2021 CHOC Gala Celebrates our Heart Institute
Children’s hearts are small, unique and require special care. At CHOC, we understand the intricate, and often complex, needs of children with heart complications. This is why CHOC is committed to providing children and families with hope through world-renowned expertise, advanced treatments and compassionate care.
Healthy Hearts from the Start
Despite the challenging medical environment caused by the global pandemic, our Heart Institute continues to offer cardio-diagnostic services and comprehensive resources for patients facing cardiovascular disorders. Many programs and services at the institute continue to expand to meet the growing needs of our community.
The CHOC Difference
• Our cardiac experts are nationally recognized, and we are the only facility in Orange County that performs open-heart surgery on newborns and children.
• Programs at the Heart Institute are specially designed by leaders in the field of cardiology to ensure that each patient receives the care and attention their heart needs.
• CHOC proudly offers one of the few dedicated pediatric electrophysiology programs in the region and a dedicated cardiovascular intensive care unit with the most advanced bedside monitoring equipment available.
• Our cardiovascular surgical services include operating rooms with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems, a life-saving technology not found anywhere else in the county.
• We have developed a home monitoring program, in partnership with The National Pediatric Quality Improvement Collaborative, that allows patient families to document oxygen levels, heart rate, weight changes, and feeding observations, which are then transferred seamlessly to the child’s care team.
• Our heart institute has partnered with gastrointestinal services, nutrition services and rehabilitation services to open a Cardiac Outpatient Nutrition Clinic. This clinic provides dietitian counseling or feeding therapy that is typically needed for infants and children with heart conditions.
Looking Ahead: A New Heart Center
CHOC’s new Heart Center, set to open this spring, will empower CHOC to offer general subspecialty outpatient pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery services all under one roof. The center will also offer advanced cardio-diagnostics equipped with state of the art, specialized technology necessary for the treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease.
The New Heart Center Enables CHOC to:
- Provide the only comprehensive fetal cardiology and diagnostic services in Orange County, prioritizing care for mothers and their babies who have been prenatally diagnosed with one or more congenital anomalies.
- Decrease infant mortality through effective and early screening.
- Open a new resource center within the fetal diagnostic center that will provide resources for both clinicians and expecting mothers.
- Sponsor innovative fetal research.
- Grow community outreach and education.
Although the pandemic has changed life as we know it, one thing remains the same: children—and their parents—are still counting on us to help them get better.
Funds raised through this year’s Gala will benefit our Heart Institute, which will enable CHOC to remove the barriers to health that many families face. Support for our Heart Institute will help ensure children receive timely and accurate diagnosis and the treatment they desperately need to not only survive, but thrive.
