Construction Completed for Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute

SAN DIEGO — Three years after its groundbreaking, construction on the Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute on the Scripps Health La Jolla, Calif., campus is complete. Scripps Health now has possession of the new hospital tower, taking it over from McCarthy Building Companies of St. Louis.
The 383,000-square-foot, $456 million building is San Diego’s largest heart care-dedicated hospital. Designer HOK, based in St. Louis, worked with physicians, nurses and other caregivers to develop the facility, which has 108 inpatient beds in private rooms, 60 intensive care unit beds and four operating rooms.
The seven-story facility incorporates the latest in health care technology, including slip and fall prevention elements such as patient lift systems; wireless health technology; hybrid operating rooms designed to handle minimally invasive and open procedures; advanced imaging diagnostic equipment; digital monitoring and recordkeeping; and updated IT systems. A three-tiered wireless infrastructure dedicated to enterprise, medical and consumer use helps clinicians maximize their capabilities.
To better meet the needs of patients, the design team incorporated care units with satellite nurse stations located close to patients, and a nurse is never more than 60 feet away from a patient’s bed. Patients, visitors and staff also have access to gardens and views of a rooftop garden. Additionally, there are designated family spaces in each patient room with sleeper chairs and pull-out sofas, and rooms all feature controllable lighting and an advanced nurse call system.
Architects for the new building used a combination of glass windows, bricks and steel to blend in with the architecture of the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
“With almost 118,000 bricks used, the new hospital tower represents one of the biggest brick jobs in San Diego in the past 15 years, both the number of bricks used and the ultimate height of the structure,” said Bruce Rainey, Scripps corporate vice president of construction and facilities, in a statement.
The curved shape of the new facility helps to reduce the distance that staff needs to travel to care for patients. Floor-to-ceiling windows draw in natural light and views of nature.
A new, central energy plant located 1,600 feet away from the facility will provide air conditioning, heating, medical gas, steam, fuel storage, waste storage and emergency generators.
The cardiovascular institute is part of Scripps’ 25-year plan to transform the La Jolla campus. The health care provider is also replacing the existing hospital on the campus with new facilities to meet state earthquake safety mandates.
More than 76,000 patients receive their heart care from Scripps each year, making it the largest heart care provider in the region. Scripps is improving properties throughout its network. Other recent projects include a new emergency department and critical care building, medical office building and parking structure at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and the new Conrad Prebys Emergency and Trauma Center, and a new parking structure and central energy plant at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego.
“After years of planning, design and construction, we finally got the keys to the building,” said Chris Van Gorder, Scripps president and CEO, in a statement. “This milestone brings us one step closer to offering the most comprehensive cardiovascular program that has ever been available in the region.”