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If You’re Sick, These 10 Hospitals In Southern California Are The Best In The State

U.S. News and World Report ranks the top hospitals in Southern California, highlighting their specialties and locations.

Published Jul 28, 2016

Written by 

Angela

Healthcare is always an important topic, especially these days. When you need to go the hospital or medical center, you want to know that you are getting the finest care possible. If you're wondering which hospitals are considered the best in the state, check out this list put together by U.S. News and World Report. Take a look to see if your local hospital made the list. And, if it didn't, make sure you know which hospitals in your area have the highest rankings so you can choose the right place for your medical care. Head to this link if you want to learn more about how U.S. News and World Report came up with these rankings.

10. Kaiser Permanente Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers

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This highly ranked hospital is number 19 in all of California, number 10 in Southern California, and is ranked as the number one hospital in all of Riverside.

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9. Huntington Memorial Hospital -- Pasadena

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Serving the San Gabriel Valley, Huntington Hospital is a medium-sized hospital with 625 patient beds. Serving the local community for 120 years, you can always count on receiving excellent care.

8. Scripps Mercy Hospital -- San Diego

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San Diego is home to the 8th highest ranked hospital in Southern California. This hospital is a private Catholic teaching hospital with locations in Chula Vista and Hillcrest.

7. University of California Irvine Medical Center -- Orange County

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For those who live in Orange County, University of California Irvine Medical Center located in Orange is the top hospital in the area. It's also the teaching center for medical students studying at UC Irvine School of Medicine.

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6. Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center

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Ranked as the number 10 hospital in all of California and ranked as number 6 in SoCal.

5. Keck Medical Center -- Los Angeles

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Associated with the oldest school of medicine in Southern California, Keck Medical Center in Los Angeles has an excellent reputation in the Golden State.

4. Scripps La Jolla Hospitals and Clinics

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Consistently highly ranked for patient care and medical treatment, Scripps La Jolla is the number 4 hospital in Southern California and the number 7 hospital in all of California. Not only does this hospital receive top rankings regionally, but it's also ranked highly on the national level.

3. UC San Diego Medical Center

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Located in Hillcrest in San Diego, this is the main hospital associated with the highly ranked UC San Diego School of Medicine. This hospital is the only academic medical center in the region.

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2. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center -- Los Angeles

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Located on the campus of UCLA, this hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country. It was recently remodeled in 2008 and named after Ronald Reagan, the late President of the United States.

1. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center -- Los Angeles

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The highest ranked hospital in Southern California goes to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. You'll be in good hands at this research hospital with over 60 medical education programs and 2,000 medical doctors.

Medical care is such an important and yet sensitive topic; we all desire to have the best care possible, but sometimes our health insurance or geography limits where we can go. Did your local hospital make the list? Any surprises that showed up or any hospitals you think were unfairly left out?

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State Pride

The Up-and-Coming City in Northern California That’s Perfectly Sized

Enjoy a suburban feel and city amenities in Dublin, one of our fastest-growing cities.

Published Oct 29, 2024

Written by 

Natasha Kayes

Goldilocks may be a fictional character but I believe she had it figured out. There truly is such a thing as “just right” — not too hot or too cold, too hard or too soft, or in the case of towns and cities, too big or too small. Small towns are calmer and more peaceful, while big cities have convenience and flashy amenities. And then there are small cities and suburbs, somewhere in the middle, that offer a balance of both. Dublin, California, falls right in that sweet spot.

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Springtime view of the downtown skyline of Dublin, California, USA.

Since long before Spanish exploration, what is now called Dublin has been known as a crossroads of the Bay Area, with important road connections running east, west, north, and south. Native American traders and hunters, migrating families, prospectors looking for gold, ranchers and farmers, commuters, and military convoys have passed through Dublin over the years, but suburban development didn’t really start until the early 1960s.

When the city was incorporated in 1982, the population was some 14,000, growing to over 70,000 by 2020, with the biggest boom taking place in the last decade. With populations of close to eight million in San Francisco and nearly a million in San Jose, Dublin is still a small city with a suburban feel and city perks. 

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One of California’s fastest-growing cities, Dublin is considered one of the best in the state to live in. In addition to fairly new housing developments and great schools, Dublin has a lot to offer families in the form of a highly-rated school district, easy access to public transportation, a wonderful public library, and more. It also happens to be at the crossroads of two major highways, making it easy for commuters and travelers to reach surrounding cities.

The city is a melting pot of cultures, which is reflected in the wide variety of restaurants in town. Whether you prefer familiar favorites or new culinary adventures, you’ll find a host of options with cuisines, including American, Mediterranean, Japanese, Mexican, Asian Fusion, and Burmese.

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Close-up, mid-section of young Asian woman sitting at dining table holding cutleries, twirling freshly served spaghetti bolognese and enjoying her meal in restaurant. Italian food. Dining out. People, food and lifestyle

Let’s not forget about recreation. Dublin has sports facilities and public parks, golf courses, a state-of-the-art movie theater, and plenty of shopping. Dublin Wave is a huge waterpark and aquatic center with an indoor pool for year-round fun. And, unlike the bigger cities, Dublin provides a wild escape for nature lovers — about 650 acres of undeveloped land and trails at the Dublin Hills Regional Park.

The not-too-big, not-too-small (but growing!) city of Dublin, California, may actually be just right. Have you ever been to this little city in the Bay Area? Do you know someone looking for a perfectly-sized up-and-coming city to visit or call home? Share this article with them! And check out more of our favorite ideally-sized cities in Northern California.

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State Pride|History

The Most Iconic View in Northern California Is Also a Stunning Slice of History

It's hard to argue that there's a more iconic Northern Californian view than that of the Golden Gate Bridge. But do you know the history of this landmark?

Published Oct 15, 2024

Written by 

Andrea Verschuyl

Spanning the one-mile strait between the Pacific Ocean and busy San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge is easily one of California’s most iconic landmarks, symbolizing the state’s innovative spirit and enduring beauty. Still, despite its ubiquity, many Californians aren’t familiar with the history of this famous structure.

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What can the Golden Gate Bridge tell us about our past?

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For many years, the thought of bridging the stormy Golden Gate Strait seemed laughable. Up until the 20th century, San Francisco and present-day Marin County were connected through schools of private water taxis and, later, an official ferry service. Still, as the city grew, boat travel became an obstacle to break-neck regional development. Despite the prevailing belief that the waterway’s treacherous currents and blinding fog would make construction impossible, ambitious engineers were unable to resist the challenge. In 1916, a student named James Wilkins published his proposal in the San Francisco Bulletin.

Though many industry professionals dismissed his idea out of hand, San Francisco officials disseminated a public request for bids. One of the many responders was young Joseph Strauss, who'd made a name for himself by designing a hypothetical railroad bridge across the Bering Strait in his graduate thesis. Over the following decade, Strauss devoted himself to drumming up support for the project. He faced significant pushback, including from the U.S. Navy — who raised potential security concerns — and the Southern Pacific Railroad who owned the ferry fleets that a bridge would make redundant. It wasn't until 1924 that his efforts paid off and construction was approved.

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Partial view of the red painted steel under construction of the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge at the northern end

The proposal was finalized through Strauss' collaborative efforts with other top engineers and architects, including luminaries like Leon Moisseiff, Irving Morrow, and Charles Alton Ellis. Despite this network of talent, Strauss positioned himself as the project's undisputed leader. While cynical, his media strategy was effective. Strauss was upheld as the man who gave San Francisco its iconic bridge. Though his team is now credited as responsible for the final design, they were largely erased from history.

Construction began in 1933, in the thick of the Great Depression. Despite the dire economic times, the project was not part of any federal work programs. Strauss may have stolen the spotlight from his collaborators but he headed the project, championing innovations like the movable safety netting that would save countless lives. Despite precautions, eleven men lost their lives building the Golden Gate Bridge. Tragically, ten of these workers were killed just three months before the bridge opened in 1937 when a scaffold plunged through the net into the water below.

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Whether you're a local or just visiting San Francisco, we all recognize the Golden Gate Bridge as one of the state's most iconic landmarks and views. While it's beautiful regardless, I believe we can appreciate this breathtaking structure even more when we're made aware of its complicated history: the ingenuity, determination, steely ambition, and human cost that were required to build the world's most photographed bridge.

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