LONG BEACH, Calif.-Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach showed once again why it is one of the leading children’s hospitals in the greater Los Angeles area when it announced the opening of its new Food Allergy Center on Tuesday, June 4. This new center provides evaluation and treatment for children with known or suspected food allergies making it the first specialized, pediatric Food Allergy Center in Southern California.

Located in the Outpatient Specialty Centers on the ground floor of Miller Children’s, the new Food Allergy Center comes at a time when the need for food allergy care is essential in our communities. Recent studies have shown that nearly 1 in 20 young children under the age of 5-years-old are allergic to at least one type of food.

The new Food Allergy Center provides a wide-array of food allergy specialty care, including skin testing, atopy patch testing, oral food challenges, sublingual immunotherapy and oral immunotherapy. Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) is an up-and-coming treatment that introduces a specific amount of food allergen to a patient over a six to eight month timespan in escalating doses in order to create immune system tolerance and minimize risk for food anaphylaxis. The new Food Allergy Center at Miller Children’s is the only hospital in Southern California that offers this leading OIT and specializes in milk, eggs, wheat, soy, tree nuts and peanut allergies.

“The Food Allergy Center at Miller Children's offers cutting edge diagnosis and treatment to children with food allergies and intolerance,” says Inderpal Randhawa, M.D., medical director, Food Allergy Center, Miller Children’s. “One of only a few centers of its kind in the country, it is strategically located in the children's hospital to allow the most secure setting for food allergy diagnosis and treatment. It stands apart nationally as a center that comprehensively incorporates specialty expertise by an allergist/immunologist, gastroenterologist and a registered dietitian in the same visit. The staff and physicians are excited about this opportunity to advance the field of food based diseases in partnership with Miller Children's.”

The Food Allergy Center treats a broad range of allergic conditions and conducts research instrumental in the development and treatment of children with food allergies. The multi-disciplinary food allergy care team at Miller Children’s led by Dr. Randhawa provides evaluation and treatment for children with known or suspected food allergies and related conditions.

The Food Allergy Center at Miller Children’s was made possible by a generous donation from a local Long Beach area family, whose son suffers from food allergies. The Gallegos watched their son, Matthew, 8, struggle with food allergies to several common foods and wanted to ensure that other families didn’t go through those same struggles.

"It was really frustrating to find an accurate diagnosis for our son, let alone a solution,” says Palma Gallegos. “We want there to be a more comprehensive solution for parents, and their children. It was critical to partner with a hospital and care team that had the vision and the ability to execute. Miller Children’s, and the team led by Dr. Randhawa, proved to be a perfect fit for our vision.”

About Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach:

Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach, part of the MemorialCare Health System, provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with conditions ranging from common to complex - as well as maternity care for expectant mothers - all under one roof. Only five percent of all hospitals are children’s hospitals, making them unique not only to children’s health care needs in the community, but across the region. Miller Children’s is one of only eight free-standing children’s hospitals in California - treating more than 14,000 children each year - and has become a regional pediatric destination for more than 84,000 children, who need specialized care in the outpatient specialty and satellite centers. Miller Children’s recently completed a major expansion project to expand the pediatric cancer center, neonatal intensive care unit and the MemorialCare Center for Women. Visit MillerChildrens.org, like us on Facebook.com/MillerChildrensHospital and follow us at Twitter.com/MillerChildrens.