UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals With locations in Oakland and San Francisco, we're one of the top children's hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Our pediatric expertise includes cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders, organ transplants and orthopedics.

Meet Mellanie MacDonald, a neonatal nurse at our Mission Bay hospital!In February, after completing a 16-hour shift in o...
08/12/2026

Meet Mellanie MacDonald, a neonatal nurse at our Mission Bay hospital!

In February, after completing a 16-hour shift in our neonatal intensive care nursery, Mellanie heard cries for help from a nearby parking garage on Owens Street and immediately sprang into action.

She spotted a car with its doors open and hazard lights flashing, then sprinted over to find a pregnant woman in labor in the passenger seat. Using her expertise and quick thinking, Mellanie helped safely deliver the baby and ensured the newborn was stable until additional medical help arrived.

When Mellanie returned to work the next day, she was thrilled to find the family doing great and recovering together. They were discharged the following day with a healthy newborn and an unforgettable story!

Kids at our San Francisco hospital had an un-bear-lievable day at this year's Teddy Bear Clinic! 🧸💙Children stepped into...
08/07/2026

Kids at our San Francisco hospital had an un-bear-lievable day at this year's Teddy Bear Clinic! 🧸💙

Children stepped into the role of doctor or nurse for the day, putting on gowns and caps and caring for their new teddy bear patients through a variety of medical experiences. From checking vital signs and taking X-rays, to providing dental care, applying casts, administering anesthesia and performing MRIs. These interactive activities help make common hospital procedures feel less intimidating, while building confidence through hands-on play.

A big THANK YOU to our Child Life team for creating such a special experience for our patients and families!

Please congratulate Mario! He’s now a junior in high school and doing great after spending two months in our hospital as...
08/06/2026

Please congratulate Mario! He’s now a junior in high school and doing great after spending two months in our hospital as a premature newborn!
In 2010, Mario’s mom, Amanda, experienced a placental abruption, a condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus. She gave birth to Mario three months early at a hospital in Salinas. That same day, Mario traveled by ambulance to Monterey and by air to UCSF.
He weighed just 2 pounds, 4 ounces, and stayed in our Intensive Care Nursery (then located at Parnassus) for 60 days, gradually progressing from an incubator and oxygen to an open bed and breathing on his own. After returning home, Mario met all his milestones and continued to receive monitoring from our follow-up clinic for five years.
Even today, Mario's family still keeps in touch with Chu Soohoo, one of the (now-retired) nurses on Mario’s neonatal care team. In his first year of high school, Mario hit it out of the park, earning high honors and making the junior varsity baseball team. He’s now an incoming junior!
Recently, Mario also began umpiring youth baseball like his grandpa, an umpire for more than 30 years. “He came to us fragile and delicate, and we weren’t sure what was in the future for him,” his mom says. Now Mario has lots of plans for his future and hopes to play baseball in college!

We had an amazing time at Junior Giants Fest! 🧡⚾Our team loved connecting with families, handing out baseball-shaped ice...
08/05/2026

We had an amazing time at Junior Giants Fest! 🧡⚾
Our team loved connecting with families, handing out baseball-shaped ice packs and inviting kids and parents to write notes of encouragement for our gratitude wall.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by and let's go San Francisco Giants!

Congratulations to our heart patient, Eli! He's our newest Patient Champion!The honor recognizes Eli and his family's ad...
08/05/2026

Congratulations to our heart patient, Eli! He's our newest Patient Champion!
The honor recognizes Eli and his family's advocacy for our hospital, his medical team and his fellow patients. Eli was born with a congenital heart disease and had three open-heart surgeries before the age of three. He's now nine years old and thriving! Eli loves to draw and play sports like soccer, jiu jitsu and baseball.
Eli's family, friends, care team and even San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie surprised him with the award last month — all wearing masks with his face and cheering with pom-poms! He was very excited! 🥳

Please congratulate Andrea — she's doing great and is seizure-free after brain surgery to remove a tumor!Andrea experien...
07/29/2026

Please congratulate Andrea — she's doing great and is seizure-free after brain surgery to remove a tumor!
Andrea experienced some smaller seizures in her early teens but eventually had a more serious seizure called a tonic-clonic or grand mal, which caused her to lose consciousness and collapse in 2016. After further testing, doctors determined Andrea had epilepsy and a non-cancerous brain tumor called a ganglioglioma near her left temple.
Andrea came to our Oakland hospital for monitoring and brain surgery. In the year following her surgery, Andrea experienced a couple of more seizures, but with the right medications and care she has remained seizure-free since 2017!
Since her surgery, Andrea graduated from high school and earned her bachelor's degree. She also got married and gave birth to a healthy baby boy! She continues to receive care at our adult neurology and brain tumor clinics and is doing great!

Please send Lily your best wishes! She’s currently waiting to receive a kidney from her mom, Britney!When Britney was 22...
07/23/2026

Please send Lily your best wishes! She’s currently waiting to receive a kidney from her mom, Britney!
When Britney was 22 weeks pregnant, she went to UCSF Fresno from her hometown of Sanger, Calif., after her doctor discovered low amniotic fluid. Doctors at UCSF Fresno diagnosed her baby with bilateral multicystic dysplastic kidneys, an often-fatal condition in which both of a baby’s kidneys fail to develop. Britney's local care team decided to let the pregnancy progress until 39 weeks, but Lily came early by emergency C-section in November 2024, and doctors placed her on a specialized ventilator.
She flew to our Mission Bay hospital by airplane from Fresno at two days old, and our team met Lily with a teddy bear and started her on dialysis. Britney recalls that the team returned with bears for her two other children once the family got settled.
After several surgeries and months of oxygen support, Lily was able to go home in April 2025. She returned to us for two additional procedures, staying a month, but is now doing well at home in the Central Valley. Today, Lily is 20 months old and loves playing with her siblings and the family dog! She is waiting for her mom to have one more test before the living-donor transplant can happen.
“If we were anywhere else, she would not have survived,” Britney says. “The Fresno team and UCSF ICN doctors are the best in the world.”

đź‘Ź Our new inpatient neuro unit is now open at Mission Bay! The new eight-bed unit will provide acute care for children w...
07/21/2026

đź‘Ź Our new inpatient neuro unit is now open at Mission Bay!
The new eight-bed unit will provide acute care for children with neurologic and neurosurgical conditions in a specialized environment, seven days a week. It's also our first inpatient expansion at Mission Bay since we opened the hospital in 2015!
All patient rooms are private and have continuous video EEG monitoring, as well as access to infusion therapy and specialized inpatient neurologic treatments. 🎉
More about the new unit ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4b3L5iG

Please join us in congratulating Dash — he’s doing great after many weeks in our hospital to treat paralysis from an inf...
07/18/2026

Please join us in congratulating Dash — he’s doing great after many weeks in our hospital to treat paralysis from an infection!

Dash arrived at our Oakland hospital in December 2025 with a rapidly spreading paralysis from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves. The condition usually stems from an infection.

Our team treated him with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a therapy made from healthy donor antibodies, and then transferred him to the Intensive Care Unit, where he received five rounds of plasmapheresis, a specialized treatment that filters harmful antibodies from the blood.

The treatment was taxing on Dash’s body, but he began to improve and moved to our Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, where he spent weeks rebuilding his strength, relearning how to walk and regaining his motor skills.

Dash’s mom, Lane, was especially grateful that he could continue rehabilitation without leaving the hospital. "They really took incredible care of him," she says.

In late January, Dash was finally able to go home from the hospital! His discharge happened on his sister’s birthday, and the family decided to surprise her by bringing him home!

Today, Dash is doing great! He graduated from our sports medicine program and was even able to step up to the plate during his freshman baseball season! Now, he's looking forward to his sophomore year and is working toward his next goal of playing football this fall!

Please congratulate Walter! He's doing great, thanks to years of treatment at our hospital for an inherited immune disor...
07/10/2026

Please congratulate Walter! He's doing great, thanks to years of treatment at our hospital for an inherited immune disorder!

Walter came to us as a baby from the Central Valley, after his family noticed discharge coming from his ear and local doctors were stumped. Dr. Jennifer Puck and team diagnosed Walter with agammaglobulinemia, a rare inherited condition that prevents the body from making antibodies to fight infections.

Our team started Walter on intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a treatment made from donated blood that helps strengthen his immune system. Since then, Walter and his mom, Monica, have visited our hospital every four weeks for infusions.

Today, Walter is a healthy and active 10-year-old who loves playing football, baseball and soccer. He's a big fan of the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his favorite soccer player is Cristiano Ronaldo! Walter is thriving both academically and socially and is excited to start middle school next month!

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San Francisco, CA
94158

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+18886898273

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