Groundbreaking on new wing at Barbara Sinatra Children’s Hospital to help children facing physical
The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center (BSCC) broke ground on a new wing of its facility to expand the Center’s forensic medical services to patients ages 18 and under. The Pavilion for Child and Adolescent Health expansion project is expected to be complete in early 2026. This new expansion is all part of a of $10 million “Passion to Prevent” campaign, which has reached 70% of their goal and is now entering the public phase of it's campaign.
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (SMBMI) also provided a $500,000 grant to increase forensic medical capacity at the Center with Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital personnel.
“Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital is eager to provide our services to further the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center’s mission,” said Amy Young, MD Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and the new BSCC Medical Director. “Our pediatric staff is ready to care for these young patients in the new BSCC wing as we work to extend our reach into the Coachella Valley for those in need.”
This new wing will support additional forensic medical examinations for children and adolescents due to suspected sexual or physical abuse, along with follow-up medical exams for abuse survivors and mandated foster care medical exams, according to a press release. Funds from the Tribe’s grant will support additional pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners and pediatric fellows from Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital who are providing these services.
"The new facility that we're building is expanding, basically two things," explained Director and CEO of Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, John Thoresen. "Our medical exam rooms, to include three new exam rooms, the doctor's offices, obviously a waiting area. Also, the Riverside County Coalition to End Human Trafficking, which is the organization we are in partnership with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. They'll be putting the staff in this new building that way, we can expand what we need to expand in the existing building."
" I've seen kids come in here for the first time," said Director and CEO of Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, John Thoresen. "They've had a forensic interview. They've had a forensic medical exam. It's been determined that they've been sexually or physically abused. Those kids have their heads down. They're not really happy about what's going on. Maybe six, eight, nine months later, they give me a hug, they say thank you, and they're on their way to having a great life."
Child abuse may be a surprising issue facing our community, but Thoresen explained it's one front and center, all the same.
"There's been 65 medical exams just in the last two months. That's an example. Law enforcement is here almost three times a day, bringing a child for either a forensic interview or a forensic medical exam. So here we are in a community of, let's say, 400,000 people, and law enforcement is bringing a child here, you know, three times a day. It's an issue. It's it's an epidemic."
The work being done at the Barbara SInatra Children's Center is helping forge a future forward for similar facilities across the world, according to Thoresen.
"And since a few years ago, 2017, we initiated a program called Fight Child Abuse org, which has a number of animated videos that are showing all around the world. It's reached 500 million kids since 2017, so we're proud of that. Not only taking care of the kids here in the Coachella Valley, but also helping kids on a global basis."
To learn more about the new wing expansion project at the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center as well as the services provided by the Center, please visit BarbaraSinatraChildrensCenter.org.
