Guest House Needed at UCLA Hospital

It is unfortunate that your Jan. 18 article on UCLA Medical Center’s proposed patient-family guest house focused so little on the real reason such a facility is so sorely needed. I would like to provide a patient-oriented perspective that seems to have been lost in the recent discussions.

As one of the world’s leading hospitals, UCLA Medical Center treats not only patients from the Los Angeles area, but also from throughout California, the United States and the rest of the world. Many of these people travel thousands of miles for medical and surgical procedures that are not available closer to home, such as special surgery for epilepsy patients, and heart, liver and bone marrow transplants. They often stay in the hospital or need to remain close by for many weeks during their treatment and follow-up care. These patients, some of them as young as a few weeks old, are often accompanied by family members.

UCLA Medical Center’s proposed patient-family guest house is designed to meet the special needs of these patients and their families. Its location across the street from the medical center would offer affordable, convenient housing to patients and family members during this most stressful time.

Equally important, the facility would also provide numerous services not available at any hotel, such as counseling for the patient’s family and an office staffed by medical center volunteers to assist patients and their families with questions about their hospitalization and community services.

To suggest that the needs of these patients and their families might be met by providing vouchers for rooms in existing Westwood area hotels overlooks the unique patient-oriented nature of the proposed facility. Such suggestions also fail to recognize the limited supply of affordable short-term accommodations in the area.

Surveys of UCLA Medical Center’s patients have shown that a patient-family guest house close to the medical center is an urgent need. We will continue our efforts to provide a caring atmosphere for its patients and their families.

DR. RAYMOND G. SCHULTZE

director, UCLA Medical Center