Children's Hospital and Research Center Foundation

We raise funds for Children's Hospital and Research Center, which provides extraordinary children's care regardless of ability to pay.  We also fund world-class research.

Why do we exist?

Because children are not just "little people." The physical, psychological and emotional needs of children that make them different from adults are even greater in sick children. Children need to be cared for by professionals with special training and experience. A pediatrician often must be able to diagnose a child who can't answer, "Where does it hurt?" A pediatric specialist may treat thousands of kids a year, while an adult doctor may treat only a few hundred children in a lifetime.

Because children come in a wide variety of weights and sizes. When sick, they must receive nonstandard medication dosages measured with great care by experienced specialists. This is especially important when it comes to anesthesiology; most children's hospitals have a Board-certified pediatric anesthesiologist on duty 24 hours a day. This is not true in most adult or community hospitals.

Because placing an intravenous tube in a baby, for instance, is not as easy as placing one in an adult. It takes the experience of a pediatric professional to accomplish this. Even with years of experience, it may take an hour with a two-pound premature infant whose blood vessels are extremely small; with an adult it may take two minutes.

Because standard hospital equipment often will not do for children. Since young patients range from 24-ounce preemies to 150-pound teenagers, children's hospitals must stock medical instruments and equipment that most community hospitals do not.

Because children when hospitalized need special practical and emotional support. Children's hospitals provide child life specialists, psychiatrists, social workers and teachers as crucial components of the patient-care team; most other hospitals do not offer this kind of attention.

Because, as all parents know, small children need lots of care and attention; sick children require even more. At children's hospitals, there are almost three times as many nurses and twice as many physicians per patient as in most community hospitals.

Because, as reported in U.S. News & World Report and on a CNN three-part series, communities without access to specialized pediatric services and emergency medical services for children have a higher mortality rate for critically ill and injured children. One doctor warned, "Just because there's a sign on the building that says HOSPITAL or EMERGENCY ROOM doesn't mean the people inside are ready to treat kids."

What have you accomplished?

Children's Hospital Medical Center had nearly 9,000 inpatient admissions while its specialty outpatient clinics received more than 165,000 outpatient visits. As a regional referral center, Children's Hospital Medical Center treated patients from 56 of California's 58 counties during the same period.

Children's has 141 hospital-based physicians in 31 subspecialties such as cardiology, hematology, oncology, medical genetics, surgery, anesthesiology and pediatric rehabilitation. Treating children is much more labor intensive than treating adults, so Children's Hospital employs about three times the nurses and twice as many doctors as for a similar-sized adult hospital. Approximately 1,700 employees work at Children's Hospital Medical Center.

As a teaching hospital, the medical center trains 70 students over a three-year pediatric residency program. Highly regarded for producing practicing "hands-on" pediatric specialists, only 21 out of 700 applicants were accepted in 1996, making the pediatric residency program one of the most selective in the country. Most of the graduates remain in Northern California.

Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is one of the top 10 pediatric research centers nationally in terms of National Institutes of Health external awards. With more than $14 million a year in outside funding, the institute has made significant progress in such areas as diagnosing and treating pediatric cancers, sickle cell disease, AIDS/HIV, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, as well as developing prenatal diagnosis techniques for mental retardation and birth defects, and improving infant nutrition.

Children's Hospital Outpatient Center opened in June 1994. This "patient-friendly" five-story facility is the only freestanding pediatric outpatient center in Northern California. New procedures and technologies allow more patients to be treated without overnight hospitalization.

In response to the growing needs of nearby suburban communities, Children's Hospital works closely with community physicians to bring pediatric expertise to outlying areas through satellite offices in Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Santa Rosa and Fremont.

The medical needs of children are vastly different from those of adults. Children's Hospital presence in the community assures that children of Alameda County, as well as those throughout Northern California, will continue to receive healthcare designed especially for them.

We know why we're here. We're here for the children.

Children's Hospital Outpatient Center opened in June 1994. This "patient-friendly" five-story facility is the only freestanding pediatric outpatient center in Northern California. New procedures and technologies allow more patients to be treated without overnight hospitalization.

In response to the growing needs of nearby suburban communities, Children's Hospital works closely with community physicians to bring pediatric expertise to outlying areas through satellite offices in Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Santa Rosa and Fremont.

The medical needs of children are vastly different from those of adults. Children's Hospital presence in the community assures that children of Alameda County, as well as those throughout Northern California, will continue to receive healthcare designed especially for them.

We know why we're here. We're here for the children.

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