After years of collaboration, Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and Orange, Calif.-based Children's Hospital of Orange County plan to merge and form a single parent entity called Rady Children's Health.
The companies announced their intent to combine Dec. 20 and expect the deal to close in 2024, pending regulatory approval. Under the deal, CHOC and Rady Children's will maintain separate medical staff and governing boards and will maintain their respective affiliations with the UC Irvine School of Medicine and UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Rady Children's Health will be co-led by Kimberly Chavalas Cripe and Patricio Frias, MD, the current CEOs of CHOC and Rady Children's, respectively.
The hospitals have worked closely on pediatric clinical care and research projects for more than a decade, with the integration aiming to further enhance these efforts to improve outcomes and access to care for patients in Southern California, the release said.