Move-in phase begins for new $1 billion Palomar Medical Center

ESCONDIDO – Officials report that construction of the new 11-story, 740,000-square-foot Palomar Medical Center has officially ended. The “Hospital of the Future” has been built and passed full state inspection.

“The building is complete,” said Michael H. Covert, president and chief executive officer of Palomar Health. “We are able to start the next phase of transformation and that is moving from building to training our staff to deliver the highest quality of health care today.”

“There is much work ahead but I am proud of our efforts on behalf of the citizens of the communities we serve,” added Covert.

Dr. David Tam, the Palomar Health chief administrative officer who oversaw construction of the hospital, made the historic announcement last week during the Palomar Health Board of Directors’ monthly meeting in Escondido. He presented board members with a framed original copy of the certificate. “This is now truly our home,” he said.

At the meeting, the board approved naming the new hospital: Palomar Medical Center. The existing Palomar Medical Center, which was built in 1950, was renamed Palomar Health Downtown Campus.

Construction of the new hospital officially ended on Thursday, April 5. That’s when the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) granted the Palomar Health district a temporary certificate of occupancy, meaning the building passed state inspection. The move-in phase began Tuesday, April 10 with equipment and furniture being delivered to the new hospital.

Board members congratulated everyone who worked on the construction phase of the project for a job well done and thanked district residents for supporting the building of the first new hospital in North County in more than 30 years.

The $956-million hospital was financed partly by Proposition BB, a $496-milliion bond measure that district voters overwhelmingly passed in 2004.

“It’s been eight years since we passed Proposition BB and now we are finally going to be occupying the new hospital,” said Board Chairman Ted (T.E.) Kleiter.

Over the next four months, staff will be trained, equipment and furniture will be installed and licensing will occur. Palomar Health will be seeking licensing to operate the new hospital through the California Department of Public Health. Palomar Health has set Aug. 19 as the target date for opening the new hospital and treating the first patients.

The hospital was designed to accommodate future advancements in technology and will support electronic medical record keeping and an array of wired and wireless technologies used by physicians and staff.

The new Palomar Medical Center features a 120-bed West Tower and 168-bed East Tower and will have the capacity to expand to 360 beds.

The Trauma Center and Emergency Department (ED) are among the services that are moving from the downtown campus to the new hospital. The expanded ED will have 44 treatment rooms, which is 19 more than currently available at the downtown campus.

Palomar Health plans to hold a Community/Employee Grand Opening Celebration on July 28 at the new hospital at 2185 Citracado Parkway, near State Route 78 and Interstate 15. The district employs about 4,000 people and is affiliated with more than 800 physicians.

Construction of the new hospital began in December, 2007.