San Diego-based Scripps Health unveiled Rady Tower naming signage Nov. 11 atop the newest hospital building at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (Calif.). The signage honors a $75 million commitment from philanthropists Ernest and Evelyn Rady.
Scripps announced the gift earlier this year and renamed the facility, previously called the North Tower, in the couple’s honor. The $664 million, eight-floor tower opened to patients in June 2025.
Mr. Rady said supporting healthcare in San Diego “has always been a priority for our family.” He added that the gift aims to extend Scripps’ legacy of cutting-edge care for decades. Mr. Rady built his fortune in insurance, financial services and real estate, and the couple gives through the Rady Foundation.
Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder said the gift continues the philanthropic tradition that Ellen Browning Scripps started more than a century ago when she founded Scripps Memorial Hospital.
The event also debuted a donor recognition wall near the tower’s entrance. It honors hundreds of other donors, including individuals, hospital staff and corporate partners, whose contributions total nearly $110 million. Those gifts funded areas including the cafeteria, operating suites, nurses’ stations, family waiting areas and private patient rooms.
John Engle, Scripps corporate vice president and chief development officer, said community philanthropy is essential to growing the system’s hospitals to meet demand.
The Rady Tower houses mother-baby services, advanced technology operating rooms and private patient rooms. Physicians, nurses, leaders, architects and support staff provided input on its evidence-based design.
The tower is part of a 25-year master plan for the La Jolla campus that Scripps unveiled in 2010. Scripps also plans a new medical office building and a third hospital tower on the campus.
