Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla Tower II

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Tower II is a state-of-the-art, 418,500-square-foot, 10-story acute care tower that expanded, modernized, and provided a premier destination for patient care services at the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. The additional tower directly connects to the original Tower I, completed by McCarthy in 2014, and reflects more than a decade of trusted partnership between Scripps Health and the construction team.  

The added facility includes 170 licensed inpatient beds, a rooftop helistop, nine operating rooms, three interventional radiology suites, and expanded imaging, emergency department (ED), and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) services. Transitioning the campus’s labor and delivery, postpartum, and NICU units to this facility established Scripps Tower II as a premier destination for women’s and infant care in the region.  

Scripps Tower II was constructed using an innovative bolted SidePlate structural steel system, marking a significant milestone as the first installation of its kind within an acute care facility regulated by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). This unique structural approach employed bolted moment frame connections, saving substantial time and costs for the overall project.  

To advance clinical operations and provide a “future-proof” infrastructure, Scripps Tower II also became the first HCAI 1 project to implement the Steris Cleansuite system, a cutting-edge, pre-manufactured modular operating room (OR) ceiling with integrated HVAC, lighting, and surgical booms into single, self-contained units.  

The integration of healing gardens, advanced patient care spaces, and robust infrastructure improvements throughout campus set a new benchmark for healthcare construction in the region. The completion of Scripps Tower II underscored Scripps Health’s continued commitment to delivering world-class, patient-centered care through thoughtful, long-term infrastructure planning.