With construction finished on the Prebys Cardiovascular Center, Scripps Health today took possession of the seven-story building and will begin moving in and orienting employees to the new facility.
The 383,000-square-foot tower was built over three years on the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus. Scripps officials hope to begin patient care in the building in March.
Hospital officials said the next four months will be used to educate, train, orient and transition physicians and staff into the new facility. Furnishings and equipment will also be moved in.
"This is a very exciting day for us — after years of planning, design, and construction, we finally got the `keys' to the building," said Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. "This milestone brings us one step closer to offering the most comprehensive cardiovascular program that has ever been available in the region."
The building has a curved shape to reduce the distance that doctors and nurses need to travel to care for patients, who will be in 108 in-patient beds and 59 intensive care beds. Care providers have a less than 60-foot travel path from their work stations to the patient rooms.
The patient rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows that allow in natural light and views. According to Scripps Health, studies show that patients' need for pain medicine was reduced by 22 percent when they are exposed to light and a view.
The rooms also offer wireless Internet access, LCD screen televisions and pullout couches so family members can stay overnight.
The center also will have six operating rooms and as many as six cardiac catheterization labs.
Scripps Health said it cares for around 76,000 heart care patients annually.
