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UC Davis Children's Hospital Earns Level One Verification

SACRAMENTO (CBS13)- UC Davis Children's Hospital is gaining major recognition.  It's become the first hospital on the West Coast and the fourth in the nation to earn verification as a Level one surgery center.

This essentially means "if a child needs surgery, they can be confident that they're getting the highest level of care that's awarded by the American College of Surgeons," says Ann Madden Rice, CEO of UC Davis Medical Center.

The more than 100 surgeons and 450 registered nurses at the Children's Hospital are getting national attention.

Rice says she's proud of her team and the impressive criteria that they had to meet to even qualify... from protocols for care, to staffing and training.

"They're looking at the credentials of individual physicians and interviewing a number of them. We've got 450 registered nurses assigned to our children's hospital, and 1/4 of them have masters degrees or higher, so they're looking at that kind of accomplishment," says Rice.

The recognition comes as the Children's Hospital moves into their new state-of-the-art facility, a two story, 33,000 square feet, space vastly larger than what they currently have. The new space would have 6 operating rooms, 24 beds and a 24/7 center for pediatric surgery

"To be operating at this level, with so few hospitals able to meet these qualifications, I expect children traveling more distances than they had in the past," said Rice.

Eleven year old Gracie Gonzalez is one of the thousands of patients who get treated at the hospital.

"I just love all my nurses," says Gracie.

She's been in and out of the hospital for the last five months being treated for all acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Gracie says the quality of care has been exceptional.

"It changed my life, cause I was terrified when I found out I had cancer, but the nurses just made me feel normal."

"We feel very blessed to be able to be here and have her being cared for at such a great hospital," says Gracie's mom, Julie.

She got to finally leave the hospital Friday saying the recognition UC Davis Children's Hospital is receiving is well deserved.

"Congratulations, they're all great, and they deserve it for sure," says Gracie.

The new Children's Hospital is a $40 million project. It's expected to open in December 2018

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