US-based Scripps Health has inaugurated Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla’s new $664m North Tower, expanding services in the San Diego region.
The facility, an eight-floor inpatient building, is equipped with mother-baby services, private patient and technology operating rooms.
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Scripps La Jolla now has a total of 495 beds licensed to Scripps, plus an additional 36 neonatal intensive care (NICU) beds that are licensed to Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, an increase from the previous count of 426 beds.
The North Tower houses 188 inpatient beds within its 420,000ft2 structure.
The tower’s mother-baby services span three floors, featuring 18 private labour and delivery rooms, two cesarean section operating rooms, 24 NICU beds, and 38 post-partum beds.
To enhance the birthing experience, six labour rooms include soaking tubs for pain relief.
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Scripps president and CEO Chris Van Gorder said: “The North Tower is a cutting-edge medical resource, and it will be a place of healing for generations to come.”
The North Tower also provides inpatient services for various medical fields, including cancer, neurology, orthopaedics and trauma.
Its design is also future-proofed for easy and cost-effective upgrades.
The building meets all seismic requirements and features neurointerventional radiology suites, HEPA-filtered operating rooms, and decentralised nursing stations for improved patient monitoring.
Additional amenities include private rooms with LCD televisions, pullout couches for family members, and a three-tiered wireless infrastructure.
The rooftop helipad facilitates civilian air ambulance access, while military helicopters use a ground-level heliport.
The North Tower is part of a 25-year master plan unveiled in 2010, complementing the existing facilities, including the Prebys Cardiovascular Institute.
McCarthy Building Companies managed the construction, with HGA as the architect and Jacobs overseeing the project.
In March this year, Scripps Health announced plans to build a new medical centre campus in San Marcos, California.
