Plan will help secure ability to care for future generations of patients
The Scripps Health Board of Trustees recently approved a long-term northern region facilities plan that will guide Scripps’ growth and construction strategy and help the health care system serve San Diego communities for generations to come.
“From San Marcos, Green and La Jolla, to the nine-phase plan already underway at Encinitas, the northern region facilities plan is an important step forward in the continuing legacy of Scripps Health — one that goes back more than 100 years here in San Diego,” said Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health. “The economic and regulatory uncertainties facing health care today call for growth that is strategic, incremental and flexible. To truly finance and achieve our mission to serve patients across San Diego County, we must first secure and expand our market in the north where we have a stronger footing,” Van Gorder said.
Architectural rendering of the future Scripps San Marcos medical center campus.
Scripps San Marcos Medical Center Campus
The northern region facilities plan allowed for the purchase of 15 new acres of property in San Marcos on the corner of Discovery Street and Twin Oaks Valley Road for the construction of a Scripps medical center campus in North City. This new corner lot property is near land Scripps has owned in the region for 35 years; it provides greater visibility and accessibility than earlier plans, as well as significant space for growth. Scripps’ patient population has grown considerably in the San Marcos area, so this campus will be more convenient for those patients and offer expanded access to care for others in the area.
As previously announced, the new medical center will begin with construction of a comprehensive ambulatory facility and progress to include a 120-bed acute care hospital that could later be expanded to between 200 and 230 beds, with the intention of serving the health care needs of this region far into the future.
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Green Hospital
The northern region facilities plan also includes the evolution of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla into a new state-of-the-art regional medical center that will bring together the expertise and services of both Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Green Hospital.
Scripps explored the options of rebuilding or retrofitting Scripps Green and the adjoining Geisel Pavilion for expansion purposes and in keeping with state legislation. However, existing property restrictions and height limits would prevent the construction of what is needed, as well as the ability to make any significant improvements without closing patient care facilities for several years.
To address this challenge while respecting the valuable physicians, staff, programs and services on both campuses, Scripps will instead further build out the La Jolla campus and transition Green medical staff, employees and services to La Jolla over the next five to 10 years, creating a new medical center campus to include an additional medical office building (MOB) and a third multi-story hospital tower like the two newest towers there today. The transition from Green to La Jolla can begin once the MOB is complete, with specific timing and location of services still to be determined.
“Putting our patients at the center of all we do is a legacy we inherited from Ellen Browning Scrippsand Mother Mary Michael Cummings — two pioneering, courageous women who first brought health care to San Diego,” Van Gorder said. “Like them, we want to provide quality care for another century or longer, and this plan charts a course to that future.”
Learn more about Scripps Health, a nonprofit integrated health system in San Diego, Calif.
The full content of this article is only available to paid subscribers. If you are an active subscriber, please log in. To subscribe, please click here: SUBSCRIBE
