To use this website, you must agree to Palomar Health’s Terms of Use.
View Terms of Use

Scroll to Read Entire Document

By using this website, you agree to Palomar Health's Terms of Use:

Last Updated October 17, 2023

By using this website, you agree to the following Terms of Use. If you do not agree to all of these terms, please do not use this website. Palomar Health reserves the right to change, modify, add, or delete portions of these Terms of Use at any time, including to the arbitration and class waiver provisions identified below. Your continued use of this website following any changes to the Terms of Use will mean that you accept those changes. Please refer to the date listed above to determine when the last changes were made. Please read carefully below regarding your rights with respect to disputes, which includes an agreement to resolve disputes by arbitration on an individual basis.

Use of Personal Information/Privacy:

This website is owned and operated by Palomar Health, a public health district in California. By using this website, you agree that Palomar Health may monitor your use of this website and may use the results of such monitoring without limitation.

During your visit to our website, we may request information from you, such as your name, email address, physical address, telephone number and other personal information. Further, we will collect any other personal information you share with us.

Personally identifiable information may be collected from visitors to our website and provided in an aggregate form to other parties within the Palomar Health family, or external to it, for marketing, advertising or other similar uses. Third parties may monitor your use of this website.

We provide several ways to e-mail us with questions you may have as you navigate our website. Please note that any information sent through an e-mail message is unsecured and can be seen on computers which transfer data from your computer to Palomar Health. We recommend that you do not email sensitive personal health information, or any other confidential information, to Palomar Health or anyone else. Should you choose to provide information in this manner, you do so at your own risk.

For further information regarding Palomar Health’s Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference, please review: https://www.palomarhealth.org/privacy-information/

Cookies:

Please be aware that your browser must be enabled to accept cookies for you to use certain areas of our website. A cookie is a piece of data that a web server stores on your hard drive so that it can be retrieved later. Other than as discussed above, we do not use this information for any other purpose. All of the information Palomar obtains from you is stored in our database and may be retrieved by people who are gathering that information. A cookie containing your unique ID is all that is stored on your computer.

Copyright:

  1. Ownership: In general, information presented on this web site, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. However, Palomar Health does make use of copyrighted data (e.g., photographs or other materials) which may require additional permissions prior to your use. Palomar Health shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted via this site, except those submissions made under separate legal contract. Palomar Health shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided through this site.
  2. Permission May Be Required From Other Parties: This website may include copyrighted materials owned by third-party contributors who have granted Palomar Health permission to post those materials on this website. The fact that Palomar Health has permission to post the materials does not give you the right to use those materials. To use any copyrighted material that is not owned or created by Palomar Health, you must seek permission directly from the owning or holding sources.

Trademarks:

“PalomarHealth.org,” “Palomar Health,” and all logos related to Palomar Health’s services are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Palomar Health or Palomar Health’s licensors. You may not copy or otherwise use them without Palomar Health’s prior written consent. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts are similarly protected and you may not copy, imitate, modify or use them without our prior written consent. You may use HTML logos provided by Palomar Health for the purpose of directing web traffic to Palomar Health. You may not alter, modify or change these HTML logos in any way, use them in a manner that misrepresents Palomar Health or its services or use them in a manner that implies Palomar Health’s sponsorship or endorsement, unless so authorized in writing by Palomar Health.

You must be over 13 to use this Website:

This website is intended for use by people age 13 or older. If you are younger than 13, you should seek permission from your parent or guardian to use this website and any information submitted on your behalf to this website must be by a parent or guardian.

Content of this Website Is for Informational Purposes Only – No Medical Diagnosis or Advice is Given:

The content and materials provided in this website are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment.

PALOMAR HEALTH DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF SUCH INFORMATION AND CONTENT AND MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE USE OF SUCH INFORMATION AND CONTENT. PALOMAR HEALTH ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER OF ANY KIND FOR THE INFORMATION OR CONTENT CONTAINED IN THE WEBSITE, OR FOR ANY DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT MADE IN RELIANCE THEREON.

PALOMAR HEALTH DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE CONFIDENTIALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY COMMUNICATIONS MADE THROUGH THIS WEBSITE. THE INTERNET SHOULD NOT BE USED TO TRANSMIT ANY SENSITIVE OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO PALOMAR HEALTH, AS OTHERS MAY INTERCEPT THE INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY, INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO PALOMAR HEALTH VIA ELECTRONIC MEANS TO THIS WEBSITE MAY NOT BE RECEIVED AT ALL, MAY NOT BE RECEIVED OR REVIEWED IN A TIMELY MANNER, OR MAY BE RECEIVED BY THE WRONG PARTY.

Linked Sites:

The Palomar Health Website contains links to external websites which may be useful to you and which may provide services. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other websites. Linking to another website takes you away from the Palomar Health Website and subjects you to the privacy policy of the new website. Palomar is not responsible for the content of any external website. Palomar Health will not be liable in any way for any external website, including, without limitation, for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of the such sites. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with the use of any external website, including, without limitation, any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the material contained therein.

Third Party Advertising:

Third parties may offer goods and services to you through marketing that is made available at or through this website. Unless otherwise expressly stated, Palomar Health makes no endorsement regarding such parties, nor does Palomar Health make any representation, recommendation or warranty with respect to these third parties’ goods, services or advertising. You agree to hold Palomar Health harmless in connection with the selection of third party advertisers, as well as their acts and omissions.

Disclaimer of Warranties:

All materials on this website are provided “as is” and Palomar Health expressly disclaims any and all warranties of the material provided herein, expressly stated or by implication, including any: (i) implied warranties of design, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose or title, (ii) warranties arising from a course of dealing, usage or trade practice, and (iii) warranties of non-infringement.

No oral or written information or advice given by Palomar Health in connection with this website will create any warranty.

Palomar Health does not warrant or promise that the functions contained in any of the services or products provided on this website will meet your requirements, or that the operation of any such services or products will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that defects in any such services or products will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components. Furthermore, Palomar Health does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of any such services or products in terms of its correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or otherwise.

(State Limitations)

Some states do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you. You should check your local laws for any restrictions or limitations regarding implied warranties.

(User Information, Data, and Content)

PALOMAR HEALTH ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE INFORMATION, DATA OR CONTENTS GENERATED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WEBSITE OR SERVICES. PALOMAR HEALTH EXERCISES NO AUTHORITY OVER SUCH INFORMATION, DATA AND CONTENTS, DOES NOT REVIEW OR MONITOR SUCH INFORMATION, DATA AND CONTENTS, AND WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, APPLICATION OR CORRECT USE THEREOF.

Limitations on Damages

BY USING THIS WEBSITE YOU AGREE THAT PALOMAR HEALTH SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THIS WEBSITE.

Arbitration

  1. Affects your and our rights and will impact how claims between you and us are resolved;
  2. Includes a Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief pursuant to which you agree to waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit against us;
  3. Requires you to follow the Opt-Out Procedure to opt-out of these arbitration provisions by mailing us a written notice that must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the date you accept these Terms of Use for the first time.

If a dispute arises between you and Palomar Health, our goal is to learn about and address your concerns. If we are unable to do so to your satisfaction, we aim to provide you with a neutral and cost-effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Disputes between you and Palomar Health should be reported to Palomar Health according to the provisions of the Government Claims Act, California Government Code section 810, et seq. All notices under the Government Claims Act, section 910 et seq. should be directed to:

Attn: Government Claims Act
Secretary of the Board of Directors of Palomar Health
2125 Citracado Pkwy, Suite 300
Escondido, CA 92029

In the event that resolution under the presentation requirements of the Government Claims Act is not successful in resolving your claim, you agree to abide by the following:

  1. Arbitration Agreement: To the maximum extent permitted by law, you and Palomar Health each agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may arise between you and Palomar Health, including without limitation federal and state statutory claims, common law claims, and those based in contract, tort, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, will be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration. This agreement to arbitrate is intended to be broadly interpreted. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this agreement to arbitrate.
  2. Arbitration Venue: Following the procedures set forth in the Government Claims Act, either you or Palomar Health may initiate arbitration. You and Palomar Health each agree to use JAMS (https://www.jamsadr.com/) and to submit any demand for arbitration through JAMS’ process. You and Palomar Health agree to the jurisdiction of the JAMS arbitrator over any dispute between you and Palomar Health, unless you and Palomar Health agree otherwise in writing. If JAMS is not available to administer the dispute, you and Palomar Health agree to use an arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association (https://www.adr.org/).
  3. No Class Actions: To the maximum extent permitted by law, you and Palomar Health agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding. Unless both you and Palomar Health agree otherwise, the arbitrator(s) may not consolidate or join more than one person’s or party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a consolidated, representative or class proceeding. Also, the arbitrator(s) may award relief (including monetary, injunctive and declaratory relief) only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief necessitated by that party’s individual claim(s) and in keeping with the damages limitations in the Limitations on Damages section above.
  4. Arbitration Procedures: Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator or arbitrators instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, the arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that a court of competent jurisdiction may decide issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate, or issues that these Terms of Use indicate that a court can resolve.

Any arbitration will be administered by JAMS, a well-respected arbitration and mediation service. For all claims in which the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, JAMS’ Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, as modified by these Terms of Use, will apply without exception unless otherwise agreed to in writing by both you and Palomar Health. For all other claims, JAMS’ Comprehensive Rules, as modified by these Terms of Use, apply. All of JAMS’ rules are available on their website at https://www.jamsadr.com/adr-rules-procedures/.

The arbitrator must decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. No court or arbitrator is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different users of Palomar Health’s website, except that a court or arbitrator will be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same Palomar Health website user, to the extent required by applicable law. The award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

  1. Arbitration Costs: Payment of all JAMS or arbitrator fees will be governed by JAMS’ rules, unless otherwise stated in these Terms of Use. If you are able to demonstrate that the costs of accessing arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of accessing a court for purposes of pursuing litigation on an individual basis, Palomar Health will pay as much of the JAMS or arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of accessing the arbitration from being prohibitive. Any request for payment of fees by Palomar Health must be submitted by mail to JAMS along with your Demand for Arbitration. In the event the arbitrator determines that either the substance of your or Palomar Health’s claim or the relief sought was frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, then you or Palomar Health may seek to recover from you or Palomar Health any fees paid, including attorneys’ fees, to the extent permitted by JAMS’ rules and applicable law.
  2. Severability: You and Palomar Health agree that all of the terms in these Terms of Use are severable. You and Palomar Health agree that, if a court decides that any part of these Terms of Use is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Terms of Use still apply. You further agree that, if any disputes are determined by a court not to be subject to arbitration, then those disputes must be severed from any other disputes and may be litigated in court, with the remaining claims heard in arbitration.
  3. Choice of Law: You agree that, except to the extent inconsistent with or preempted by federal law and except as otherwise stated in these Terms of Use, the laws of the State of California, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms of Use and any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and Palomar Health.

Opt-Out Procedure: You can choose to reject the arbitration provisions of these Terms of Use by mailing us a written opt-out notice. The opt-out notice must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the date you accept these Terms of Use for the first time. You must mail the opt-out notice to:

Attn: Opt-Out Notice
Secretary of the Board of Directors of Palomar Health
2125 Citracado Pkwy, Suite 300
Escondido, CA 92029

Your opt-out notice must contain the following information: Your name, your address, and the first date after August 11, 2023, on which you first accessed Palomar Health’s website. PLEASE NOTE: You must sign the opt-out notice for it to be effective. This procedure is the only way you can opt out of the arbitration provisions of these Terms of Use. Please note that even if you opt out of the arbitration provisions of these Terms of Use, all other parts of the Terms of Use continue to apply.



    Patient Stories

    Patient Stories

    It’s not often you witness history, but when you do, you recognize it immediately. At Palomar Health, we are always ready for the unexpected because not everything is predictable. On Wednesday, March 21, the nurses in the Palomar Medical Center Poway Labor and Delivery Unit participated in something they’d never seen before, sisters giving birth on the same day. What’s even more historic is that both babies were delivered by the same doctor. Nurse Manager, Vaneese Cook, says she has never seen anything like it in her almost 20 years working in the unit.  

    Lara Ray and her husband Richard announced to their family they were expecting their third child some eight months ago. About the same time, Lara’s sister, Taliyah Davila, and her husband, Roberto, discovered they were expecting as well. Not telling anyone for a few months (they weren’t sure the pregnancy would be viable), Taliyah began secretly visiting Lara’s obstetrician, Dr. Damon Cobb of Poway.  

    Both sisters and their middle sister graduated from Poway High School; Taliyah in 2001 and Lara in 2004. After years in the Navy, where she met Richard, the Rays moved back to Poway to be near Lara’s parents. Lara and Taliyah chose Palomar Medical Center Poway to deliver their babies because as self-described best friends they wanted to deliver together, and they knew they’d receive extraordinary care.  

    Originally, their chances of delivering on the same day were remote because their due dates were three weeks apart, but as the time got closer, Dr. Cobb moved their due dates only a week apart. As fate would have it, the families watched Father of the Bride 2 on March 19 and Lara said, “How cool would that be to have babies born the same day?” as in the movie, where Steve Martin was running between his wife and daughter’s delivery rooms. Sometimes life imitates art, and Lara and Taliyah’s mom and sister were running between delivery rooms the very next day.  

    Lara was the first to arrive in the labor and delivery room followed by Taliyah two hours later. At one point, Lara said she walked (slowly) into Taliyah’s room to wish her good luck but other than that both sisters communicated throughout their labor process via text. This being Lara’s third child, she expected it to go quick, but also was motivated to slow down. Lara and Richard said they didn’t want to have a Pisces (an inside family joke that all the Pisces women in the family are “difficult”), which would be the case if Helen were born March 20.  

      

    “We were texting each other ‘I hope this baby holds out until tomorrow,’” Lara said.  

    Taliyah on the other hand said she was in competition to have Isla first and would send her middle sister down the hall for progress updates.  

    “I’d be at seven centimeters (measure of the cervix during pregnancy), and she’d be at 6.5,” Taliyah said. “Then she’d be at an eight and I’d be at a 7.5.”  

    Not only were Lara and Taliyah’s mom and sister running back and forth between the rooms, but Dr. Cobb as well.  

    Ultimately Lara, Richard, and Roberto got their wish; the babies were born on March 21, the first day of the Aries sign.  

    Lara delivered Helen at 12 minutes past midnight. Taliyah did not win the first to birth competition, delivering Isla at 9:50 a.m., making the cousins almost like twins (in fact their parents think they look like twins).  

    “We’re going to save a lot of money on birthday parties,” Roberto and Richard joked as they plan to split the cost of joint celebrations.  

    “In the end, it was great they were born on the same day,” Taliyah said.  

    “They’re going to be best friends,” Lara said.  

    As for their experience at Palomar Medical Center Poway, Richard said, “Everything has been amazing.” Richard said it was great having all the tests, labor, delivery and recovery in the same room. “We never had to move.”  

    “The level of care has been phenomenal. We’ve been talking about it the whole time,” Roberto said citing the care of the nurses, anesthesiologist and obstetrician.  

    After leaving the hospital, Lara and Taliyah said they plan to spend a lot of time together as they both have three months of maternity leave from their jobs.  

    Sara White

    A Father and Mother holding their newborn twins, joined by staff of hospital

    Sara White delivered her twins at Palomar Medical Center Poway and couldn’t have been more pleased with the experience. Here’s what she had to say about our Labor and Delivery/NICU:  

    “It’s been an amazing experience at the Birth Center at Palomar Medical Center Poway. It was the best labor and delivery birth that I’ve had, and I’ve delivered at three different hospitals. Having them being cared for in the NICU here was nice. They got a lot of attention. I loved that I could be here with them whenever I wanted to be here. My favorite time to come in was after shift-change at night. I would come in for a couple of hours at night, rock them, feed them and feel like I got to put them to bed. I’d then go home and be with my big kids and then come back and see the babies again.”  

    “They have a big brother and a big sister at home, two and five years old. Together, they’ll all be relatively close in age and at some point, they’ll all be teenagers at once, but that’s for another time. Everyone on the staff has been great. They have a wealth of knowledge, and everyone has every answer to every question that you ask. I’ve always felt welcome to call, I’ve always felt welcome to be here. I knew where everything was, where the blankets were, where the bottles were and everything else that the babies needed. It never felt like I had to ask permission to do things with my babies. I just got to come be with them.”  

    “The first night we left them was really hard. I was a nervous wreck. As soon as I got here and I saw the two nurses, I was relieved to know that they were being taken care of and loved, too. This hospital came highly recommended; it’s not just tolerant of mom’s birth plans, it’s really supportive of how they want to birth. We sought it out for sure.”  

    “We delivered at three hospitals now, and we want to be here. Giving birth, I got to labor the way I wanted. I did get taken to the OR to have them, as is usual with multiples. I was talking to one of the nurses after. It was a really peaceful OR. Going from laboring in a nice quiet, dim room, and going to the bright OR was still very relaxed. It didn’t feel stressful or scary. Whenever I come in to see the babies, the staff is always asking if I want juice or water. I felt taken care of the whole time. I’m sad to be leaving. I love all the nurses here, and I’m sad I won’t be seeing them as often. “