On this day 100 years ago, philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps opened the doors at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, establishing the region's oldest health system.
Scripps Health leaders and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria commemorated the 100th anniversary of the hospital's founding on Tuesday outside Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla with a birthday cake.
"Today marks 100 years since the opening of Scripps Memorial Hospital, founded along with Scripps Metabolic Clinic by Ellen Browning Scripps," Scripps Health president and CEO Chris Van Gorder said. "Scripps has grown and changed to meet the needs of the communities we serve. And while Miss Ellen may have never imagined how health care would evolve over the decades, she certainly would recognize our mission as the same as hers was so many years ago. It's a mission that has always placed people at its heart — the people we care for and the people who provide that care."
Scripps, part of a media mogul family, was recuperating from a broken hip in 1922 when she learned of the need for a modern medical facility in La Jolla. With her funding, the hospital was opened on Prospect Street on Sept. 17, 1924. On Dec. 11 that same year, the Scripps Metabolic Clinic opened next door — intended for patients with chronic metabolic diseases such as anemia and diabetes.
The growing city necessitated the move to the hospital's current location on Genesee Avenue in 1964. In 1977, the metabolic clinic was renamed Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation and relocated to its current location on Torrey Pines Mesa.
Ellen Browning Scripps wasn't alone in getting the hospital going. Mother Mary Michael Cummings founded a hospital in downtown San Diego called St. Joseph's Dispensary in 1890. This facility moved to Hillcrest and eventually became Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego.
"We've come a long way over the past 100 years," Van Gorder said. "I wish I could be here to witness the next 100 years. I'm sure it will be marvelous to see the amazing advances in patient care that technology will make possible. But I know what will never change: at the heart of Scripps' mission will always be people — the people we care for, the people who provide that care and the people who carry on Miss Ellen's legacy through their generous philanthropy."
Scripps employs 17,000 at its five acute-care hospital campuses and 30 outpatient centers and clinics, as well as its range of specialty care facilities.
