Two large Southern California pediatric health systems have agreed to merge.
Children’s HealthCare of California, the parent company of Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Rady Children’s Hospital and Health Center, the parent company of Rady Children Hospital-San Diego, said they will merge CHOC and Rady Children’s under a single parent entity called Rady Children’s Health.
Rady Children’s includes a 511-bed pediatric hospital that serves as the largest provider of comprehensive pediatric medical services in San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties. It has more than 40 locations. CHOC’s community includes hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo and a regional network of primary and specialty care clinics serving children and families.
A story in the San Diego Union-Tribune noted that Rady reported “a little more than $1 billion in net patient revenue in 2022 compared to $928 million for CHOC when the finances of its main hospital in Orange and CHOC Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo are combined.”
CHOC and Rady Children’s have previously collaborated on initiatives that advance pediatric care, research, and innovation, such as project Baby Bear, a rapid Whole Genome Sequencing (rWGS) initiative that quickly diagnoses infants with rare diseases, and the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative grant.
CHOC’s President and CEO, Kimberly Chavalas Cripe, and Rady Children’s President and CEO, Patricio A. Frias, M.D., will be appointed co-CEOs of the new parent company.
The hospitals said they would maintain separate medical staffs and governing boards and would build on their respective affiliations with the University of California and its medical schools at UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
“CHOC and Rady Children’s — both nationally recognized for clinical excellence and compassionate care — have put forward a shared vision that puts children and their families first, ensuring them access to the very best practitioners, treatments and technology available in pediatric medicine,” said Rady Children’s Board of Trustees Chair Paul Hering, in a statement.
The proposed merger will undergo regulatory review and the transaction is expected to close in 2024.
