Loma Linda Children’s Hospital comes to the Valley

Annette Borrero and her daughter, Arianna, have been waiting for a children’s clinic to come to the Valley.

“We travel to Loma Linda because since she was born she’s had a heart murmur, so sometimes we go to Palms Springs. Palm Springs doesn’t have a specialist, so they make us drive all the way out to Loma Linda,” said Borrero.

The Borreros aren’t the only ones who are in need of a children’s facility. Mayor Glen Miller said more than 35,000 children live in the desert, with the ratio of only one doctor per resident in the east valley.

“They try and go one doctor for 5,000 and in the East Valley we’re short doctors of all kinds, so what they’re trying to do is hopefully this will help other doctors and emergency rooms by this children’s hospital,” said Miller.

Loma Linda purchased the former USDA office in Indio for $500,000. The property is 13,000 square feet.

“What they’re looking for is to make sure that they were in a location more prevalent to where they can get more access to as many youth as possible. This was a perfect location for them,” said Miller.

Miller said the facility will offer a number of services.

“It’s going to help with diabetes, cancer small treatments, labs, physical therapy, obesity and it will give parents the piece of mind, knowing that they’re 35 minutes from anywhere in the Coachella Valley,” Miller said.

“It’ll help out a lot of people, like my brother and his wife, they drive out there and take their son out there. I think this will be great for the community,” said Borrero.

The facility is expected to open by late 2017.