UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals

10/08/2026

The Concert for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals raised more than $8 million for our hospitals this year! THANK YOU to Dreamfest and everyone who supported us! 🤟

10/07/2026

🎃 Our annual Halloween celebrations are coming up, and we have an immediate need for costumes and other spooky items to help our patients celebrate! 👻
Please consider donating via our Amazon wish lists:
Oakland ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4y833t4
San Francisco ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/3oINTKy
**All items must be new for infection-control reasons.**

10/04/2026

Please congratulate Scarlett! She’s recovering well four years after starting treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), losing one of her eyes and experiencing a life-threatening infection.
When Scarlett was 3 years old, she had what seemed like a lingering cold, followed by leg pain and fatigue. An urgent care center visit led to an ambulance ride to our Oakland hospital, where tests unfortunately revealed leukemia.
Scarlett spent several months in our Oakland and San Francisco hospitals going through chemo. Due to low platelet count, Scarlett developed glaucoma and a cataract in her right eye, which had to be removed. An outside company created a custom prosthetic eye for her.
In early 2024, Scarlett finished treatment but unfortunately had a relapse. She went through CAR-T cell therapy, a treatment that engineered her own immune cells to identify and fight the cancer.
The treatment worked, but a year later Scarlett lost vision in her remaining eye, and our team found leukemia cells in her retina. We treated her eye with targeted radiation, saving her vision. To help prevent another relapse, Scarlett had a bone marrow transplant with her older brother as her donor.
Scarlett developed multiple life-threatening infections after the transplant and a lung hemorrhage, spending months in the pediatric ICU, including three months in an induced coma.
During this time, Scarlett’s oncologists got access to an experimental T-cell therapy, which cleared her infection completely! “It was a miracle,” her mom says. In the hospital, Scarlett's family helped her celebrate holidays and birthdays, even organizing a birthday party in our meditation garden with live music and a petting zoo!
Today, Scarlett has no detectable cancer! Her immune system and eye continue to improve, and she transitioned from the PICU to inpatient rehabilitation. She’s working on walking independently, climbing stairs and looking forward to returning home!

09/30/2026

Our patients were overjoyed to "pie" their favorite doctors and nurses at our Oakland hospital's annual "Pie in the Face" event, in honor of and awareness months!
Thank you to our staff for creating this unforgettable memory!

09/29/2026

Please send Jovie your best wishes! She was discharged last week and is back home in Valley Springs, Calif., after 45 days in the hospital and undergoing her fourth open-heart surgery and a pacemaker placement!
Jovie was born with complex congenital heart defects that local doctors detected shortly after her birth when her parents noticed her turning blue. Emergency vehicles rushed her to our hospital for life-saving care just days after her birth.

Last May, Jovie and her parents participated in the first skin-to-skin-a-thon in our cardiac ICU, an event during which parents snuggle their babies to help regulate their heart rates, breathing and blood pressure, while reducing stress in both caregivers and infants.
The event was especially meaningful for Jovie’s parents who were able to hold her again for the first time in 30 days following her heart surgery.
Jovie has continued to amaze her care team with her resilience and strength, even after having four open-heart surgeries and spending eight months of her first 1.5 years in our hospital.
She has developed a strong bond with her parents, three sisters and care team and managed to exclusively breastfeed until 11 months old, despite her many medical procedures and hospitalizations.
“Jovie’s journey is a powerful reminder of the importance of family-centered care, connection and supporting meaningful developmental experiences for our most medically complex patients,” nurse specialist Brianna Rojo says.
Congratulations to Jovie and her family! ❤️

09/20/2026

Please send Jackson your best wishes! He’s working hard to recover three years after a severe traumatic brain injury.

In September 2023, Jackson, then 17, was riding home from work with a friend when they were hit by a truck. Jackson had emergency surgery for a brain bleed in a hospital near their hometown of Tulare. Surgeons there also removed a portion of his skull to reduce pressure from swelling. Jackson sustained pelvic and spinal fractures and a broken clavicle.

After several weeks in his local ICU, Jackson transferred to our Oakland hospital. Our team removed his ventilator and started him on rehab in our Acute Rehabilitation Unit, where he remained for several months working hard to regain function so he could go home. In January 2024, neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Sun performed surgery to replace the missing area of Jackson’s skull.

“During our last appointment at UCSF, the team and doctors came over on their lunch hour to come say 'hi,'” his mom, Sarah, says. “That’s the kind of family we’ve built with them.”

Jackson is now eating everything by mouth and has said a few words, including mom and bro! He laughs, smiles and gives fist bumps and continues to work hard on more rehab therapy goals!

More about our Acute Rehab Unit, which cares for children with complex needs requiring long-term rehabilitation ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/4xAxBn3

09/16/2026

Thank you to the San Francisco Giants for shining a spotlight on childhood cancer during the Pediatric Cancer Awareness Night at Oracle Park! ⚾️🎗️
Our leukemia patient, Juanito, and hospital president Dr. Nicholas Holmes threw ceremonial first pitches, and we even had an end-of-treatment bell ringing for brain cancer patient, Cameron, at home plate!
Cancer patients Olivya and Jackson also took the field, delivering the game ball and serving as honorary captain!
And to top it all off, hospitalized kids made it onto the Jumbotron to wave back and forth with the audience, and music therapist Matt Logan led the crowd in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch!
We’re grateful to everyone who made the night a grand slam to raise awareness for childhood cancer!

09/15/2026

🥳 We’re proud to rank among the best children’s hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report!
We tied for the best hospital in Northern California and placed in the Top 10 nationwide in neonatology, cancer, gastroenterology & GI surgery and nephrology.
Thank you to our amazing staff for bringing expert care to children in Northern California and beyond every day of the year! 👏

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals has been rated best hospital in Northern California (tie) on the 2026-2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals list.

09/10/2026

👏 Thank you to San Francisco Giants players Bryce Eldridge and Grant McCray for visiting the kids at our hospital!
They signed hats and baseballs — and even joined in on two birthday celebrations for our patients!
Thank you to Bryce, Grant and the Giants for creating such a memorable day for our patients and staff! ⚾️

09/06/2026

We're giving away two pairs of tickets to the Dreamforce Concert for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals at the Giants ballpark in San Francisco on Sept. 16!
To enter, share a photo or a memory from our San Francisco or Oakland hospitals in the comments before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. We'll pick two random winners from the comments!
More about this year's concert ➡️ https://ucsfh.org/3KFqPto
(Please only one entry per person and anyone entering must be 21+. Winners must respond within 24 hours to receive their tickets. Only respond to messages from our verified account. Spammers like to message people on Facebook!)