UCSD Medical Center Building Project Finished

UC San Diego’s Medical Center in Hillcrest has completed a three-year, $40-million construction project that brought the existing hospital tower in line with modern earthquake and safety standards and expanded the hospital’s outpatient care facilities.

The project included structural reinforcement for the existing, 11-story hospital building that opened in 1960. UCSD agreed to improve the building’s seismic safety in 1981 when the hospital was purchased from San Diego County.

The seismic safety project included the addition of a web of steel beams that crisscrosses the hospital’s north- and south-facing walls. The beams are anchored in four massive corner columns that were added to strengthen the building.

“While we haven’t brought it all the way up to today’s standards--that wouldn’t be possible without starting all over with a new building--we have brought it to within 80% or 85% of today’s standards,” said John Oden, director of facilities planning at the medical center. “That’s way beyond (the structural strength) of a building of this age. . . . It should get us through a fairly major earthquake and let us go on doing business.”

During coming months, 13 departments now located in the old, 11-story hospital will be moved to new facilities in the new, South Wing building. The South Wing eventually will house out-patient services, including hemodialysis, diagnostic cardiology, bronchoscopy and same-day surgery. At present, those services are scattered throughout the old hospital tower.

The construction project also included a new, 11-story tower that contains new elevators, conference rooms, family waiting rooms, consultation rooms and offices.

The construction project added 89,000 square feet to project, boosting the hospital’s size to 430,000 square feet. Crews also extended air conditioning to patient rooms in the old tower and improved fire-safety systems.