Orange County Register

The California Nurses Association has planned a vigil today at UCI Medical Center to protest the hospital’s plans to treat most pediatric patients at nearby Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

The nurses say that closing UCI’s 33 pediatric beds “is a danger to all Orange County children, especially the under-served Latino community.” UCI would keep trauma and burn units, but says the affiliation would combine CHOC’s large patient capacity with UCI’s pediatric research and teaching programs.

CHOC has 232 beds and an average daily census of 165 patients. The children’s hospital has 48 more beds at CHOC at Mission. CHOC spokeswoman Denise Almazan says “there is more than adequate capacity to meet the pediatric needs of Orange County and surrounding communities.”

The UC Board of Regents will take up UCI’s request for an affiliation with CHOC on Nov. 19. The Regents agenda describes the change as a way to “enhance pediatric medical training, research, and care.”

The vigil will be held at noon at UCI in Orange.

Related story:

Nurses protest UCI plans to change pediatric program

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