Kaiser Permanente today announced it will open its own medical school in Pasadena. The school will be within several miles of other Kaiser facilities, where students will be trained. Kaiser initially announced plans to open a medical school in December, but at that time it was unclear where the school would be located.

Groundbreaking for the school is set for next year, with the first class of students expected in to start in 2019.

“Pasadena is a vibrant and diverse community," Kaiser Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Tyson said in a statement. "That diversity is essential to the model of medical education we want to establish as we prepare physicians for the practice of medicine in the 21st century.”

Kaiser, which has been a leader in adopting electronic health records and offering doctor visits online, says the medical education it will supply to students will focus on technology, cultural competency, helping patients make better health and lifestyle choices, and working as part of a collaborative team.

The medical school also plans to get medical students into the field earlier by training them immediately as emergency medicine technicians, so that they have an understanding of clinical medicine and how to react in different situations.