Mission Statement: To Nurture, Advance and Protect the Health and Well-Being of Children
Since 1964, CHOC has been steadfastly committed to providing the highest quality medical care to children. Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, our regional pediatric healthcare network includes a state-of-the-art 334-bed main hospital facility in the City of Orange, and a hospital-within-a-hospital in Mission Viejo. CHOC also offers many primary and specialty care clinics, more than 100 additional programs and services, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence – The CHOC Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Hyundai Cancer Institutes.
Serving Those in Need
Our mission is straightforward: To nurture, advance and protect the health and well being of children. That’s why at CHOC Hospital in Orange and CHOC at Mission Hospital, we are dedicated to working cooperatively—assisting and enriching existing services as well as developing programs to benefit the families of Orange County. Over two million children across four counties count on CHOC to be here when they need us most—regardless of their family’s ability to pay.
The community is invited to send comments on CHOC’s CHNA and CHNA Implementation Plan to CommunityComments@choc.org.
Understanding the 340B Program
What is the 340B Program?
The 340B prescription drug program was developed for safety-net providers, like CHOC, to help provide critical health services to underserved patients. The program is narrowly tailored to hospitals that serve low-income individuals or isolated rural communities.
CHOC Hospital’s 340B Story
CHOC Hospital is eligible to participate in the 340B program because we provide care to a disproportionate share of low-income Medi-Cal (Medicaid) patients. In addition to the high-level services provided inside the hospital, we offer numerous outreach programs serving children and families in the community. These include several primary and specialty care centers in numerous cities in Orange County and beyond, as well as the CHOC Breathmobile, which brings asthma prevention, diagnosis and education to schools. CHOC also provides financial assistance to qualifying families and treats all patients regardless of ability to pay.
Benefits of the 340B Program
The 340B program supports our goal of meeting the needs of the community by increasing access to quality pediatric healthcare resources to Orange County families, especially low-income and medically-underserved children. Savings generated from the 340B program enables us to provide vital services to the community at low or no cost, including but not limited to:
- Behavioral health services, including 18 inpatient mental health beds
- Bedside discharge prescription services to reduce preventable hospital readmission rates
- Clinical pharmacy services to patients with serious medical conditions to improve medication adherence and outcomes
- Subsidies for chemotherapy and other specialty medications for Medicaid and uninsured patients requiring continuation of care
- Promising new treatments, such as gene therapies and CAR-T cell treatments
- New programs, including the Thompson Autism Center
340B by the Numbers (Fiscal Year 2019)
$11.6 million – approximate 340B savings, of which $4 million is passed on to the state
$250,000 – approximate cost to run the 340B program
$36 million – average annual uncompensated care (over past three years)
46% – disproportionate share hospital (DSH)* percentage
Congress should preserve and protect the 340B program as an essential part of the safety-net that does not rely on taxpayer dollars.
*DSH hospitals serve a significantly disproportionate number of low-income patients and receive payments from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to cover the costs of providing services to uninsured patients.
CHOC History: 50 Years of Caring
Since 1964, CHOC has nurtured, advanced and protected the health and well-being of children through innovative care and state-of-the-art facilities. What started as a 62-bed children’s hospital – the first in Orange County – has grown into a pediatric health care system serving multiple counties. CHOC’s rapid growth in size and community impact should be of no surprise, given its leadership and steadfast commitment to defining the future of pediatric medicine.
Proud of its rich past, CHOC’s focus is on the future. And because of this, children’s futures are brighter than ever. From Walt Disney to the new Bill Holmes Tower, see how CHOC has changed over the years.
CHOC is the first hospital devoted exclusively to caring for children in Orange County. Since opening its doors, CHOC has led the way in many areas of pediatric health care.
Centers of Excellence
CHOC is proud to offer four centers of medical excellence: the Heart Institute, Hyundai Cancer Institute, Neuroscience Institute and Orthopaedic Institute. Our fifth institute—the CHOC Research Institute—enables our patients and their families to have access to the latest pediatric clinical trials and comprehensive treatment options available, including some of the newest medical technology.
UC Irvine Affiliation
An exciting new era in pediatric care has begun.
CHOC and University of California, Irvine have a strategic affiliation, working together to create a world-class pediatrics center that integrates high-quality, comprehensive patient care; leading-edge research; and exemplary teaching programs.
CHOC provides inpatient and outpatient pediatric specialty care to patients, while UC Irvine Medical Center continues to provide pediatric emergency services, burn care, trauma services requiring immediate surgery, neonatal intensive care, newborn nursery care, and child and adolescent psychiatry.
Bringing advanced treatment to the bedside
CHOC and UC Irvine have a history of collaborating on research that brings advanced treatment to patients, including the National Children’s Study, which is the largest and most comprehensive long-term study of environmental effects on child health and development. Through the formal affiliation, additional grants have been awarded to both institutions, and CHOC researchers have access to valuable University resources, like the Beckman Laser Institute, in an effort to bring breakthrough therapies and cures to pediatric patients.
Training the next generation of physicians
Committed to training the next generation of pediatric experts, CHOC and UC Irvine have integrated their pediatric residency and fellowship programs. Currently, UC Irvine medical students conduct their clinical clerkship rotation at CHOC, providing them with increased access to a greater number of pediatric cases and enhancing their overall training and education.
While both CHOC and UC Irvine remain separate institutions, the strategic affiliation will transform the delivery of pediatric care in Orange County and beyond.
Honors and Awards
CHOC has once again been named one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020-21 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. CHOC ranked in seven specialties: neonatology; cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopaedics; pulmonology; and urology. Both orthopaedics and diabetes and endocrinology earned a “Top 20” spot.
According to U.S. News, the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings are intended to help parents determine where to get the best medical care for their children. The rankings highlight the top U.S. pediatric facilities in 10 specialties, from cancer to urology.
For its annual list, U.S. News relies on extensive clinical and operational data, and on an annual survey of pediatric specialists. Survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, procedure volume and much more can be viewed on http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings.
Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, CHOC is one of only nine children’s hospitals in the nation to be named a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. It’s the only children’s hospital in Southern California to be recognized this year.
Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is bestowed by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers widely acknowledged as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.

The CAPE Program, administered by the CCE, emulates the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and is the highest recognition in the state for performance excellence. The CAPE Program, employing the same rigorous criteria used on the national level, recognizes organizations that demonstrate continuous improvement and superior performance in the areas of leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement/knowledge management, human resources, process management and business results.


As a Beacon Award recipient, CHOC’s PICU succeeded in the following areas, as measured against evidence-based criteria:
- Recruitment and retention
- Education, training and mentoring
- Research and evidence-based practice
- Patient outcomes
- Leadership and organization ethics
- Healing environment
CHOC Board of Directors
-
Kimberly C. Cripe
President
- Janet Davidson
-
Chris Furman
Chair
- Joe Kiani
-
Doug McCombs
Vice Chair
- Dr. Maria Minon
- Jim Morris
- Tom Phelps
- Ken Potrock
- Marshall Rowen, MD
- Kimberly Sentovich
-
Kimberly C. Cripe
President
- Janet Davidson
-
Chris Furman
Chair
- Joe Kiani
-
Doug McCombs
Vice Chair
- Dr. Maria Minon
- Jim Morris
- Tom Phelps
- Ken Potrock
- Marshall Rowen, MD
- Kimberly Sentovich