inside: - UCLA Health System

Left: UCLA Auxiliary Board members wrap and pack parcels at the
annual Adopt-a-Family Workshop. Each adopted family receives
items from their wish list along with unexpected surprises.
and clothing sizes of their children. Sponsors then select items
from these lists or purchase other appropriate gifts. Gift
certificates from retail or grocery stores provide families with a
huge boost to help the families get food or household
essentials they might not be able to afford.
Marina Lawson, senior administrative analyst for UCLA
Medical Center Administration, has been a dedicated sponsor
for more than seven years and finds personal joy each holiday
season in gathering money, buying gifts, recruiting volunteers
to wrap the gifts and, finally, delivering them to the families.
Like many of the program’s participants, Marina recognizes
that the help we give goes a long way. “If you’ve ever had the
opportunity to read any of the profiles on the families, it makes
you realize that we have some really poor families with family
members who are very, very sick and have nothing for the
holidays. When you look at the list of what the families are
requesting— something as simple as a sweater— it makes you
sad to think that they have to wait until a holiday to get that
item. One of my most poignant memories was of a 16-yearold
artist who was waiting for a transplant and simply wanted
color drawing pencils and art paper.”
For an opportunity to participate in the Adopt-A-Family
Program, you can adopt a patient and his/her family, or make a
donation of cash or gift cards. Please email Murphy Litvack at
mlitvack@aol.com, or call her at 310-476-1617. Deadline for
adopting the family is November 30 and delivery to patients is
anytime before December 25. In your email, please include the
name and phone number of your contact.
✹
What is the Auxiliary?
Known to many as the “heart” of the hospital, Auxiliary
members are in one way or another connected to the
hospital by a personal experience. New members are
elected or invited by existing members to help carry
out its mission to raise and distribute funds throughout
the hospital. The Auxiliary has donated more than
$10 million to various programs within the hospital
since 1955.
Auxiliary funds help support patient services and
resources such as the Adopt-A-Family Program, People
Animal Connection, ICU Patient Clothing Program,
Pediatric Bereavement Program and UCLA Tiverton House.
In addition, grants for special programs and
equipment such as the Bloodmobile, Critical Care Unit
Ambulance, and Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation
Program, as well as financial awards for medical and
nursing students and student volunteers, have been
made possible by the generous help of the Auxiliary. ✹
The UCLA Health System
Wellness Initiative has been
awarded the 2007 Bronze
California Fit Business Award
by the California Task Force
on Youth and Workplace
Wellness. This task force was
launched by the State Legislature
in 2002 to address the critical
issues of physical fitness and
nutritional health in California's
schools and workplaces.
A Big Idea From a Small Unit
Counted among the hundreds of thousands of
Southern Californians forced to flee from their
homes during the recent brushfires were our
colleagues from University of California, San Diego. As they
cared for burn victims and others, approximately 20 UCSD
Medical Center nurses either lost their homes or suffered
huge losses due to the fires.
In response, UCLA’s nursing unit 5 North Observation
has decided to forego its annual holiday gift exchange and
use the funds instead to help the UCSD nurses whose
homes were damaged or lost to the fires. If you would like
to help, please contact Mark Flitcraft, RN at x50765. ✹
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