Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas has been named among the top 100 hospitals in the nation, based on a study conducted by healthcare technology and services platform PINC AI.
Recognized in the medium community hospitals category, Scripps Encinitas was the only hospital in Southern California to make the prestigious list this year.
The list, published this week in the online edition of Fortune magazine, identified the best hospitals in the United States based on a wide range of measures, including patient outcomes and experiences, operational efficiency, financial health, and community impact. The study was previously known by the ownership names of Merative, IBM Watson Health, and Truven Health Analytics.
“This honor wasn’t something that we applied for,” said Steve Miller, vice president and chief operations executive at Scripps Encinitas. “By being chosen for this recognition, PINC AI is placing a national spotlight on the quality of the data-driven care that we provide to our patients and the hard work and dedication delivered every day by our physicians, nurses, and employees.”
Scripps Encinitas was ranked No. 10 among the 20 medium community hospitals in the top 100 list.
According to the study, if all hospitals performed at the level of the nation’s top 100, more than 350,000 additional patient lives would be saved, more than 607,000 individuals would be spared in-hospital complications and more than 16,600 patients would avoid readmission within 30 days of their hospital stay. Those overall improvements would save more than $17.6 billion.
Extensive hospital evaluations
The 100 Top Hospitals study used independent, quantitative research to evaluate the five-year trending performance of 2,601 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals nationwide. PINC AI researchers measured clinical and operational performance in 10 areas, using publicly available information from Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, core measures, and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Care Compare website. Hospitals do not apply for consideration, and winners do not pay to market this honor.
PINC AI, a division of health information services company Premier Inc., provides industry intelligence based on over two decades of cost, quality, and operation data drawn from hospital discharges, hospital outpatient encounters, and physician office visits.
Advances at Scripps Encinitas
Opened in 1964, Scripps Encinitas offers a wide range of clinical, surgical, and specialty services. In 2014, Scripps opened the Leichtag Foundation Critical Care Pavilion at the hospital, which included a new emergency department and 36 inpatient rooms. In 2016, the hospital expanded its surgical services department by adding two new state-of-the-art operating rooms, bringing the hospital’s total to six. In 2023, Scripps began constructing the $530 million acute care Lusardi Tower and Lusardi Pulmonary Institute, which is set to open in early 2026. The tower will include 64 private inpatient rooms, 16 intensive care unit beds, and multiple hybrid operating rooms. The expansion will increase the hospital’s total bed count to above 230.
