ESCONDIDO - The whimsical frogs painted on the walls and the children's toys in the pediatric waiting room say "kid friendly." The deli and the other services spell "convenience" for adults.

It's the new medical office building where the Rady Children's Hospital has its North County services. Saturday at its grand opening, hundreds of patients and other visitors visited booths in the parking lot, listened to Cinco de Mayo-themed music, and toured the new building, North County Medical Center.

The building at 625 W. Citracado Parkway has 50,000 square feet. Its biggest tenant is Rady Children's Hospital, with 8,000 square feet. Children's has offices for urgent care, developmental services, outpatient psychiatry, and many specialty services. The other tenants are medical groups, including Children's Primary Care Medical Group, Children's Specialists of San Diego, Allergy and Asthma Medical Group, and Pacific Oncology & Hematology Associates.

Together, North County Medical Center makes a one-stop center for services frequently used by children and adults.

"It'll be a real help to have everything here in North County," said Joe Veltri of Valley Center. Veltri said his family has mostly used pediatric services in San Diego. "It's convenient to have it all in one place, and in this area. It's hard for people in North County to get down to San Diego."

Not all the tenants are yet moved in. Offices for doctors who practice at Palomar Pomerado Health have yet to open. But the urgent-care center was already seeing patients. And doctors were attending a continuing medical education course: "Practical Pearls for the Primary Care Physician."

The new offices are better organized than the previous offices, said Escondido resident George Lockie, a retired pediatrician who now works for the Social Security Administration.

Lockie, his wife, Brenda, daughter-in-law Sherry Lockie and her two young sons were touring the new office of Children's Primary Care Medical Group, where Lockie used to practice.

"The part that I spent the most time with (on the tour) is what we call the procedure room," where children who need immediate attention are treated, Lockie said. "They have the equipment laid out much more efficiently. It's just clearly labeled and nicely set up to reduce all the confusion that usually goes on with the emergencies."

Another difference is that the new office has separate waiting rooms for well and sick children, said Brenda Lockie.

Just off the Felicita exit from Interstate 15, the office is visible from the freeway, making it easy to spot by car. However, bus travelers will find it less convenient than the previous location of Children's services, on South Hickory Street, one block from Palomar Medical Center. The new location is nearly one mile from the nearest bus stop, according to the online guide provided by the North County Transit District.

There was one mishap during the tours, when a girl's hand got stuck in an elevator. Other passengers held the door open until her hand was freed, apparently without great injury. She was taken to an office to be examined just to be sure she was OK.

- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.