In an effort to expand emergency care for North San Diego County, Scripps Memorial Hospital located in Encinitas, CA, recently broke ground on a new Critical Care Building. The building is set to expand the current capabilities of the hospital’s existing emergency room. The new addition to the hospital will more than double the capacity of the existing ER and increase the number of medical-surgical beds by 43 percent. PlanNet is excited to be part of the project’s design team. The Critical Care Building is the centerpiece of the hospital’s $94 million second phase of expansion, which also includes a new central energy plant and various infrastructure improvements on and around the medical campus. Technology inside the Critical Care Building will include new MRI, CT scanner and diagnostic X-ray units. All patient rooms on both floors will also have access to a telemetry system to provide continuous wireless monitoring of patient vital signs.
The Critical Care Building and central energy plant are being built on the site of a former parking lot on the southwest part of the hospital campus. Totaling 61,643 square feet, the two-story Critical Care Building is expected to be open for patient care by early summer 2014.
The Critical Care Building’s first floor will house a 27-bed emergency department, with all private rooms for greater patient confidentiality and comfort. The new facility will replace Scripps Encinitas’ current 12-bed emergency department.
The Critical Care Building’s second floor will be home to 36 medical-surgical inpatient beds, which are used by patients who are recovering from surgery or are recuperating from acute illnesses. Medical-surgical beds are also used by those admitted as inpatients via the emergency department—and since approximately 70 percent of the hospital’s inpatients are admitted through the ER, having more of these beds available will help improve the flow of emergency care.
