Medical school behind plan for $1 billion Sacramento hospital placed on probation
The Elk Grove-based medical school planning to build a $1 billion hospital at the site of the former Sleep Train Arena was placed on probation this week by an academic accreditation agency.
The probationary status will not affect the university’s operations or its plans to build a hospital and medical school in North Natomas, said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for the university. The university has campuses in Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Tuesday placed the university on probation, Elmets said. He declined to disclose the reason to The Sacramento Bee.
John Buarotti, spokesman for the Association of American Medical Colleges, also declined to disclose the reason.
“While this was not the outcome we were hoping for, it is not unusual for a new and developing medical school to be placed in this status category,” Elmets said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that our valued medical students will not be impacted by this determination in any way and will be eligible to take all medical licensing exams, go on to residency programs and receive licensing in the state of their choosing. Moving forward, California Northstate University College of Medicine remains focused on providing an excellent education as we work closely to achieve full compliance with all LCME standards in the shortest time possible.”
The school received preliminary accreditation in 2015. In 2019, the school received provisional accreditation, a step down from full accreditation.
The college has faced a couple of setbacks since then.
Three students last year filed a class action about a year ago alleging the university committed fraud when it promised medical school admission to students who had enrolled in an undergrad program, then denied their admission. In 2019, a state agency ordered the university to cease offering two programs designed to “fast track” students into careers in medicine.
The Sacramento City Council last month approved a zoning plan for the college’s hospital proposal, a key milestone for the project. At the meeting, several council members grilled the university’s president and CEO Dr. Alvin Cheung, about whether the hospital will become a nonprofit, whether it will accept Medi-Cal patients and whether it will allow its staff to unionize.
The hospital — which will be 11 to 14 stories and include 250 to 500 patient beds — is expected to take eight years to build, City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. It will also include housing, park space and a childcare center.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Ashby declined to comment for this story.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 3:00 AM.
