Mission Statement: To Nurture, Advance and Protect the Health and Well-Being of Children
Since 1964, CHOC Children’s 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 Children’s 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 Children’s Hospital in Orange and CHOC Children’s 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.
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 Children’s Hospital’s 340B Story
CHOC Children’s 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 Children’s 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 Children’s 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 Children’s 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 Children’s 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 Children’s has once again been named one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in its 2019-20 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. CHOC ranked in six specialties: diabetes/endocrinology, cancer, neonatology, neurology/neurosurgery, pulmonology and urology. Cancer ranked in the “top 20,” list for its specialty.
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 50 U.S. pediatric facilities in 10 specialties, from cancer to urology. Of the nearly 200 pediatric medical centers participating in the survey, only 50 hospitals earned recognition as a best children’s hospital.
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.

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

Organized jointly by the Values Institute at DGWB and OC METRO, the 20-question Most Trustworthy Brands: Orange County Edition™ online survey is based on a proprietary research initiative developed at DGWB. The complete list and a profile of each honored brand is published in the June 2011 issue of Newport Beach-based OC METRO magazine and online at ocmetro.com.
CHOC Board of Directors
-
Kimberly C. Cripe
President
- Janet Davidson
-
Chris Furman
Vice Chair
- Dr. Robert Hillyard
- Joe Kiani
- Doug McCombs
- Shruti Miyashiro
- Jim Morris
- Tom Phelps
- Marshall Rowen, MD
- Kimberly Sentovich
-
Kimberly C. Cripe
President
- Janet Davidson
-
Chris Furman
Vice Chair
- Dr. Robert Hillyard
- Joe Kiani
- Doug McCombs
- Shruti Miyashiro
- Jim Morris
- Tom Phelps
- Marshall Rowen, MD
- Kimberly Sentovich