Donna Karan Brings Her Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program to UCLA Medical Center

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New York-based fashion designer Donna Karan will be in Los Angeles on Thursday -- but not to schmooze about dressing actresses (although she did design that amazing red gown for Nina Dobrev for the Emmys).

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Her Urban Zen clothing collection, for which she opened a store a few months ago in West Hollywood, has a foundation that will partner with the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for it to become the first West Coast hospital to adopt Karan and Urban Zen's integrative therapy program -- which is yoga, meditation, Reiki and aromatherapy for patients.

When Karan's husband Stephan Weiss was dying of cancer in 2001, all she wanted was for his New York hospital to allow him to have yoga and meditation to ease his anxiety, insomnia and nausea -- but no hospitals employed these Eastern methods.

Now, through Urban Zen, Karan has donated money so that hospital staffs are getting training to treat patients with these healing disciplines. Her visit this week is a conference with doctors and hospital staff, and it will allow attending journalists to understand how the whole system works.

You have to hand it to Karan. How many fashion designers have made this kind of effort for the sake of humanity? It's pretty awesome.