Expecting Escondido mothers now have a new location to go when it comes time to give birth.
Thursday, a new birth center opened at Palomar Medical Center Escondido, located at 2185 Citracado Parkway in Escondido. The center begins accepting expecting mothers this week.
Mothers will have 33 private labor, delivery and post-partum rooms, each with its own dedicated family areas.
This new center will replace the birth center at Palomar Medical Center Downtown Escondido, which operated for decades before the downtown location closed.
The shift of birthing services from the Downtown Escondido location, located at 555 East Valley Parkway in Escondido, to the new Escondido location on Citracado Parkway was expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Thursday, the California Department of Public Health gave the new location approval to open.
The downtown center's previous Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and pediatric services will continue to be temporarily shifted to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. The unit is expected to open at the new health center in early 2017.
Palomar Health plans to open a dedicated women's and children's unit at the new medical center in the future.
