Rady Children’s Hospital, CHOC Plan 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 (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.

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.

The proposed merger will undergo customary regulatory review and the transaction is expected to close in 2024.