Health Care Workers Find Emergency Lodging at Arcadia’s Princess Elizabeth House in London

By Caitlin Burns | April 30, 2020

Front entrance with Princess Elizabeth House on exterior brick wall

The College of Global Studies is helping medical students at Whittington Hospital in Highgate, London, as they fight the COVID-19 virus.

The Princess Elizabeth House, across the street from Whittington Hospital, is providing local accommodation at no charge to key emergency health care workers who are needed due to the pandemic. The College of Global Studies has been able to house about 20 medical students who have been pulled on duty earlier than normal. 

“This has been vital, as you can imagine,” said Baroness Julia Neuberger, DBE, chair of Whittington Health NHS Trust, in a letter to Arcadia President Ajay Nair, Lorna Stern, vice president of Arcadia University and executive director of The College of Global Studies, and Russell Peplow, director of UK Operations. “Being able to house these medical students at short notice has been incredibly helpful to reduce the pressure on the wards.” 

Princess Elizabeth House provides a modern, bright, safe residential experience for Arcadia University study abroad students enrolled on a variety of academic programs in London. The building was originally part of Whittington Hospital’s Maternity Department, dating back to 1929.

“We are so grateful to be able to support the community in which our study abroad students live by offering accommodation during our students’ absence,” said Lorna Stern, vice president of Arcadia University and executive director of The College of Global Studies. “It is who we are as an institution. We are inspired daily by the dedication of the medical personnel serving on the front lines of our current global challenge.”