In 1949, a group of local mothers decided that the Central Valley needed and deserved access to physicians and health care professionals dedicated to children. Against enormous odds, they shared their dream of a pediatric hospital and rallied the community’s support. On October 26, 1952, Valley Children’s Hospital and Guidance Center opened its doors with 42 beds to care for children.

Over the past fifty years, this facility, now called Children’s Hospital of Central California has evolved into a state-of-the-art regional medical center providing outstanding pediatric care to thousands of children across the state. The small forty-two bed hospital has grown to 242 beds in a 650,000 square foot facility boasting the latest in medical technology. At present, Children’s Hospital serves a population of one million children in a ten-county area stretching from Modesto to Bakersfield.

One of the first groups to form an organization to fundraise for the hospital was the La Feliz Guild. Today Children’s Hospital Central California is supported by 15 Guilds from throughout the Central Valley. Membership is by invitation and the 2009 La Feliz Guild is currently comprised of 50 active members and 57 associate members. The members gather at a luncheon meeting the second Wednesday of each month.

In 1950, the founding mothers of La Feliz chose a horse show as their first fundraising event. Braving 107 degree weather, guild members sold hot dogs, sandwiches and ice cream to raise $5,000 for the hospital. This was the first of many fabulous annual parties in support of the hospital. The tradition continues today as La Feliz holds its 54th fundraising event, Derby Down. With the ongoing support of the community and wonderful sponsors, over time La Feliz has contributed over 1.7 million to help provide high quality, comprehensive healthcare to all children throughout the Valley regardless of their ability to pay.

$5 Million Pledge

In 2007, the Guilds saw a need and pledged $1 Million to establish The Guilds Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Endowment at Children’s Hospital. In 2008, the Guild realized more was needed and pledged an additional $4 Million.

The overarching goal of The Guilds Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Center is to make sure that children are not further victimized by systems designed to protect them. Children’s will create a comprehensive, child-focused program that offers a range of services and resources for our community partners. Children’s will lead in coordinating law enforcement, child protection professionals, prosecutors, victim advocates and the mental health and medical communities in working together when intervening in child abuse cases.

Activities & Accomplishments

In the three years since the center has been launched, Children’s Hospital has accomplished the following goals in order to reach a Center of Excellence.

• Dr. John Kinnison is currently serving as Interim Medical Director.
• A full-time Medical Director has been. This physician brings with him over 20 years of Child Abuse Pediatrics knowledge.

• Full-time Child Advocacy Coordinator position was created and filled.
• Full-time Child Advocacy Liaison position was created and filled.
• The program has become a formal department in the organization under the Critical Care service line. This is the same service line with PICU, Emergency Department and Trauma Services.
• Physical clinical space is secured for the program to support exams and screenings on two days a week with flexibility for expanding on a as needed basis.

• Part-time (20 hours/week) Social Worker is being utilized via job sharing with the Children’s Hospital Social Work department. This person is available daily with time shared between the Child Abuse Pediatrics Department and the Emergency Department.

• Physicians and/or Nurse Practitioners are available for consults 24/7.

• Policies updated for child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence cases.
• Patient education on child abuse prevention, advocacy and reporting was developed and is a requirement for bi-annual education by all hospital employees.

• Nurse Coordinator serves on Death Review Team for seven counties as a child abuse resource expert.

• Completed year one of the Interagency Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) Team Near Fatality Review with the State of California.