Scripps Health unveiled Nov. 17 its $2 billion master plan to build three new hospital towers over the next 25 years to replace the existing Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. If approved, the 43-acre comprehensive medical campus would include research and graduate medical education facilities, an outpatient treatment center and medical offices. The first tower, a $398 million, eight-story, 383,000-square-foot tower, would break ground in June and is scheduled to open for patient care in 2015. The tower would become the hub of the Scripps Cardiovascular Institute, featuring 108 in-patient beds in private rooms, 60 intensive-care beds, six state-of-the-art operating rooms, cardiac catheterization labs, centralized cardiovascular research lab, and a center for graduate medical education. Medical and surgical treatments in the new hospital would incorporate the latest technologies including robotic surgery, digital monitoring and record keeping, wireless technology and high-tech operating rooms. In-patient room amenities include wireless Internet access, plasma-screen televisions and pullout couches for overnight stays. The towers’ state-of-the-art building designs will incorporate green building principles and practices such as large expanses of windows to take advantage of natural light, water- and energy-saving devices and a “green” roof in at least one of the building’s three towers. Funding for the hospital’s expansion will come from operating revenues, borrowing and community support. Thus far, $32 million of its $125 million fundraising goal for the first tower has been contributed in the form of philanthropic gifts. The Scripps Health master plan has been submitted to the City Council and is currently under review.