{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/tiverton","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"tiverton","excerpt":"The Tiverton is not like other hotels. So what is The Tiverton then – and more importantly, who is The Tiverton?","headline":"What is The Tiverton?","author":"Abigail Siatkowski","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/tiverton/DSC_4604.1-dfdc47a7d8d7cb0afa152df831d429a9.jpg","covercred":"Kanishka Mehra","coveralt":"Photo by Kanishka Mehra.","articleType":"article","updated":null,"content":[{"type":"text","value":"The Tiverton hides about halfway between Ralphs and the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden."},{"type":"text","value":"On the outside, it’s plain. It’s not big, nor does it stand out to passersby. It only has 100 rooms, and it’s hidden behind an array of leafy trees. The off-white exterior with seafoam green accents is muted in comparison to the harsh red brick buildings on the other side of the intersection."},{"type":"text","value":"Inside, the hotel offers amenities such as a continental breakfast, an art collection, a library and a lounge featuring a big-screen television. According to its guests, it’s pretty great. Sixty-five percent of Google reviews for The Tiverton award it five stars."},{"type":"text","value":"“It's almost as good as staying at home,” wrote one reviewer."},{"type":"text","value":"“The staff are always so nice and willing to help with anything you may need,” wrote another."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Well, I don’t know who’s the patient and who’s the caregiver here.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Peter Ji, the general manager of The Tiverton, is humble about his work. When talking about his job, he hardly refers to himself. It’s always about the staff and residents."},{"type":"text","value":"“We will do everything we can to accommodate people who really need our service here,” Ji said."},{"type":"text","value":"To be clear, The Tiverton is not a resort – or any type of place that would be frequented by vacationers, for that matter. It’s a hotel designed for patients and families receiving medical treatment at UCLA."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo by Kanishka Mehra.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/tiverton/DSC_4756.1-7fa08ce65af0f1aafe15d964cd8dd016.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Kanishka Mehra\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"So when Ji says he always strives to accommodate residents, he’s referring to much more than room service and housekeeping. His eyes are on bigger tasks, such as providing an extra refrigerator for a guest whose medication must be kept cold or securing financial assistance for a patient who needs to stay there but can’t afford it on their own."},{"type":"text","value":"Ji has worked in hospitality for around 30 years but said The Tiverton is different from other hotels."},{"type":"text","value":"A native of China, Ji began his career in the hospitality industry in his home country. When he moved to the United States in 1990, he continued to work in the field, including a run in the hotel mecca that is Las Vegas."},{"type":"text","value":"But in 2004, Ji began working at The Tiverton, which is one of several hotels belonging to UCLA. When the previous general manager left in 2010, Ji ascended to the position."},{"type":"text","value":"The Tiverton isn’t where patients go for doctor’s appointments and surgical procedures – it’s where they stay in between them."},{"type":"text","value":"Donna Iverson was one such patient."},{"type":"text","value":"For Iverson, The Tiverton served as an intermediary residence while she recovered from acute myeloid leukemia. She was discharged from inpatient care at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Dec. 9 after receiving a bone marrow transplant."},{"type":"text","value":"However, she had to stay within 30 miles of the hospital until Jan. 30, because of the high risk of complications associated with her condition. Her home in Ventura, California, sits about 55 miles away from the medical center."},{"type":"text","value":"That’s where The Tiverton comes in. During December and January, it was Iverson’s home."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo by Kanishka Mehra.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/tiverton/DSC_4782.1-aa35e3e28da526963b6d864118940416.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Kanishka Mehra\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Iverson said she appreciated a number of The Tiverton’s amenities, from the hospital shuttle to the outdoor patio where her daughters took her dogs to visit her as she recovered. Iverson is a dog lover, after all. She cares for dogs professionally when she's at home through her business Walkabout Ventura."},{"type":"text","value":"When Iverson was diagnosed with leukemia in June, it was the fourth time doctors detected cancer in her body. The first was in 2002, when she wrestled with breast cancer. Her youngest daughter, Julia Iverson, was two years old at the time. Then in 2009, it was metastatic breast cancer and, in 2012, incurable non-Hodgkin lymphoma."},{"type":"text","value":"“I don't really remember a life where my mom wasn't dealing with some sort of illness,” said Rachel Iverson, Donna Iverson’s eldest daughter."},{"type":"text","value":"However, Donna Iverson recalled being impressed by UCLA’s care – in her words, “over-the-moon impressed” – from the start."},{"type":"text","value":"Iverson said she’s never had to wait long for responses to emails she sends her team of physicians, and whenever she’s needed an emergency appointment, they’ve always made sure to fit her in the schedule. In fact, at the hospital, she considers herself a VIP. Frequently, Iverson describes herself as more than just a patient."},{"type":"text","value":"At The Tiverton, patients stay with close friends and family who can serve as caregivers. She and her caregivers are like sorority sisters, Iverson said."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"So we have this contract between the hospital administrative and (The Tiverton) to support our patient,” she said. “This is a long-term partnership.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Iverson’s doctors worked with The Tiverton to ensure that she always had access to the care she needed. Her oncologist, Wanxing Chai-Ho, said that The Tiverton allows physicians to keep high-risk patients close enough to the hospital to accommodate their frequent appointments."},{"type":"text","value":"Because Los Angeles is so spread out, she said, it wouldn’t be possible to make sure patients are always safe if they go directly to their own homes after treatment."},{"type":"text","value":"As a physician, Chai-Ho is constantly in a position of caring for others and enjoys forming lasting relationships with many of her patients. Her relationship with The Tiverton is that as well – lasting."},{"type":"text","value":"“So we have this contract between the hospital administrative and (The Tiverton) to support our patient,” she said. “This is a long-term partnership.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Ellen Haddigan Durgun, the senior executive director of development and hospital initiatives at UCLA Health, said that The Tiverton helps patients feel their lives are closer to what they would be at home with its kitchen. Instead of going out to eat every night, residents can use the kitchen to cook their own meals. As the UCLA employee who coordinates with hospital donors, she said she’s also helped distribute gift cards for grocery stores such as Ralphs to patients staying at The Tiverton."},{"type":"text","value":"Sometimes, donors are the families of former patients at the medical center who want to give back to the hospital. Noah Green, the assistant director of patient care programs, said The Tiverton’s game room was funded by such a donor."},{"type":"text","value":"The contributor set up a memorial fund for his son, specifically to benefit The Tiverton as a thank-you for accommodating the child during his illness, Green said. The money the donor gave was used to purchase a foosball table, an air hockey table, a basketball hoop and a PlayStation for residents to use."},{"type":"text","value":"In a typical year, The Tiverton’s staff hosts events where residents and their families can gather, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day parties, Ji said. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Tiverton has had to halt such activities for the foreseeable future."},{"type":"text","value":"But Iverson still found ways to make her stay at The Tiverton enjoyable, she said. She’s had what she refers to as “high tea at The Tiverton.” When one of her caregivers brought over a tea set, they decided to have their own tea party, complete with not only beverages but finger sandwiches, fruit and cookies as well."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"That’s where The Tiverton comes in. During December and January, it was Iverson’s home.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Because her immune system is so severely damaged and she was so exhausted, Iverson was hardly able to leave her room, she said. The occasions she could leave, however, were always exciting. Because of ongoing construction at The Tiverton in January, her daughters weren’t able to see her much, but on Christmas Day, they came over and sat on the patio for a full Christmas dinner, Iverson said."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo by Kanishka Mehra.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/tiverton/DSC_4822.1-ae26a8ab4dc91eaf104f1e528c893aea.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Kanishka Mehra\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“It was ... as normal as it could be,” Rachel Iverson said. “And I really appreciated that.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Though the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their ability to physically be with their mom every step of the way, Iverson’s daughters make a point of doing what they can, whether that be by trying to understand her disease and treatment or driving her to appointments, Julia Iverson said. Rachel Iverson said, when her mom was at The Tiverton, she particularly enjoyed video chatting with her to show her their dogs’ latest shenanigans."},{"type":"text","value":"There are times when watching their mother’s fight with the disease is hard for the girls too."},{"type":"text","value":"There’s always something to worry about, Julia Iverson said. Being apart from her mom meant she was always wondering how she was doing and whether she was well taken care of, she said."},{"type":"text","value":"While she was at The Tiverton, Iverson lived with two, somewhat nontraditional, caregivers: Julie Russell, her sister-in-law, during the first half, and Debbie Boross, her friend, for the latter half."},{"type":"text","value":"Although they spent most of their time in the room, which was small and packed to the brim with their belongings, Boross said that she and Iverson made their stay fun. They weren’t living as caregiver and patient, but rather, as sisters, she said. Specifically, the kind of sisters who stay awake until 2 a.m., talking about life, politics, children, grandchildren and men, Boross said."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo by Kanishka Mehra.\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/tiverton/DSC_4537-0b7bdc2aebc709e1d9f40a9a07d6419d.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Kanishka Mehra\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“Well, I don’t know who’s the patient and who’s the caregiver here,” Boross said."},{"type":"text","value":"Although Iverson has used her fight with cancer to bring her closer to her friends and family, Chai-Ho said how isolating it can be to have the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic."},{"type":"text","value":"Currently, patients are only allowed to have one essential family member with them for their appointments, which means that many receive their diagnoses in the absence of some of the people who are the most important to them."},{"type":"text","value":"But at the same time, emotional support from friends and family is crucial in a battle with cancer, Chai-Ho said."},{"type":"text","value":"Over at The Tiverton, Ji tries to maintain relationships with his residents, even as he juggles the daily stressors that come with being the general manager. As he walks the halls, he always says hello to those who are passing through, he said. However, fewer people are leaving their rooms now because of the pandemic, he said."},{"type":"text","value":"But this hasn’t stopped him – he just makes sure to remain socially distant from patients as they converse."},{"type":"text","value":"Even without a pandemic, Ji’s relationships with residents at The Tiverton are never quite the same as his relationships with guests at a typical hotel, namely because the phrase “We hope you stay with us again soon” is not a part of the vocabulary."},{"type":"text","value":"“Here, people have had a lot to deal with at the hospital, and the most difficult part, the saddest part is that, when they check out, I cannot tell them that they will come back,” he said. “I don't wish to say that to them because they really don't want to come back.”"}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"spring21","slug":"tiverton"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}