Kern Medical Center, owned and operated by the County of Kern since 1867, is a 222-bed acute care teaching hospital. The hospital serves a community of approximately 800,000, providing care for over 16,000 inpatients annually, 2,000 of which are Family Medicine patients.

As a teaching hospital, Kern Medical Center trains more than 90 residents per year in the fields of Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychiatry . We are affiliated with UCLA and UCI Schools of Medicine, giving nearly 1,000 visiting doctors, researchers, and other professionals an opportunity to assist our 65 full-time faculty physicians and take an active role in the teaching process.

The Family Medicine Center is operated as a model group practice and serves as the home base of the Family Medicine Residency Program. All residents spend time in the Family Medicine Center during each year of their training. It is in this setting that family medicine residents are taught skills required for the provision of quality ambulatory medical care. The new Family Medicine Center has 24 exam rooms and 2 procedure rooms. There is a large resident room on-site where each resident is provided their individual space.

Each resident develops his or her own continuity of care patient panel over the three years of training. Approximately 15,000 patients are seen in the Family Medicine Center each year. A behavioral science specialist is available to assist in the management of patients. Kern Medical Center faculty provides specialist consultation and backup.