Timur Azhibekov, M.D.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is partnering with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to raise the level of care provided to the most fragile newborns in the medical center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, bringing world class NICU care to the northern San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

Timur Azhibekov, M.D., joins the staff of Providence Holy Cross today as medical director of the Mission Hills hospital’s NICU. Dr. Azhibekov, an attending neonatologist at CHLA and member of the renowned CHLA Medical Group, is an assistant professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and board-certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine and general pediatrics.

“Our partnership with CHLA will enhance our NICU services to better serve some of our most vulnerable patients, close to home and their families” said Holy Cross Chief Medical Officer Robert Raggi, M.D. “We will now have a physician in the NICU 24 hours a day to ensure the best possible outcomes for premature infants and other babies in our care who suffer from complications.”

Providence Holy Cross opened its NICU in 2012 as part of a larger hospital expansion. Since then, hundreds of babies in need of intensive care have gone home with their families after weeks – and sometimes months – of care.

Under the partnership, Dr. Azhibekov  will oversee medical care for the unit and physicians, nurses and therapists will work collaboratively to enhance the level of care. These tiny patients will have access to the neonatal specialists of a nationally-recognized pediatric academic medical center, CHLA.

Paul S. Viviano, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles says, “We want to thank Providence Holy Cross and the families residing in their service area for welcoming Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to their community. As the premier pediatric academic medical center in California, we are proud to engage in a partnership that expands care for critically-ill infants.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege for our neonatologists to provide high-quality critical care, in partnership with our Providence Holy Cross colleagues, to families living in the northern San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys,” says Larry Harrison, chief executive officer, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group.

“When a baby needs specialized medical care in the first moments of life, having renowned experts from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on site 24 hours-a-day, ready to care for those infants in the hospital where the child is delivered, will be a great source of comfort to families and permit neonatal experts to intervene as early as possible in the infant’s life,” Azhibekov says. “Our specialists look forward to collaborating with the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center staff to provide the finest neonatal care in the vicinity.”

The partnership is an expansion of the relationship between Providence and CHLA and its physicians, who oversee care in the NICU, pediatric ICU and inpatient pediatric unit at Providence Tarzana Medical Center. Experts are available 24 hours a day, allowing families access to top-quality specialty care for their children, in their communities.

About Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare system. Providence Southern California operates six award-winning hospitals and a comprehensive, fully-integrated network of primary care clinics, urgent care centers, home care, TrinityCare and TrinityKids Care hospice as well as Providence High School. Providence is anchored locally by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. With more than 3,400 physicians, Providence provides coordinated primary and specialty care through an array of physician groups and individual providers including Providence Medical Institute and physician groups in the South Bay, the West Valley and Santa Clarita. Providence affiliate, Facey Medical Group, provides primary and specialized care in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. For more information, visit California.Providence.org.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.
For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, or visit the institution’s child health blog (www.WeTreatKidsBetter.org) or its research blog (www.ResearCHLABlog.org).

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group is composed of more than 540 physicians who lead the multidisciplinary clinical team at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a world-renowned pediatric academic medical center located in the heart of Hollywood, Calif. The majority of physicians in the group are also full-time faculty members at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Nearly one-quarter of the group’s physicians are recognized as being among the best physicians in America as measured by their peers through lists such as “Best Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Doctors.” CHLAMG is an academic medical group, meaning that, in addition to providing direct care to patients, physicians teach medical students, residents and fellows and also conduct basic, clinical and translational research to advance pediatric health care.