Central Valley’s First Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program is Launched

Photos courtesy of the United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley

The first Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program in the Central Valley has been launched by the California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) in partnership with the United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley.

Officials from seven local organizations held a joint news conference on August 11, 2026 at the VA Hospital of Central California, to introduce the new residency program that serves to improve the function and quality of life health for local patients. The news conference speakers included:

• Froylan Garza, Executive Director of VA Central California Health Care
• Duc, Chung, MD, Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Associate Professor at California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Program Director for the PM&R Residency program
• Samuel Doty, MD, Second Year Resident Physician in the PM&R Residency Program
• Karim Amireh, MD, Second Year Resident Physician in the PM&R Residency Program
• Miguel Rodriguez, Chief Administrative Officer at United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley

The partners participated in a signing ceremony to commemorate this first of its kind collaboration. Then a demonstration was conducted in the therapy gym of the hospital just following the news conference.

Viola Molina, MD, Service Chief of PM&R at the VA Central California Health Care System who also teaches in the new PM&R Residency Program guided second-year resident physician, Karim Amireh, MD, to help demonstrate treatment on a patient who receives PM&R services from the VA Hospital of Central California. The patient was very open about his positive experiences with the treatment “journey” for his leg amputation and adjustments for his prosthetic leg.

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, is a medical specialty that focuses on the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of persons of all ages with congenital or acquired physical
and/or cognitive impairments, disabilities, and functional limitations.

Through a collaborative, multi-campus approach based in Fresno, the new PM&R residency program is committed to addressing the region’s healthcare disparities by equipping residents with the knowledge, experience, and leadership to improve function and quality of life for patients across the lifespan.

Resident physicians in this new program are educated by physicians from seven different organizations, including California Health Sciences University, United Health Centers, San Joaquin Valley Rehab Hospital,
Mercy Medical Center, Children’s Hospital LA, Sierra Pacific Orthopedic Center, and VA Central California Health Care System.

This collaborative new PM&R residency program marks an important step forward in expanding graduate medical education opportunities in the region.

The program has received Initial Accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) with approval to train up to six residents. The first two second-year residents started
this month.

Thank you to the news media who attended the joint news conference: ABC30, CBS24/CBS47, KMPH26, and The Business Journal. You can view the news stories and see the press release. The ABC30 story starts around 18:30.

View a video recap of the PM&R Joint news conference to learn more about the new residency program.

Thank you to the news media who attended the joint news conference: ABC30, CBS24/CBS47, KMPH26, and The Business Journal. You can view the news stories and see the press release.