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 (Rady Children’s), have entered into an agreement to merge CHOC and Rady Children’s under a single parent entity called Rady Children’s Health.
Building upon a decade-long collaboration in clinical care and research, CHOC and Rady Children’s have proposed the creation of an advanced pediatric health system that aims to build on our excellence to further:
- improve patient outcomes in Southern California;
- accelerate research and innovation that lead to new treatments and cures;
- retain and attract top talent across all functions and specialties;
- increase access to pediatric care;
- promote health equity; and
- train the next generation of pediatric physicians and health care workers.
CHOC’s President and CEO, Kimberly Chavalas Cripe, and Rady Children’s President and CEO, Patricio A. Frias, MD, will be appointed co-CEOs of the new parent company.
CHOC, founded in 1964, operates two campuses generating around $1 billion annually. With 400 beds, it recorded 81,500 patient days and 207,000 outpatient visits in its recent fiscal year. CHOC's CEO, Kimberly Chavalas Cripe, has led the institution since 1997 and has been recognized as one of the 50 most influential people shaping the future of healthcare in Orange County.
Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, founded in 1954, is a 511-bed hospital that cared for approximately 272,000 children in the last fiscal year, boasting an annual revenue of about $2 billion. Ranked among the top 10 children's hospitals in the country, Rady achieved the 9th spot on the U.S. News list. CEO Patrick Frias, named CEO of the year in 2022 by the San Diego Business Journal, led Rady's groundbreaking initiative called Baby Bear, a rapid Whole Genome Sequencing project for diagnosing infants with rare diseases within days.
The hospitals will remain focused on the communities they serve and maintain separate medical staffs and governing boards. They will also build on their respective affiliations with the University of California and its medical schools at UC Irvine and UC San Diego—relationships that are vital to advancing pediatric research, training and education.
“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.
Added CHOC Board of Directors Chair Doug McCombs, “CHOC and Rady Children’s have similar missions and visions and complementary cultures focused on innovation and a dynamic history of collaboration that has enhanced children’s health in our communities.”
For more than a decade, CHOC and Rady Children’s have collaborated on critical 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. These collaborative efforts have built a strong foundation for CHOC’s and Rady Children’s integration.
Both hospitals have embarked on significant construction projects, with CHOC constructing a $373 million, 330,000 square foot facility tower, and Rady breaking ground on its largest project to date—a seven-story, 500,000-square-foot Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Services Pavilion. The Rady family's philanthropic contributions, including a $200 million donation in 2019 for campus redesign and cutting-edge technology, further underscore the hospital's commitment to excellence.
The proposed merger will undergo customary regulatory review and the transaction is expected to close in 2024.
