Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland

Description

ABOUT US
Childrens Hospital amp Research Center Oakland is the only independent childrens hospital in Northern California Thats why its able to focus all its attention and all its people on caring for children

Childrens Hospital Oakland the oldest pediatric medical center between Los Angeles and Seattle has provided exceptional medical care for children in the region and beyond for 95 years

In 1912 Mabel Weed and Bertha Wright a nurse founded Childrens Hospital then called the Baby Hospital Its first home was the stable of the old McElrath mansion Today with 191 licensed beds Childrens Hospitals medical center offers outstanding patient care and also supports nationally recognized pediatric teaching and research

Childrens Hospital has expanded its role over the years From modest beginnings its grown not just into a medical safety net for East Bay children but also into a regional pediatric medical center with specialized staff and facilities able to treat rare illnesses and health problems

Because fullservice hospitals just for children are extremely specialized few communities can support one Childrens is proud to be one of only 45 freestanding childrens hospitals in the nation not connected to a university or other institution Like the others Childrens Hospital Oakland recognizes that childrens medical needs are vastly different from those of adults

Thats why Childrens Hospital designs its healthcare especially for children At Childrens Hospital Oakland we dont measure things by adult standards and divide by half As the only independent childrens hospital in the Bay Area we give kids our undivided attention

Our Misssion
The highest quality pediatric care for all children through regional primary and subspecialty networks

Strong medical education and teaching programs

A diverse workforce

Stateoftheart research programs and facilities

Nationally recognized child advocacy efforts

History

The year is 1912 William Howard Taft is President of the United States and Congress has just come up with a newfangled source of revenue the federal income tax Locally Oaklands mayor is battling San Francisco politicians over their proposal to annex his city Women cannot vote and have no official say in public policy But an Alameda County nurse named Bertha Wright and a group of East Bay ladies have a very ambitious plan to open quotthe first hospital on this coast where equipment and management would be exclusively for the care of babiesquotall babies and children no matter what their family circumstances

The ladies turned their plan into reality within two years They began by founding the Baby Hospital Association and added a male Board of Directors to facilitate business transactions They raised 12500 to buy an old estate on one and onethird acres at Fiftyfirst and Dover Streets in Oakland They pinned up their skirts and rolled up their sleeves to scrub the floors and windows of the mansions former stable where on September 6 1914 the Baby Hospital opened its doors

In 1967 Miss Wright recalled those early days quotWe had to fight our way The doctors opposed us as they thought we were taking their patients away We had to educate the people to feel that the hospital would help their children I remember the difficulty I had so many times in convincing them that a baby needed special carequot

During its first year of operation the Baby Hospital charged 1 per day for ward beds and 250 for private rooms Those who could not pay were treated for free The average monthly cost of operation was 2000 with about 800 covered by patient fees and funds from the city and county The ladies went door to door collecting donations to make up the deficit and the hospital was able to grow and serve more children No family was ever turned away for lack of ability to pay

The practice of medicine and the delivery of healthcare have undergone vast changes since 1914 and so has the Baby Hospital Weve changed our name and expanded our services Today Childrens Hospital amp Research Center Oakland is a 191bed regional and global resource for advanced pediatric care research and medical education with more than 200000 patient visits per year Childrens has Northern Californias most active pediatric trauma center the regions busiest pediatric intensive care unit and one of the largest sickle cell treatment and research centers in the world Childrens 166 hospitalbased physicians provide expert care in 30 pediatric subspecialties from adolescent medicine to urology

Childrens continues to evolve in response to community need In 2003 work was completed on a renovation providing expanded space for vital services such as our Emergency and Urgent Care Departments It gave the hospital two new surgical suites an onsite MRI a dramatic main entrance pavilion and a comfortable familyfriendly lobby

Some important things will never change No area family has ever been turned away due to lack of ability to pay And Childrens Hospital Oakland still looks to the community for the support that enables us to provide essential services to the children and families of Northern Californiaand beyond