSF Fresno was established with support from the California Legislature and the VA to address the severe physician shortage in the San Joaquin Valley.
As one of the nation's largest physician training systems, the VA supports approximately 10 percent of all graduate medical education trainee positions in the United States.
... that sparks innovation ...
UC-VA ties also help accelerate research that directly benefits veterans — sparking innovations that in turn benefit millions of Americans.
Discoveries connected to VA-affiliated researchers include:
the CT scanner;
the nicotine patch;
and GLP-1 medications used to treat diabetes and obesity.
Scientists who receive support from the VA also contribute to ongoing breakthroughs that have the potential to change lives around the world, such as an experimental gene therapy, studied in mice, UC San Diego researchers are developing that could help protect the brain from the damage and cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease.
... to transform the nation
At UCSF, the partnership with the San Francisco VA Health Care System hosts the VA’s largest competitively funded research program, with more than 320 principal investigators leading over 1,000 active research projects focused on areas including cancer, mental health, aging and neurological disease.
“What began 80 years ago as a post-war response to a physician shortage has grown into one of the most effective and enduring models in American health care,” said Deena McRae, M.D., associate vice president for Academic Health Sciences at the University of California. “A collaboration that strengthens our future health workforce, expands access to specialized care for those who have served, and advances discoveries that protect the health of our nation.”
