As population grows in the Encinitas area, emergency room visits are on the rise.
Scripps Encinitas officials say since 2000, population in the surrounding area has increased by 20 percent. Annual visits to the emergency department have more than doubled.
To alleviate this increase, Scripps CEO Chris Van Gorder said the ER needed more space.
“We’re often on kind of diversion or standby, or trying to squeeze in patients because the need for more beds was there. And so, to be honest with you, expanding to a 26-bed emergency room is long overdue,” Van Gorder explained.
The larger emergency room is part of Scripps’ new two-story critical care pavilion. The facility has 36 patient rooms, decorated with glass tiles and pastel colors. There's also a terraced roof garden filled with succulents and native grasses.
Officials say the new building is designed to create a healing environment. The new construction was financed through a combination of philanthropic gifts and income from operations.
