Expanding Care for a Growing Community
Expanding Care for a Growing Community
Scripps breaks ground on the Lusardi Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
Participating in a groundbreaking event for the new Lusardi Tower now under construction at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas were, from left, Debbi Lusardi; Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder; Scripps Encinitas Physician Chief Operating Executive Scott Eisman, MD; Warner Lusardi; Scripps Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Bigelow; and Scripps Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer John Engle.
In 2022, Scripps launched its Here for Good campaign to fund significant investments into the health of San Diego for generations to come. Now, Scripps’ vision for the future is coming to fruition. This June, Scripps expanded upon the wave of construction that’s already underway across San Diego County and broke ground on the Lusardi Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. The expansion at Scripps Encinitas is a major step forward in Scripps’ master plan and will further solidify its position at the forefront of health care.
Scripps recently began construction on the $263 million acute care Lusardi Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. Opening in 2026, the three-story, 224,000-square-foot facility will house a range of patient care services, including the Lusardi Pulmonary Institute, which will expand on the hospital’s existing state-of-the-art interventional pulmonary medicine program.
The construction is rounding out the final phase of the expansion at Scripps Encinitas, a component of Scripps’ larger Here for Good capital campaign. Two other additions to Scripps’ Encinitas campus, the Leichtag Foundation Critical Care Pavilion, which encompasses an emergency department and a medical-surgical unit, and a 68,000-square-foot medical office pavilion, have already been completed.
“This event marked a major milestone in the final phase of a master plan that is propelling Scripps Encinitas into the future of health care with innovative growth that will serve the North County community for years to come,” says Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health.
Construction on the new tower was led by a $25 million gift from philanthropists and longtime Scripps supporters Warner and Debbie Lusardi. The Lusardis donation was the largest in the history of Scripps Encinitas.
“It is an honor to be part of the hospital’s future. How fortunate we are to have Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas in our community,” says Warner Lusardi.
“This event marked a major milestone in the final phase of a master plan that is propelling Scripps Encinitas into the future of health care with innovative growth that will serve the North County community for years to come,” — Chris Van Gorder, Scripps president and CEO
As a nonprofit health system, Scripps relies on philanthropic support to help expand and upgrade its facilities. Long-term support from donors like the Lusardis makes it possible for Scripps to bring the future of patient-centered health care to Encinitas, says John Engle,
corporate senior vice president and chief development officer with Scripps Health.
“Their incredible generosity has inspired others in the community to join their efforts to ensure that patients in San Diego County continue benefitting from the best medical care available,” he says.
The Lusardi tower will feature 64 private inpatient rooms, including 36 private medical/surgical beds; 16 intensive care unit beds; multiple operating rooms; and will provide a complete continuum of inpatient and outpatient pulmonary care. The expansion will bring the hospital’s total bed count to more than 230.
“We’ve seen demand for health care services steadily grow over the past decade at Scripps Encinitas, and we expect that trend to continue,” says Scott Eisman, MD, physician chief operating executive of the hospital. “The Lusardi Tower and other master plan projects ensure that the campus will continue to serve the needs of our patients for many years to come.”
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.
Learn more about the new hospital tower and ways you can support Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas.