The front page of the Aug. 22, 1954, edition of the San Diego Union marked a notable milestone. Under the banner headline “Children of SD Get New Hospital,” the article began, “The first patients have been moved into the Children’s Hospital. Thus the first general children’s hospital in San Diego history has gone into operation.”

One can only imagine what the hospital’s original staff would think of the advancements that exist at Rady Children’s today. Innovations like 3D-printed heart models that guide doctors during surgery; rapid decoding of a patient’s genome to diagnose and treat disease; the development of gene therapies for cancer treatment; the advent of telemedicine.

Children’s Hospital began as a small, one-story building constructed in a Kearny Mesa pasture. It had just 58 beds and 13 patients on the first day of operation, many of whom were recovering from polio.

Over the next 70 years, as the population grew and the city evolved, Rady Children’s and San Diego grew up together. From a quiet beachside town, San Diego became a thriving city and international tourist destination. As more families moved to the area, Rady Children’s expanded its services to meet the needs of the community, today providing care to more than 270,000 children every year.

When I joined Rady Children’s as president and CEO five years ago, I quickly learned that, with all the progress and growth at Rady Children’s over the years, one thing hasn’t changed, and that is the hospital’s enduring commitment to the San Diego region and the families who live here.

As a nonprofit, Rady Children’s invests millions back into our community every year that support new investments such as patient programs and services, new technology and expanded care facilities. We provide financial assistance to families who cannot afford the cost of medical care, or whose health insurance does not cover all the services provided.

San Diego has been our biggest advocate since the beginning, welcoming new facilities such as urgent care centers, outpatient pavilions and neonatal intensive care units, and witnessing innovations in care including heart and liver transplants; advancements in technology such as the nation’s first center dedicated to children’s cardiac imaging; and growth in our clinical expertise, allowing our doctors to take on the most complex cases with consistently excellent outcomes.

The hospital’s generous donors have also been critically important to our success over the past 70 years, helping to fund the pioneering Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, groundbreaking approaches to mental and behavioral health, and our latest project: a seven-story, 500,000 square foot Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Services Pavilion.

All these projects and initiatives are guided by a single question: What will best meet the needs of the community we serve?

Recognizing that the emergency department is undersized to meet current demand, we’re doubling its size in the new building. To help address the mental health crisis in youth, we’re increasing the number of behavioral health beds. And, to make the hospital experience less stressful, we’re providing amenities designed to enhance the patient, family and staff experience.

Roxanne Ewalt and her daughter Erin O’Brien, registered nurse and care coordinator at Rady Children’s Hospital, next to indoor swimming pool where Ewalt received physical therapy as a child and one of the hospitals first patients in 1954. (Rady Children’s)

Recently, our staff had the opportunity to walk through the original 1954 building one last time before it was demolished to make way for our new patient care tower. On one of the first tours of the day, I met Roxanne Ewalt, who I learned was one of the hospital’s original polio patients. Her daughter, a nurse at Rady Children’s, invited her. Roxanne came to the hospital three times a week when she was 5 years old to receive physical therapy in the indoor swimming pool, which was closed decades ago.

In a full-circle moment, Roxanne got to see that old mid-century swimming pool a final time. Even in its derelict state, it brought back a flood of memories. With tears in her eyes, Roxanne recalled details like the warmth of the water, the humidity in the room and her mom watching her from a room above the pool during her therapy.

What a powerful testament to the legacy of San Diego’s first and only children’s hospital, and a profound reminder of the impact we will have on future generations. While the physical structure will be gone, the memories endure, as will Rady Children’s sacred mission to the community it has served for 70 years.

Frias, M.D., is president and CEO of Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. He lives in Carmel Valley.