Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s is growing its footprint across Southern California to better serve patients in their communities. With the ability to integrate care throughout an age continuum, Guerin Children’s melds pediatric and adult care in a way that allows patients to move seamlessly between providers as their healthcare needs evolve over time.

“L.A. County is incredibly vast, and as we continue to build up pediatric services at our main campus and on the Westside, we are also committed to meeting pediatric needs across the entire region,” said Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Guerin Children’s. “One of our top priorities is offering young patients and their families easy access to Cedars-Sinai-level care at affiliated clinics in multiple locations.”

A Starting Point—With More to Come

With around 12,000 babies delivered across the health system each year, Cedars-Sinai is already renowned for its maternal-fetal care. Neonatology is also a strength for Guerin Children’s, and it’s one of the areas where it will significantly expand this year.

“We continue to bolster our neonatology teams across the health system, including at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley and at Cedars-Sinai affiliates Torrance Memorial Medical Center in the South Bay and Huntington Health in Pasadena. We also manage the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank,” Rabizadeh said.

As it augments its deep bench of seasoned neonatologists, Guerin Children’s is also adding to its roster of local specialists in other fields:

• Tarzana Medical Center is now home to Guerin Children’s specialists in general surgery, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and soon, endocrinology.

• Huntington Health offers pediatric specialists in ear, nose and throat; cardiology; and soon, endocrinology.

• Torrance Memorial houses Guerin Children’s specialists in general surgery and urology.

• Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital offers pediatric general surgery along with pediatric orthopaedics nearby at the highly regarded Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Santa Monica.

Guerin Children’s is also increasing local access to pediatric subspecialists by rolling out video consult services.

“One of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic is that we have learned how to optimize our video visit services, which we are now able to offer for pediatric infectious disease, nephrology, hematology/oncology and genetics,” Rabizadeh said.

With this abundance of new service offerings in place, Rabizadeh and his colleagues at Guerin Children’s are looking ahead to even greater programmatic expansion.

“This is just the starting point for outpatient and video visit clinics in these locations,” Rabizadeh said. “There is going to be much more to come.”

Sustainable Growth, Maintainable Quality

Central to the Guerin Children’s expansion plan is a focus on quality control—nurturing sustainable growth that upholds the most rigorous standards in patient care.

“Adding new programs and services to support patients in their neighborhoods is tremendously exciting, but we are engaging in the process with the utmost thoughtfulness and diligence,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Guerin Children’s and the David and Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children's Health.

“Critical to this endeavor is fostering a culture of excellence and establishing clear metrics and goals for success,” he added.

To that end, Klein and Rabizadeh have appointed key individuals whose input will help inform the expansion: Edward Seferian, MD, chief patient safety officer at Cedars-Sinai and associate director of Clinical Excellence at Guerin Children’s; and David Skaggs, MD, director of Pediatric Orthopaedics and associate director of Community Engagement at Guerin Children’s.

“As the person in charge of quality services, Dr. Seferian will ensure we are delivering on the promise of exceptional care. Dr. Skaggs will engage providers, keeping lines of communication open to make certain we are giving them the right resources and support,” Rabizadeh said. “Both of them are outstanding leaders who are helping build Guerin Children’s into something truly special.”

Their work will also enable Guerin Children’s to reach an increasingly diverse patient population.

“L.A. and its neighborhoods are made up of so many different kinds of people,” Rabizadeh said. “By bringing Guerin Children’s to the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay and beyond, we hope to serve as many of them as possible.”