UC San Diego Health Opens World-Class Medical Center

The new Jacobs Medical Center (La Jolla, CA, USA) combines renowned physician-scientists and care teams, precision medicine, clinical trials, and creative arts and culinary offerings to provide an extraordinary healing experience for patients and families.

The 10-story, 245-bed hospital, built by UC San Diego Health (CA, USA) at a cost of USD 943 million, represents the seamless integration of advanced imaging and surgical technologies with comforting environmental elements. Three specialty centers reside within the center: the Rady Pavilion for Women and Infants, the Pauline and Stanley Foster Pavilion for Cancer Care, and the Vassiliadis Family Pavilion for Advanced Surgery. The pavilions will treat everything from single and multiple births to the most complex malignancies and chronic diseases.


The second story surgery suites include intraoperative CT or MRI imaging capabilities, enabling surgeons to verify complete tumor removal during surgery and validate precise repair of neurologic, urologic, orthopedic, and other medical conditions. Patients will also have access to nearly 100 cancer subspecialists and dedicated support teams, such as respiratory and pain management experts. Clinical services are supported by a UCSD-based genomics diagnostic team capable of analyzing hundreds of genes to help formulate optimal treatment plans for individual patients.

The majority of the rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of San Diego. Inside each private room, patients will be able to use an iPad to control lighting, and temperature, as well as entertainment on an Apple TV. The iPads also allow patients to see photos and biographies of their clinical care team, when their next medical test is scheduled, and access a bedside medical chart. The sixth floor is designated for bone and stem cell transplantation patients, with full-unit air filtration to allow patients freedom of movement, exercise, and socialization.

“This hospital honors the vision of UC San Diego’s founders, who saw a need to integrate groundbreaking research and discovery with outstanding patient care,” said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. “At Jacobs Medical Center, patients can experience the unique benefits of an academic health system, where physicians, researchers, and nurses work side-by-side to deliver the finest in modern medicine within a best-in-class patient care environment.”

“When we came here in 1966, the medical school was just starting, and there was no hospital,” said Irwin Jacobs, co-founder, former chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, who together with his wife donated USD 100 million to the center. “Today, it’s very exciting to see Jacobs Medical Center open. More and more, we’re learning how to bring results from basic research in biology and engineering to medicine, and to the patient. This medical center is going to show how effective that kind of integrated care can be. Innovations will spread out from San Diego, and go all around the world.”

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Jacobs Medical Center
UC San Diego Health