UCLA Medical Center

 Pulmonary Disease Specialty Ranking: 4  (2025 US Hospital Rankings)

The University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center (UCLA Health) is located in Los Angeles, a western city in the United States. There are relatively many Chinese people in the United States. Chinese restaurants can be found everywhere, and you can even communicate with many people in Chinese. The language barrier and cultural isolation are relatively low, which is one of the reasons why many domestic patients choose Los Angeles as their medical destination.

UCLA Health is not just a single hospital, but a large complex: the main campus is located in the Westwood area, including the Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Mattel Children's Hospital and Resnick Neurological Institute; the branch campus Santa Monica Medical Center is located in Santa Monica; in addition, UCLA Health also has more than 200 clinics in Southern California, as well as the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

UCLA Health

After 60 years of development, UCLA Health Medical Center has become a pioneer in world medical technology, committed to providing high-quality medical services to patients from all over the world.

UCLA Health’s Advantage Specialties

The comprehensive ranking is among the top five in the United States, and 11 specialties are among the top ten.

On July 25, 2022, U.S. News & World Report released the 2022-23 U.S. Hospital Rankings. Among them, UCLA Health ranked fifth overall, and 11 specialties ranked in the top ten:

• Ear, Nose and Throat, ranked 2nd in the U.S.
• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, ranked 3rd in the U.S.
• Cancer ranks 5th in the U.S.
• Diabetes and endocrinology, ranked 5th in the U.S.
• Geriatrics, ranked 5th in the U.S.
• Orthopedics, ranked 5th in the U.S.
• Ophthalmology, ranked 5th in the U.S.
• Pulmonary medicine and lung surgery, ranked 5th in the United States
• Psychiatry, ranked 6th in the U.S.
• Obstetrics and gynecology, ranked 8th in the U.S.
• Rheumatology, ranked 9th in the U.S.

Serving many international patients every year, including Chinese patients

Every year, countless international patients (including Chinese patients) come from all over the world to seek medical services at UCLA Health Medical Center. UCLA Health is also committed to making every patient feel at home. For example, there is a helicopter parking pad on the roof of the hospital building, which is used to pick up and drop off patients who need emergency medical services.

 

UCLA Health Medical Center's helipad

“Every day, I am inspired by the teamwork of physicians, nurses, health care professionals and support staff whose knowledge, skills, dedication and empathy make exceptional care possible,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Health system. “I am incredibly proud of the work our team members do every day to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families.”

For Chinese patients who travel thousands of miles to Los Angeles for treatment, they tend to focus on the hospital's advantages in oncology, cardiology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, etc.

1. Tumor

The UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 500 experts and scientists and enjoys an international reputation for developing new cancer treatments.

For example, UCLA researchers have made outstanding contributions to tumor targeted therapies such as Herceptin. At the same time, the center is committed to developing chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy for specific blood cancers and is one of the first hospitals in the United States to provide this treatment.

The center's comprehensive oncology team includes surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists and professional collaborators. All experts have the same goal, that is, to develop a personalized medical plan for the condition through close cooperation and adopt reasonable solutions to help patients get rid of the disease.

Each year, UCLA Health serves more than 20,000 cancer patients from around the world.

2. Cardiology

For decades, UCLA Health has been committed to providing professional treatment and quality services for adult and pediatric heart patients. The center has excellent cardiology and cardiac surgery programs in the United States, and in 2018 won the "Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Achievement Gold Award" from the American Heart Association.

 

UCLA Health's pediatric ward (Photo: Benny Chan)

The center can provide a variety of treatment methods, including minimally invasive and open heart surgery. For patients with arrhythmia, it can also provide interventional catheter therapy, surgical treatment, minimally invasive and mechanical heart valve surgery. For patients with advanced heart disease, surgeons use advanced treatment methods such as coronary artery catheter ultrasound therapy, interventional treatment of nerve endings and valves, and arrhythmia ablation.

In addition, as a world leader in heart transplant technology, UCLA Health has achieved globally recognized results: 25% of adult heart-matched patients in the United States experience rejection reactions, while this number is only 5% at UCLA.

The center also has the first and only sports cardiology program in Los Angeles and Southern California, dedicated to improving patients' athletic performance while maintaining their health.

3. Neurosurgery

UCLA Health is a national leader in neurosurgery research. Neurosurgeons provide personalized medical solutions for health issues related to the brain, spine, and cerebrovascular system. The hospital also has extensive nursing experience in treating patients from different countries and cultural backgrounds.

Several neurosurgeons at the center are consistently awarded the title of "Outstanding Doctors in the United States," and many researchers are recognized as industry leaders in clinical neuroscience and neurobiology.

UCLA neurosurgeons are pioneers in the use of innovative treatments for complex brain and spine disorders, helping to develop minimally invasive surgical techniques that allow for more precise removal of pituitary tumors. The center is also the only hospital in Southern California that can use magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) to treat movement disorders and essential tremor.

Each neurosurgery intensive care unit in the center is equipped with a new robot, which allows patients and nurses to communicate directly with doctors even when the doctors are not in the ward. This greatly ensures the efficiency of doctor-patient communication and clinical response.

4. Orthopedics

It is no exaggeration to say that patients from all over the world choose UCLA because it provides professional and personalized diagnosis and treatment solutions for both routine and complex orthopedic problems.

First, the UCLA Joint Replacement Center is a leading hospital for total joint replacement (artificial joints replacing joints) surgery certified by the American Orthopaedic Association. As early as 1969, the center's orthopedic surgeons performed the first total hip replacement.

UCLA Health's surgical team

Second, patients can receive less invasive treatments here. For example, when performing most outpatient foot and ankle surgeries, surgeons at the center will use new anesthesia techniques to replace spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia and conventional anesthesia to reduce trauma to patients.

In addition, UCLA neurosurgeons will improve the safety of complex spinal surgeries by using more sophisticated tools, such as intraoperative scanning equipment, which allows surgeons to observe three-dimensional images of the patient's spine, effectively improving the precision of the surgery.

 

UCLA Medical Center Basic Information

English name: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Abbreviation: UCLA Health

Address: 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Official website: https://www.uclahealth.org/