Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, North Tower, La Jolla, California: Photo Tour

The 420,000-square-foot acute care facility houses labor and delivery, a NICU, and postpartum services, with a data-driven design that supports operations and staff efficiency.

Published: November 3, 2025Posted by Tracey Walker

Lawrence Anderson

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Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, North Tower, La Jolla, California

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla’s new North Tower in La Jolla, Calif., marks the completion of a landmark campus expansion and the latest phase in Scripps’ long-term plan to redevelop its entire La Jolla hospital campus.

Opened in June, the 8-story, 420,000-square-foot facility was designed by architecture and interior design firm HGA (San Diego) to be both modern and contextual to its surroundings, including the existing South Tower.

With 188 inpatient beds, the North Tower—also known as Tower II—was intentionally crafted to complement Tower I while expanding the system’s capacity for advanced care. The new acute care hospital houses mother-baby services, including dedicated spaces for labor and delivery, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and a postpartum floor.

HGA uses data-driven design strategies to inform design

HGA used data-driven simulations and operational modeling to refine patient bay layouts, staff circulation routes, and unit adjacencies to support faster staff response times, stronger team collaboration, and increased capacity for long-term and maternal care.

For example, the project team conducted Gemba Walks, shadowing staff at all levels in the South Tower to observe processes, understand challenges, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. This informed strategies for operational efficiencies, such as reducing the number of steps taken by caregivers and having on-stage and off-stage spaces for staff.

The HGA research team also ran simulation models to evaluate proximity to patient rooms and medication stores to effectively increase the time that nurses and medical teams are able to spend in patient rooms.