** Note: Reporters interested in covering the opening dedication of the Safra Family Lodge are encouraged to RSVP by replying to this e-mail [flockb@od.nih.gov] or by calling the number listed below. Reporters are also encouraged to take metro to the Medical Center stop (Red Line). An event shuttle will run between the metro and the Safra Lodge. For television crews or reporters who wish to drive to the event or for more information, please call the NIH Office of Communications at 301-496-5787. **

Bethesda, Maryland - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) celebrates the opening of the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge on Thursday, May 26, at 2 p.m. This new addition offers a temporary residence for families and loved ones of adult patients who are receiving care at the NIH Clinical Center, the nation's premier hospital for conducting clinical research - research involving patients. The Lodge opens its doors to guests on Wednesday, June 1.

"We recognize that patients and their families go the extra mile to participate in research studies. The Safra Family Lodge goes a long way to make their stay here feel more like home," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "We hope that this place of kindness will do for adults and their families what the Children's Inn has done for our pediatric population."

Patients from every state in the U.S. and from around the world visit NIH to participate as partners in medical discovery. In the more than 50 years since the Clinical Center's opening in 1953, NIH has worked with more than 350,000 participants in clinical studies, designed to further knowledge of new treatments for disease. Together, scientists, clinicians, and patients have discovered major advances at the Clinical Center, including t
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Contact: Bonnie Flock, Office of Communications
flockb@od.nih.gov
301-496-5787
NIH/Office of the Director
25-May-2005