Important Construction Updates About Our Campus Transformation — Read More

Intensive Care Unit for Seriously Ill Newborns Opens in Murrieta

Murrieta, CA – Nov. 26, 2012 – An agreement between Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and Southwest Healthcare System will provide neonatal care and expertise to the families of southwest Riverside County at Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta.

Rady Children’s at Rancho Springs Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is an eleven-bed unit outfitted with advanced instrumentation and the latest technology to observe, monitor, stabilize or resuscitate seriously ill newborns. Babies born at Rancho Springs and in need of specialized care will now be able to stay close to their mothers.

“We’re thrilled to join with Southwest Healthcare System to better serve the southwest Riverside community,” said Kathleen Sellick, President and CEO of Rady Children’s. “We are committed to providing the best possible care to the families of this region. Our hope is that this local access to Rady Children’s neonatal care will help ease the burden on families whose babies are born sick. Now, these families can stay close to home.”

“We are extremely excited about Rady Children’s operating here at the Rancho Springs Women’s Center,” said Darleen Vlahovic, Director of Rancho Springs Women’s Services. “The care, the nurses, the physicians, and the facility are all incredible.”

The expanded services offered in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will benefit moms like Nichole Townley. “Having our first baby at Rancho Springs was a great experience. But when our daughter was born she needed intensive care,” said Nichole. “Thank heavens Rancho Springs had a direct connection with Rady Children’s. We spent 10 days at Rady Children’s in San Diego and now our sweet Kayla is 9 months old and doing just great. Now that Rady Children’s is operating on-site at Rancho Springs, I have even more peace of mind about having my next child here at the hospital.”

About Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego:
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, the largest children’s hospital in California based on patient admissions, is a 442-bed pediatric care facility providing the largest source of comprehensive pediatric medical services in San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties. Rady Children’s is the only hospital in the San Diego area dedicated exclusively to pediatric healthcare and is the region’s only designated pediatric trauma center. In May 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked Rady Children’s among the best children’s hospitals in the nation in all ten pediatric specialties the magazine surveyed. For more information, visit www.rchsd.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Rancho Springs Medical Center:
Southwest Healthcare System’s Rancho Springs Medical Center is a 120 bed acute care hospital located in the heart of Murrieta right between the I-15 and I-215 freeways off Murrieta Hot Springs Road. Rancho Springs features a large and well-equipped Emergency Department with a total of 30 beds, which include 4 fast track rooms. The Women’s Birthing Center is the largest in the region and features beautiful and spacious family-friendly private rooms. Included are 24 postpartum rooms, 17 labor and delivery suites, triage rooms, post anesthesia care units (PACU), and two cesarean section operating rooms.

Media Contacts:
Ben Metcalf (Rady Children’s)
(858) 966-8579 (office) (619) 822-8593 (mobile)
Brian Connors (Rancho Springs)
(951) 304-7152 (office) (951) 837-1580 (mobile)