Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ronald ReaganUCLA Medical Center |
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| UCLA Health | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | 757 Westwood Plaza, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 34°3′59″N 118°26′46″W / 34.06639°N 118.44611°W |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Private, Medicaid, Medicare |
| Hospital type | Teaching |
| Affiliated university | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Level I Trauma Center |
| Helipad | (FAA LID: 75CL) |
| Beds | 520 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1955 |
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a large hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It is in Westwood, a part of Los Angeles, California, United States. This hospital is often called UCLA Medical Center or RRMC. It is known as one of the best hospitals in California and the West Coast.
The hospital offers advanced medical care for serious health problems. It is also a teaching hospital, which means it's where new doctors and nurses learn. It has research centers for almost all areas of medicine, nursing, and even dentistry. The emergency room at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a special Level I trauma center. This means it can handle the most serious injuries for both kids and adults.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is part of UCLA Health. This is a group of hospitals and medical centers connected to UCLA. It includes other hospitals like UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica and UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital. Together, these facilities offer some of the most complete and advanced healthcare in the United States. The hospital has been recognized for its excellence in many medical specialties.
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A Look at the Hospital's History
The new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center opened its doors on June 29, 2008. It replaced an older hospital building that was across the street. The old hospital had been damaged inside during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. After this earthquake, many hospitals were damaged. This made it hard for injured people to get help quickly. Because of this, California passed a law. This law required all hospitals to move their important patient care areas into buildings that could better withstand earthquakes by 2008.
Building the new hospital started in 1999. It was finished in 2004. The project cost a lot of money, over $1 billion in total. This was due to rising building costs and changes needed for new medical technology. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helped pay for some of the costs. The state of California also contributed money. Many private donations helped too, including a large amount given in President Reagan's name. The new building was designed to be very strong. It can withstand a very powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake. It was one of the first buildings in California built with these strong seismic standards.
The new hospital building is very large. It is named after Ronald Reagan, who was a President of the United States and Governor of California. The building was designed by C.C. "Didi" Pei and his father, I.M. Pei, a famous architect. The hospital has 525 patient beds. The rooms for very sick patients are designed so nurses and doctors can easily reach them from all sides. The surgery rooms can be changed and updated as medical technology improves. The outside of the hospital is covered with beautiful, cream-colored marble panels. This marble was sold at a special price by a quarry owner whose cancer was treated at UCLA.
The older hospital building was an 11-story brick building. It was designed by Welton Becket. It is seen as an important example of early modern architecture. The old hospital was built in different stages, starting in 1953. It had a unique "tic-tac-toe" shape with intersecting wings. This created many courtyards. The first floor had walls covered in a thick layer of natural stone, giving it an interesting look. The outside of the old building was simple, with red brick walls and metal covers over the windows. These covers helped keep direct sunlight from making the building too hot.
Some parts of the old hospital complex will be taken down. Other parts will be fixed up and used as office space. This is because the law only requires the most important parts of a hospital to be earthquake-safe. Much of the stone from the old building's inside walls will likely be saved and used again.
Hospital Facilities
Emergency Services
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center works with different fire departments to provide emergency services. This includes paramedic teams from Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Fire Department, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
The Stewart & Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA is a special hospital inside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. It has 74 beds and helps people with mental health needs. The hospital was named after Lynda Resnick and her husband, who made a donation. It has different units for children, teenagers, adults, and older adults.
UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital is a hospital for kids located within the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. It has 156 beds. This hospital is connected to the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. It offers many special medical services for children and young people up to age 21. UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital also has a pediatric level 1 trauma center, which means it can treat very serious injuries in children. The children's hospital is located on the third and fifth floors of the main Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center building.
Notable Events
The Passing of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson was brought to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Paramedics had received an emergency call from his home. Efforts to help him continued at the hospital for over an hour. Sadly, he was pronounced deceased at 2:26 pm Pacific time.
Notable People Connected to the Hospital
Physicians
- David Ho
- Louis Ignarro – A UCLA faculty member whose discovery about a molecule called nitric oxide helped him win the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1998. This discovery greatly changed how doctors understand heart and lung medicine.
- Patrick Soon-Shiong
Births
- Beyoncé and Jay Z’s twins Rumi and Sir Carter (June 13, 2017)
- Maud Elizabeth Daphne Marina (First American Born British Royal)
Notable Patients
Many famous people have been patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Here are some of them:
- Freddie Prinze died on January 29, 1977
- Jack Soo died on January 11, 1979
- Jack Haley died on June 6, 1979
- John Wayne died on June 11, 1979
- Pat Buttram died on January 8, 1994
- Friz Freleng died on May 26, 1995
- Mary Wickes died on October 22, 1995
- Marlon Brando died on July 1, 2004
- Rodney Dangerfield died on October 5, 2004
- Charles Nelson Reilly died on May 25, 2007
- Harvey Korman died on May 29, 2008
- Nina Foch died on December 5, 2008
- Wayne Allwine died on May 18, 2009
- Ed McMahon died on June 23, 2009
- Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009
- Andrew Breitbart died on March 1, 2012
- Richard Dawson died on June 2, 2012
- Zsa Zsa Gabor died on December 18, 2016
- Carrie Fisher died on December 27, 2016
- Adam West died on June 9, 2017
- Martin Landau died on July 15, 2017
- Charlie Robinson died on July 11, 2021
- Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021
- James Caan died on July 6, 2022
See also
- Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
- Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
- UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica
- UCLA Health, the main group that manages UCLA hospitals.
