811 bed VA hospital opens Kathy Kluzek Located on the edge of the UCSD campus Situated as close as it is to the CSD behind the school of medicine, the six -story medical school , the VA hospital plans to VA hospital has just recently opened its doors coop rate extensively With It. All of the Ultimately planned to accomodate 811 beds. ho spital ph YSicians Will have staff the hospital now has 120 of those operative and appointments at the med school , and the ha s admitted its first 60 patients. The e sc hool will have many students. residents. and patients came from the Los Angeles VA trainees working at the ho pltal hospital at Wadsworth. that is being closed The sums of money essential to runntng any down . hospital are high and the VA hospital is no In March . many more VA patients will be exception Con trucllon co ts amount to transferred to thl new site. although the somewhere around $35 million whil e the hospital will not become fully operatIOnal until purchase of equipment requires anoth r 9 next fall . million When fully operatIOnal. the operating costs will b clos to 15 million. 85 p r cent of Highly innovative. the new VA hospital ha s which goes toward ·taffing man y specia . features It is complet Iy earthquake-proof. being built upon 16 "seismiC Presentl v the tare numbers 600 p rsons. but towers" arranged in groups of four this figure w1ll continue to n e until It reache Its maximum of 1550 sometime next fall Th exterior wall IS movable. eas1ly allowing any future expansions or necessary For those of yOU who are uncertain a to how remodeling. All of the utilities (T\'; a VA hospital differ from a public or private electriCity. heating. water. air condilloning. one the VA hospital admit onh veterans tra h. etc I are located in interstitial pace . Th Ir dependents are not eligible. 0 th re are that is , in the space between the ceding of on few women and no children to be found among story and the floor of the next Its pallent . Comprised of six floors plus a ba ement. the "The major dlif renc. betwe n the hospital will devote the Sixth floor entirely to ho pltals are tmply that we don t deliver research, primanly clinical research. Another bable and that we do offer orne type of strong point of it service will be its large nur 109 home care." said VA ho pltal Director outpatient program . Turner Camp e I Volume '5, Number J3 University of California, San Diego Tuesday, February IS, 1972 The national organization i barely two Fighting Sickle-cell anemia and California Pol"techmc Institute yea rs old. and the chapter at UCSD is brand Equally as ImpOrtant a. the recognition I. new. but the National Black Science Students the work belOg don by memb rs of th' Organization has suddenly become a very NB SO In combatlOg the Ignorance and important link to the future for its members -Black Science students organize mlsunder. tandmg of . Ickle-cell anemia and for a large segment of the community. Sickle-cell anemia ha. often b~~n ldllt'd The NBSSO is just what the name implies: a . the neglect d dlsea p" becau!-.e It hi!' nation wide organization of black college and received little support for ~cre(:nlOg . umversity science students who are drawn educatIOn. and re 'earch In :plle of II. high together to help themselve . and other inCidence and mortalll\ rate. among tht> black minoritie . toward a future in m dicine and populatIOn It I: an lOcurabll . inherited sC ience It · membership IS growing and it dlsea e caus d b\ an alteratIOn olome of the progra m are ambitious. red blood cells. ' allOWing tht'm to pa~: 1 .. For th one to 10 black Americans who are freel\ through small blood ve:;sl'l: , e\entuall~ ca rriers of sickle-cell anemia. th programs causing blood clOh It I. senou: at an\' ag{' and are ex tremely crtllcal. often fatal durmg childhood BSSO began as a collection of A child ma\ IOh fit the IC I('-{'ell troll Irom unde rgraduate students at the City College of one or both parents Somt-ont' \\ho ha-. :'jew York who f It it wa s time to take their Inhented the trait from onl~ om' parent L future into their own hands . Originally called called a 'carner' and. although h(' Will not Black SCience. the group co ntacted medical have the dlsea. e. he ma\ pa. It on to hi and graduate school around the nation and , children About one 10 10 bla(,k Americans I • de plte peSSimistic responses from advisors. carnCf and about one In 100 couple~ are both held the fir t ational Conference on Black carners. rlskmg a one In four ch<Joc'e ot hJ\ IO!! Students in Medicine and Science in a child with sickle·cell anl'mla (,Jch lim a Decemb r. 1969 Over 500 students and pregnanc~ occurs prof ssiona l sc hool s' representatives For the mo. t part. black peupll' haw ht'l'n participated. una\\are of . Ickl('·cell anemia as J clHllmUnlt\ At th con fer ence the members not only health problem and thl'reforl' ha\r not tdt-l n looked at academiC problem faCing black am larg("'icall' pre\l'ntlw d('t IOn Rl'l nt 1\ students. but also at medica l and health thiS .Ituallon ha bq::un I) (hangl' .\ Ith problems affecting the black commuOlty A natulOal efforts b('lng mddl' tn pr{Jlllot numb r of objectives were formulated . screeOlng and l'duc;ltll)n prugr,llll lor lit' Indudmg 1) recognitIOn of the need for black publl( profeSSIOnals In the ,(,Iences. 21 Increasmg the Thl \ B::() has 10 thl' pa"t n-:Jr bl UII to number of high school students who enter pla\ J mdJur roll' III COlllbatlO" "I('kll"cel: coli gf' to tud~' m the technological and anl'mla through l'duc,lllOn .tnd 1('sllOl:! III th mcdlcal fi Ids . 31 galOlng Incr£'ased black ('lIlllll1Unlt\ In \"l'\\ York (1\\ \t':tlO~ .It CC\Y enrollments of black and other minontv '\ational Black Science tudent5 Orga ni zation leader~ Sal.' Carreatht'r ... ( left ) and Paul H. began \\Ith O\l'r :1.000 ,tudl'nL and Lung Island lmH'rslt\ Tht, ll'sL a Inlpll' students m medil'al and graduate schools . 4') Simm~ di cu~s the Sickle Cell \nemia testing program ca rrit'd out b~ Ih e or~anization blood test de ~Ignl'd to d ,t('( t (\lrnerS \H n helping to obtam finanCial aid for black r ec(' ntl~ at the l nher~it~ of Ca lifornia. San Di e~o. Carreather... i~ a member of Ih(' carned nut b\ student nll'mbl'r 01 ;\B::O sC ience students. and 5) assistance m th (' ,ecutiH' committee of the l (SO chapl .. r of '\B~ SO and coordinator of loral "'icklc (ell From thl' IOllial tt'sts. O\l'r :100 "tudpnL \\l n development of speCial prog rams to keep \n .. mia Testing. Simms is a member of the national Board of Tru<;tet" and pa ... t national hlack students 10 sc hool lound to bl' ('arnl'r. pre ... ident of ,\BSSO. In San DII?go tt'!'itlng began \\ Ith I\.n ( \ The second NatIOnal Conference wa s held 10 October. 1970 . With over 750 students. facultv represent. les than 10 per cent of all black natIOnal r cognitIOn of the organlli.ltlOn s Elemenwn :chool v.hl'rt, thl' io('al \BSS() 01 chapter workl'd thN'I~ \\lth thl' n.n I'huol and profeSSIO nal s 10 attendance t the third students at SO According to Simms. thl ' effort to overcome What It terrm; the lad ot :'.lcdl C'IIll' and the Biac AClion COlllmltt£'l :'jatlOnal onference. held last December 10 percentag . which drop even lower after four mOlivatlOn from medl('al and graduatl' New York City . the announcment of the first ~ ' ears of study . IS consl tent With colleges and schools toward the prosperli\ e blat'k s('Ientlst In additIOn :ome l12 tl'. h Wl'r' rl'('('nt!\ NBS 0 chapters outSide New York Clt~' wa s Universities across th e cou ntr~ ' At the most recent nallonal conterence In condurll'd on black . tudcnt and fiJC'ult\ at made Among the more than 800 attending "Th numb r that succeed. that IS . tht' ~l'W York elt\ rep res 'ntatlves (It some 30 tTSD and further tt'sL art' cht'dukd fir 'i,lr were the first NBSSO student s from th e W ·t numb r that graduate In CI nce . IS les. than medical schools conducted IOtl'n lew. to Dlle'go :tate Clll1l-ge nn Feb Ii and I,ltl r I se\eral area high schuI,ls Coast. inciudlOg members of the n ewl~' formed on -half of thos that start. " . lI11m s said IOform . tlld('nt~ or the \anous opportunities avallabl to them 10 ml'dlClOl' and thl' 'Our nbJ(ctl\ I IS III rt'Jch l'\t'n hl,le chapter at D. "Thl drop I reflected 10 enrollments 10 The 1I D chapter. th second to b graduat and medical . chools.' h Silld t chnologlcal fl('lds \ Similar typ program IS person III thl' ('OlllI11UOlt\ .'111101. ,wt \\ l' 'c hedul d tor aturda\ . Feb 19 . at (;eorgl' v.lll ronsldl'r It good II V.l rCJ( h 40 tn till pl'r chartered.