San Marcos Land Bought for Hospital

Scripps Memorial Hospital has purchased 31.5 acres in San Marcos to build a North County hospital, after shelving plans for a Carlsbad site because of a dispute with the city.

The site, at the corner of Echo Lane and Discovery Street just south of California 78, is in a fast-growing area about a half-mile west of where Cal State San Marcos is being built, said Scripps spokesman Michael Dabney.

That area now relies on Palomar Medical Center to the east for medical care, Dabney said.

“Palomar is strong up there,” he said. “But, because it is such a rapidly growing area, that’s why we are looking at it.”

Originally, Scripps had hoped to build a 114-bed hospital and medical offices on 70 acres in Carlsbad, but city officials and the hospital could not agree on conditions that would be required before construction. Those included who would pay for public works projects needed because of the hospital’s construction.

Scripps already has a 93-bed hospital in Encinitas.

State projections are that North County will need about 300 more acute-care hospital beds in the next 10 years. There are now about 1,000.

The expected growth is why hospitals, beleaguered by a tight medical market, are turning to the north for customers.

Last week, it was revealed that Scripps Clinic in La Jolla and Sharp HealthCare, parent of Sharp Memorial, are considering joining forces. The move would poise them to funnel patients from their North County outpatient clinics to their hospitals in San Diego.

Kaiser Permanente also is considering building a North County hospital. In addition, existing North County hospitals--Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside and Palomar Medical Center in Escondido--are investing $60 million to renovate and expand their hospitals as well as to set up new outpatient facilities.

Dabney said Scripps Memorial hasn’t decided yet what to do about the 70-acre Carlsbad site that the nonprofit chain bought near Palomar Airport Road, east of Interstate 5.

A hospital there hasn’t been ruled out, but plans have been put on hold while the San Marcos facility is built, he said.

Details of the San Marcos hospital haven’t been settled. It will probably be similar to the 114-bed facility, plus medical offices, that had been planned in Carlsbad, Dabney said.

Richard Gittings, city manager of San Marcos, said city officials are “delighted” about the new hospital.

“We think it will bring a fairly significant employment base, and perhaps a good research link to the new university,” Gittings said. “We think it will also attract some additional higher-end offices and perhaps research companies.”

Carlsbad officials could not be reached for comment on the Scripps decision.