San Diego-based Scripps Health plans to build an 85,000-square-foot clinic facility in Oceanside, Calif.
The three-story facility would offer various primary care and specialty care services, Scripps told Becker's Hospital Review via email. The system said it also plans to build an urgent care center at the location.
"Our proposal to construct a new building in Oceanside is about improving convenience and access to needed services for our patients in North County," Scripps added. "It's important that all healthcare providers in North County do what they need to do to serve their patients and the growing population of North County. Scripps has a long history in North County and is working on building new facilities that will provide the highest level of care and offer additional convenience and services for our patients here."
Scripps' proposal is currently being reviewed by city officials. Once the city planning department deems the application complete, an Oceanside Planning Commission hearing will take place, the system said. Scripps notes it would then still have to apply for building permits. If all goes well, though, the system hopes to begin construction in early 2018, with an expected opening in 2020.
Meanwhile, The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported about the potential competition involved with the project, as Scripps' proposed clinic facility would be approximately 3 miles west of Oceanside-based Tri-City Medical Center. Scripps also has an existing three-story facility a half mile from Tri-City.
Tri-City did not return multiple phone messages left by Becker's Hospital Review. But Scripps said Tri-City has known about Scripps' plans to expand its ambulatory network "for years" and noted multiple providers are established and growing in the North County area, including Ontario, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health and Oceanside-based North County Health Services.