Hospital-University Link Can Be a True Lifesaver

Re “Deficits Threaten Doctors’ Training,” July 10: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center added 10 years to my mother’s life. After her local gynecologist told my mother that her case was too difficult for him, a gynecology and oncology expert at Harbor-UCLA performed a successful hysterectomy for cancer.

We cannot afford to lose the expertise that develops when a medical center like Harbor-UCLA is affiliated with a medical school like UCLA.

[County health chief] Dr. Thomas Garthwaite says that “the view of all health care being tied to a facility that’s next-door to a university is awfully myopic.” Evidently it does not hurt to be tied to an outstanding medical school, which attracts outstanding physicians. It saved my mother’s life.

Cheryl M. Ginzton

La Canada Flintridge