Charles R Drew University

The College of Allied Health at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Willowbrook has received a $4.72-million grant from the National Institutes of Health to implement an undergraduate biomedical research and training program. Officials said the grant would allow Drew to offer a bachelor of science degree in biomedical services, enabling the college to recruit local students.

Earlier this year, Joane Austin rushed her elderly mother to the emergency room for fear she was having a heart attack. Austin normally would have made the short trip to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the landmark hospital in South Los Angeles. But King/Drew has been closed for five years, so Austin drove several miles to the emergency room at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood. "I prayed all the lights would stay green," she said. "It was scary. " Once they arrived, doctors determined that Austin's mother needed emergency surgery to remove scar tissue around her intestines.

Earlier this year, Joane Austin rushed her elderly mother to the emergency room for fear she was having a heart attack. Austin normally would have made the short trip to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the landmark hospital in South Los Angeles. But King/Drew has been closed for five years, so Austin drove several miles to the emergency room at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood. "I prayed all the lights would stay green," she said. "It was scary. " Once they arrived, doctors determined that Austin's mother needed emergency surgery to remove scar tissue around her intestines.

Raymond L. Johnson Sr., an attorney, civil rights activist and former Tuskegee Airman, died Dec. 31 in Los Angeles of complications of pneumonia and heart failure, said his wife, Evelyn. He was 89. Johnson, who practiced law for nearly 50 years, was a leader of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in the 1960s and 1970s. After the 1965 Watts riots, he provided free legal assistance to African Americans who were wrongfully arrested during the disturbances.

Re "Put Hospital's Survival First," editorial, Jan. 2: The survival of Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center and the survival of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science are not equal considerations of Los Angeles County and its Department of Health Services. Drew University will survive because its fundamentals are being reviewed and problems addressed. MLK hospital will only survive if and when the DHS allocates adequate funds, management, staff and oversight to assure its survival at a standard that the county can maintain.

Raymond L. Johnson Sr., an attorney, civil rights activist and former Tuskegee Airman, died Dec. 31 in Los Angeles of complications of pneumonia and heart failure, said his wife, Evelyn. He was 89. Johnson, who practiced law for nearly 50 years, was a leader of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in the 1960s and 1970s. After the 1965 Watts riots, he provided free legal assistance to African Americans who were wrongfully arrested during the disturbances.

Three business leaders and a corporation will receive the 1998 Life Enrichment Awards from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science at a ceremony Thursday in Beverly Hills. The school, based in Willowbrook, will honor the recipients who "contribute to creating environments in which individuals are inspired or empowered to take control over their own lives and create healthy communities," said W. Benton Boone, interim university president.

It is acknowledged that problems exist at the Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Nonetheless, your series of articles on these institutions were classic examples of one-sided, sensationalist journalism. The King/Drew Medical Center arose from the ashes of the Watts riots in response to the urgent needs of a medically under-served community. In addressing these needs, it has functioned admirably. The medical center's struggle to gain academic credibility and to consistently offer the highest level of care can be traced to a number of complex socioeconomic and political factors.

I would like to suggest the Rev. Leonard Jackson of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church now also confront his religious prejudices head-on ("Confronting Racism Head-On," July 25). Jackson stated that an FBI agent gained his trust (in helping foil an alleged white supremacist plot to bomb the church) when he "realized that he was the chief agent for the Los Angeles area and that he was a Christian." Jackson goes on to say that "there's an aura about Christians; you don't have to wear a collar for people to realize exactly where you stand."

Doll artist Sigrid Williams was looking for a way to help the black community, but didn't know where to start--until she turned on her television. "It's a project that I actually thought about after watching a news program on Drew University's magnet program that pairs up medical students at the school with kids in Watts," Williams said. After viewing the broadcast earlier this year, Williams began producing a limited edition of porcelain dolls to benefit Charles R. Drew University in Watts.

Lillian Mobley, a prominent community activist who fought to establish and keep open the doors of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center and pushed to create a companion medical school, has died. She was 81. Mobley, who had been in failing health for the last few years, died Monday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, said her son Kenneth. She was "without a doubt the most accomplished and successful community activist South Los Angeles has ever had," according to a statement by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles)

The struggling Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has a new president-designate — David M. Carlisle, who now heads a California governmental agency. The appointment of Carlisle, director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, comes at a key time for the campus in Willowbrook, just south of Watts. Drew remains on a two-year academic probation, and only eight months ago it was in danger of being seized by its lenders because it couldn't make payments on its new $43-million nursing school.

Cash-strapped Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science was in critical financial condition last year, at risk of seizure by its lenders. In the last few months, however, officials at the campus in the Willowbrook neighborhood, just south of Watts, say there's cause for optimism. The university has pulled back from the brink of insolvency and is close to selecting a new president. The final candidate is Dr. David M. Carlisle, 56, director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

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.

At Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, the announcement Friday that construction would soon begin on a $43-million research and nursing school building did more than lift spirits around the campus. It gave the medical school an opportunity to boast about a number of firsts. The building represents the largest investment in South Los Angeles in decades.

With a show of support from African American politicians and the University of California, a new president was installed Friday at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

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.

Even as controversy persists over patient care at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, new graduates from its affiliated school of medicine pledged Saturday to improve the hospital and help provide the best healthcare for the poor. Twenty-four students received medical degrees from the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles, while 100-plus celebrated completing their residencies in a variety of disciplines.

Following a contentious four-hour debate, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to give Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center more time and money to fix its burgeoning problems. Although some supervisors have suggested severing King/Drew's ties to its affiliated medical school or even temporarily closing the hospital, the board delayed any major decision about the facility's fate.

Los Angeles County health officials are withholding $300,000 from the medical school affiliated with Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, saying the troubled public hospital has paid for hours that weren't worked by the university's physicians. All told, health officials said Monday, the county has paid Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science nearly $1.1 million for academic and clinical services that weren't provided.