Fountain Valley hospital celebrates new pediatric unit

Angelique Flores

The Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center has opened its

expanded pediatric intensive care unit.

“We reopened with a new expansion to meet the needs of the community,”

said Dr. Zach Reda, the unit’s medical director. “The whole community is

excited.”

The hospital almost tripled the number of beds in the unit, going from

four to 11, making it the second-largest in Southern California. A unique

feature of the facility -- referred to as the PICU -- is the enclosure of

eight of the beds to allow parents to stay beside their children.

And hospital officials wasted no time putting the unit to use.

“The PICU is already full,” said Donna Wolf, director of business

development at the hospital. “This shows the community need for the

facility.”

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital absorbs patients from hospitals all

over Orange and Los Angeles counties that do not have state-of-the-art

facilities. The unit offers a 24-hour transport team that provides

service to more than 30 hospitals across the two counties. Local

hospitals such as Hoag Health Center, Orange Coast Hospital Memorial

Medical Center and Huntington Beach Hospital do not have a similar unit.

“We’ve been serving the community for 25 years and have recently had an

increased demand for this service,” Reda said.

Over the past three years, the unit has been receiving a higher amount of

transfers from other hospitals.

“We have a higher level of care and special care attention at our

facility,” he said.

Besides the high-tech equipment and now the larger size, the unit is in

demand because of its mortality rate -- less than 1%, compared to the

national rate that ranges between 4% and 12%.

“I attribute this success to the whole team of experienced staff and

nursing, and collaboration from outside physicians in the community who

are able to achieve the success,” Reda said.

The original pediatric unit opened 13 years ago and is second in size

only to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, which has 23 beds, none of

which are enclosed.

This Friday, the hospital will present its 13th annual Pediatric

Christmas Party for past and current patients. Doctors, staff and

community members will host an afternoon of games, crafts, gift-giving

and a visit from Santa Claus. The hospital expects more than 400 children

to attend.

“This is a nice social opportunity to meet the family, many who are

excited to meet the team who took care of their family at a critical

time,” Reda said.