UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals

Thank you to members of the California Congressional delegation for touring UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and speaking about the importance of maintaining federal funding for Medicaid! Our hospitals treat more Medicaid patients than any other health system in San Francisco, with 100,000+ UCSF patients and 14 million Californians, including children, relying on public health insurance to receive vital care each year. University of California, San Francisco Nicholas Holmes, M.D., MBA Kevin Mullin Lateefah Simon

A new clinical space at our hospital helps us provide exceptional care for kids with chronic pain — in a healing environment! Our Stad Center for Pediatric Pain, Palliative and Integrative Medicine combines Western medicine, rehabilitation, psychological care and integrative treatments. “It was specifically designed in a way to start the healing before children even see the first doctor,” Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf explains. https://ucsfh.org/4hkr9bJ

Please help us celebrate Kiana — she’s doing great after starting treatment for multiple sclerosis! In September 2023, Kiana began experiencing numbness in her right leg, followed by persistent daily headaches. Her mother took her to several pediatricians in Fresno County, but no one could pinpoint the problem. As her symptoms persisted, the family visited the local children’s hospital in November 2023 for further testing. An MRI revealed multiple lesions in Kiana’s brain and spine, leading to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Kiana transferred to UCSF, where she began steroid infusions. Despite facing a relapse in January 2024, Kiana pushed through and started antibody therapy infusions under the care of pediatric neurologist and immunologist Dr. Mary Karalius. Now Kiana travels to our San Francisco hospital every six months for treatment, and her latest MRI showed no new lesions, with some even shrinking! Kiana is doing great in school, maintaining straight A’s, and she loves to paint and sing! #MSAwarenessMonth

Friends and colleagues at UCSF are mourning the loss of Dr. Kathryn Rouine-Rapp, a leader in anesthesia care for pediatric and adult patients. Affectionately known as KRR, Dr. Rouine-Rapp was a favorite among interdisciplinary teams and families alike, and was well known nationally for important contributions to the care of children during heart surgery. https://ucsfh.org/4bwxq2A

Join us for the 4th Annual UCSF/IGOT Pediatric Limb Differences educational event, an engaging, case-based webinar exploring the latest global strategies for managing post-traumatic lower limb deformities in kids. Led by a panel of national and international experts, this interactive session will provide valuable insights and real-world solutions to enhance patient care! Register ?? https://ucsfh.org/3R4i2kt sanjeev sabharwal Jaclyn (Rosenblum) Hill, MD Alexander Geraldi

Please send Sebastian your best wishes — he's doing well after his cancer treatment! In 2023, Sebastian’s parents noticed a lump on his neck, and testing in their home state of Utah revealed a diagnosis of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma and tumors in Sebastian’s neck, kidney and chest. Sebastian’s family came to our San Francisco hospital for care, and he went through four rounds of chemo and IVIG infusions to boost his antibodies. The treatment has been successful so far, but Sebastian’s care team is monitoring a spot near his kidney, which a scan picked up. The family moved to California to be nearer his UCSF care team, and Sebastian recently won an award for Exemplary Citizenship for his 1st grade class! Sebastian loves playing video games, going to the beach and hanging out with his 4-year-old sister. “They are like best friends,” his mother says.

ACL injuries requiring surgery were more common among pro footballers who played on artificial turf compared with those who played on grass, a UCSF study finds. The risks could be even higher for kids in youth clubs who play on older, less tended-to turfs, Dr. Brian Feeley says. “Playing with long-cleated shoes designed for grass on artificial turf may put the player at a higher risk for injury. The tough part is not all high school athletes can purchase multiple pairs of cleats,” he says. https://ucsfh.org/41BxgDJ

Happy trails to nurse Faye Cheadle, who retired from our Oakland hospital after nearly 38 years of service! Faye joined us as a nurse in 1987 and worked in various units throughout the hospital. Her son even was a patient in 1994 and beat leukemia at our hospital! Faye is moving to Tennessee to live with her son and be a full-time grandma to his children. Faye’s coworkers all wore her favorite color, purple, to send her off in style at her retirement party! ??

Kudos to our incredible UCSF CA3Dplus team for an outstanding performance at the CHOP Cardiology 2025 conference! ?? It was exhilarating to showcase the groundbreaking work we’re doing UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals to enhance care for children with congenital heart disease. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this dynamic, innovative team! ?? Veronica Reyes-Gallardo Maimuna Sayyeda, MPH, CLSSGB George Weiss Michael Bunker Sangeeta Lal University of California, San Francisco UCSF Health UCSF Pediatrics UCSF Department of Surgery

Please congratulate Jayleen’s family — she's doing great more than a year after her heart transplant! Jayleen was born at another hospital in 2022 at just 29 weeks gestation with an enlarged heart and hydrops fetalis, a dangerous buildup of fluids in the body. A couple of months later, Jayleen came to our Pediatric Heart Center, and her parents met with Dr. Mark Cocalis, Dr. Othman Aljohani and nurse Kathleen Cinelli. The team placed Jayleen on the waiting list for a donor heart and installed a temporary device to help her heart function until a transplant was possible. In September 2023, Jayleen received her new heart, and the family returned home to Sacramento a month later. Jayleen is now an active, happy 2-year-old! She loves to eat, color and play with puzzles. Because she is immunocompromised, Jayleen has some restrictions on activities outside her home, but she's learning to be more social with help from her therapist! ??