Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego, the region’s only dedicated pediatric hospital and level 1 pediatric trauma center, provides comprehensive care to more than 280,000 children each year across San Diego, Imperial and southern Riverside counties. The hospital’s nearly 1,000 physicians, 1,500 nurses and 6,000 employees support a full continuum of services, delivering nationally recognized clinical excellence reflected in Magnet designation, repeated pediatric hospital honor roll rankings by U.S. News & World Report, and recognition as a “World’s Best Specialized Hospital” by Newsweek. As the primary pediatric teaching partner of UC San Diego School of Medicine, Rady Children’s trains the next generation of pediatric specialists and maintains more than 890 active research studies, including over 200 clinical trials in partnership with globally renowned research institutions. Its high-acuity programs demonstrate leading outcomes and scale, including more than 22,000 annual surgeries, 352 heart surgeries, 63 heart transplants to date, 249 new cancer diagnoses treated annually and more than 10,000 oncology outpatient visits. In 2025, the hospital advanced digital innovation by expanding a virtual nursing program using care.ai technology across emergency, neuroscience and multispecialty units to strengthen patient experience, improve workflow efficiency and enhance team-based care. Rady Children’s also deepened community and national collaboration, highlighted by Alaska Airlines’ donation of two million miles to expand clinical knowledge exchange and accelerate pediatric innovation.
