Charles Drew University Of Medicine And Science

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science filed a $125-million lawsuit Monday against Los Angeles County, claiming breach of contract when the county cut its ties between the medical school and Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center last year. The suit accuses the county of failing to maintain standards at the hospital, resulting in the federal government's threat last fall to pull $200 million in funding.

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has agreed to drop a $125-million claim that alleged Los Angeles County breached its contract by halting inpatient services at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. In return, the university will receive county building space under favorable rental terms, a long-term payment schedule for its share of a multimillion-dollar age discrimination lawsuit payout and the ability to forge a new relationship with the county as the Board of Supervisors moves to reopen the hospital.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote to the UC Regents' chairman Wednesday in support of a plan to expand the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science from a two-year to a four-year school now that it can no longer send residents to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The hospital is scheduled to disaffiliate with Drew University under a reorganization because King/Drew failed a federal health inspection.

Javay Ross and Eva Correa chose Charles Drew University's medical school because they wanted to work with the people who live in South Los Angeles. But halfway through their four-year programs, the emergency rooms and inpatient units at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital closed. They and their classmates were sent to UCLA's hospitals, and some wondered if their academic futures were also in jeopardy.

Three "outstanding leaders" were honored by the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South-Central Los Angeles Thursday night at the school's second annual Life Enrichment Awards dinner. The recipients were chosen for "their belief in turning dreams into reality," said Dr. Reed Tuckson, president of the university. Dennis Hightower, president of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications, was being honored for being "an extremely good corporate citizen," Tuckson said.

The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science passed a recent curriculum review by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, retaining its accreditation, officials announced Wednesday. "This decision clears the way for us all to continue to advance the university," said Dr. Susan Kelly, president of the two-year medical school, in a statement. She said there are plans for a new four-year medical school and nursing school in partnership with the University of California.

A financial crisis at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in South-Central Los Angeles has prompted the layoff of 70 clerical workers as well as salary reductions for all physicians and about two dozen top administrators, it was disclosed Tuesday. Board Chairman Dr. W. Benton Boone said an intense internal review and audit of the school's finances has recently "turned up some surprises that are a little bit troublesome . . . errors in accounting that are difficult to rectify."

Nicolaus Copernicus. Galileo Galilei. Sir Isaac Newton. Jennifer Rene Obakhume. Jennifer who? In truth, Jennifer Rene Obakhume does not yet qualify to be listed among history's leading scientists. But if the 8-year-old student at the Saturday Science Academy near Watts lives up to her dream, she'll make the list. "I'm going to go to Neptune and come back with a cure for cancer," said Jennifer, a student at Highland Elementary School in Inglewood who is in her first year of the program.

Nicolaus Copernicus. Galileo Galilei. Sir Isaac Newton. Jennifer Rene Obakhume. Jennifer who? In truth, Jennifer Rene Obakhume does not yet qualify to be listed among history's leading scientists. But if the 8-year-old student at the Saturday Science Academy near Watts lives up to her dream, she'll make the list. "I'm going to go to Neptune and come back with a cure for cancer," said Jennifer, a student at Highland Elementary School in Inglewood who is in her first year of the program.

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, one of only four medical schools operated by African-Americans in the United States, is attempting to raise $11 million over the next three years to expand its research and training facilities. Doctors say the university's ability to serve the growing medical needs of the African-American community will depend in part on the success of the Capital Campaign.

The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science passed a recent curriculum review by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, retaining its accreditation, officials announced Wednesday. "This decision clears the way for us all to continue to advance the university," said Dr. Susan Kelly, president of the two-year medical school, in a statement. She said there are plans for a new four-year medical school and nursing school in partnership with the University of California.

On the same day that the state took a step to pull the license of the troubled Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, the leader of the neighboring university was distancing the school from the controversial facility. In a "state of the university" address Thursday morning at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, President Susan Kelly stressed the need to distinguish between the campus and the public hospital with which it was long associated.

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science filed a $125-million lawsuit Monday against Los Angeles County, claiming breach of contract when the county cut its ties between the medical school and Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center last year. The suit accuses the county of failing to maintain standards at the hospital, resulting in the federal government's threat last fall to pull $200 million in funding.

Officials with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science announced Tuesday they will sue Los Angeles County for $125 million, claiming breach of contract when the county cut ties between the medical school and a faltering county hospital near Watts late last year. Calling the termination of support to 248 medical residents a "callous betrayal," school officials charged that the recent restructuring of the facility, now known as Martin Luther King Jr.

Under pressure to bolster an institution that has trained thousands of minority doctors over 34 years, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has begun seeking greater support from Latino community leaders.

It's a small campus along a side street where Willowbrook meets Watts in South Los Angeles. You'd hardly know from looking that so many dreams have been at work here for such a long time. Even those who care most about the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science have been heard to joke among themselves that it is just two buildings and a trailer park. But Drew was in quest of better.

Javay Ross and Eva Correa chose Charles Drew University's medical school because they wanted to work with the people who live in South Los Angeles. But halfway through their four-year programs, the emergency rooms and inpatient units at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital closed. They and their classmates were sent to UCLA's hospitals, and some wondered if their academic futures were also in jeopardy.

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has agreed to drop a $125-million claim that alleged Los Angeles County breached its contract by halting inpatient services at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. In return, the university will receive county building space under favorable rental terms, a long-term payment schedule for its share of a multimillion-dollar age discrimination lawsuit payout and the ability to forge a new relationship with the county as the Board of Supervisors moves to reopen the hospital.

In another blow to healthcare in inner-city Los Angeles, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science took the first step Wednesday toward closing its long-standing residency program, which has trained doctors in medical specialties for 34 years.

The national accrediting body for doctor training programs has taken the first step toward pulling its approval from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, one of a handful of historically black medical schools in the nation. The action, made public Thursday, was a direct result of the failures of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, a hospital in Willowbrook long affiliated with the school. It came as Drew University was making strong progress toward turning itself around.