Children’s hospital Los Angeles
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a children’s hospital in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, or CHLA, is located in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1901 and has 88 beds. In 2018, the hospital had 2,639 employees and saw 76,081 patients at their facility.
The CHLA is a teaching hospital with 527 attending physicians and 400 residents. The emergency department has annual visits numbering around 80,000. The hospital also has 10 operating theaters and two dedicated cardiac catheterization labs for children.
CHLA is approved by the Executive Board of the American College of Surgeons as a level 1 pediatric trauma center and has been verified by the Verification Review Committee (VRC) as a level 1 pediatric trauma center.
In the United States, there are only three level 1 pediatric trauma centers in California. The other two are located at UC Davis and Rady’s Children Hospital in San Diego. To receive this designation, CHLA meets strict criteria as mandated by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). According to the ACS: “To attain verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, a center must be able to demonstrate an ability to provide total care for every aspect of injury—from prevention through rehabilitation—to all age groups from infancy to adolescence. This encompasses the entire spectrum of care, which includes excellent emergency medical services pre-hospital care; availability of specialty units for infants, children and adolescents; trauma prevention programs; clinical research; comprehensive education programs for medical students, interns, residents and fellows; and continuing education programs for clinicians in nursing and allied health professions.”
The Verification Review Committee assesses each pediatric trauma center on its ability to meet or exceed these established standards. The review process is coordinated through the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT). Information about the ACS Verification Program may be obtained by contacting Ms. Kirsten Ariano at 312-202-5335 or kariano@facs.org.
The first patient admitted to CHLA was an 8-year-old boy who was recovering from a fall.
The first patient admitted to CHLA was an 8-year-old boy who was recovering from a fall. As noted in the Los Angeles Times and Herald, the boy was admitted to the hospital at 12:15 PM on January 1, 1901—the very first day it opened. He was treated by Dr. Francis A. Martin (CHLA’s first chief of surgery) and recovered very well, against all odds.
Dr. Bob was selected as the resident’s mascot in order to promote early detection and treatment of childhood cancer.
Dr. Bob was selected as the resident’s mascot in 1962, in order to promote early detection and treatment of childhood cancer. The name “Dr. Bob” was chosen in honor of Dr. Robert Gross, a surgeon and researcher at CHLA who focused on treating children with tumors of the central nervous system. In addition to being a cartoon character that is depicted as a smiling white blood cell with a large nose and a stethoscope around his neck, “Dr. Bob” also refers to any attending or resident physician at the hospital who has completed their training in pediatric neurosurgery at CHLA
The hospital has only recently transitioned from primarily admitting pediatric patients with acute illnesses to increasingly treating children with chronic conditions such as sickle-cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
A pediatric patient is a person who is less than 18 years old and who has been admitted to the hospital for any health problem. Historically, children’s hospitals have focused on caring for young patients with acute illnesses, which are short-term conditions that require immediate treatment. A chronic condition is longer lasting and usually requires ongoing management. Over time, children’s hospitals have begun to admit more patients with chronic diseases, such as sickle-cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
Sickle-cell disease is a disorder in which red blood cells form an abnormal crescent shape when they don’t receive enough oxygen. These misshapen cells can get stuck in small blood vessels easily and cause pain or damage vital organs such as the lungs or kidneys. Cystic fibrosis causes mucus to build up in the lungs, interfering with breathing and increasing the risk of developing lung infections like pneumonia.
CHLA launched a new strategic plan with three goals of enhancing care delivery, increasing research impact and expanding community access and programs.
Those three goals are supported by the four pillars of the strategic plan, which consists of enhancing care delivery and quality, optimizing patient access and experience, expanding health improvement programs and driving research innovation. CHLA’s strategic plan is built on previous work from the past several years that has resulted in the recognition as one of America’s top children’s hospitals.
“Our new strategic plan will build on many achievements that have occurred during our century plus history,” says Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Over this time we have witnessed dramatic changes in children’s health care needs: As an example, we transitioned from an institution that provided acute care to mostly out-patient treatment.”
The hospital move also allowed for a partnership between CHLA and USC schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and social work.
The move into the new hospital also enabled CHLA to enter a partnership with the University of Southern California’s schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and social work. The partnership allowed the USC medical students to gain hands-on experience and provided many benefits for the hospital, including a continuous pipeline of highly trained professionals who are focused on children and their families.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has grown from humble beginnings to becoming one of the most prominent children’s hospitals in Southern California
CHLA is one of the largest children’s hospitals in the country, with more than 641 beds and admissions every year. It is also the only hospital in Southern California where children can receive pediatric care from birth through adolescence. As one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals, CHLA attracts patients and families from across the U.S. But what sets CHLA apart isn’t size alone; it’s how we’ve grown since our humble beginnings to become one of the most prominent children’s hospitals in Southern California, while remaining true to our mission that kids deserve a chance to just be kids.
CHLA has been a leader in pediatric research, training and education for more than 90 years—and today we’re moving forward with a renewed focus on innovation—to help us better train tomorrow’s physicians and researchers, translate laboratory breakthroughs into lifesaving treatments for kids faster and treat each child by providing individualized care based on their specific needs—all within an environment that feels like home.