Your practice will be rooted in Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a 355-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital in Stockton, California. Founded in 1899 by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, the hospital has grown into the flagship facility for Dignity Health in the Central Valley. Today, more than 700 physicians and 2,700 employees deliver care to over 20,000 annual admissions, 94,000 ER visits, and 3,400 births — making St. Joseph’s the largest hospital and primary referral center in San Joaquin County.
Nationally recognized for quality and safety, St. Joseph’s has been named among America’s 250 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades for three consecutive years, placing it in the top 5% of hospitals nationwide. It has also received multiple Specialty Excellence Awards, ranking in the top 10% nationally for coronary interventions and critical care.
U.S. News & World Report named St. Joseph’s a Best Regional Hospital for 2024–2025, tied for 32nd in California and recognized as High Performing in 11 procedures and conditions, including stroke. The hospital consistently receives an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer. Accreditation from The Joint Commission and the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer further underscores its reputation for safe, high-quality care.
St. Joseph’s is home to a rapidly expanding GME program in partnership with Touro University California. With nine ACGME-accredited residency programs — including neurology, internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, orthopedics, urology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery — the hospital has become an academic hub for Northern California.
The neurology residency, launched in 2022, is the newest addition, designed with 70–90% of teaching occurring in the clinical setting and 10–30% protected time for didactics and research. Faculty and residents also participate in structured research oversight through the Research and Quality Committee (RAQC) and CommonSpirit’s Institutional Review Board, with opportunities to present at an annual Research Symposium.
Neurology is a priority service line, fueled by overwhelming community need across a catchment area of more than one million residents. With daily referrals stretching from Stockton to Merced and Lake Tahoe, the hospital is building a comprehensive neuroscience program from the ground up.
Current resources include robust telestroke services available 24/7 and a residency program designed to integrate residents into both inpatient and outpatient care. Planned expansions include a post-stroke clinic and a dedicated Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) to reduce patient outmigration. A new hospital tower is under development, which will house additional operating rooms and biplane imaging equipment, paving the way for interventional neurology and neurosurgery services in the near future. Until then, interventional referrals are managed within the Dignity system through Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Sacramento.
St. Joseph’s serves 24 ZIP codes in San Joaquin County, with a core service area population of over 321,000 residents. The community is 51.5% Hispanic/Latino, 18.7% non-Hispanic White, 16.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 9.4% non-Hispanic Black, with approximately 17% living below the poverty line. These demographics underscore the hospital’s mission of extending high-quality care to underserved populations while training the next generation of physicians to meet California’s evolving healthcare needs.
At the heart of St. Joseph’s is a physician-led, mission-driven culture. Leaders like Dr. Scott Neeley, Chief Medical Officer and DIO for GME, and Dr. Richard Riemer, Program Director for the neurology residency and CMO of TUMG, emphasize mentorship, collaboration, and innovation over bureaucracy. Daily huddles, open dialogue, and a shared vision of excellence create an environment where faculty have both autonomy and strong institutional support.
St. Joseph’s combines the resources and reputation of a top-ranked hospital with the energy of an institution in growth mode. For you, that means practicing in a setting where advanced technology, academic innovation, and community mission converge — and where your work will directly shape the future of neurology in Northern California.