The first patients were moved into the new Scripps Health Hospital's Prebys Cardiovascular Institute in La Jolla on Sunday.
Lydia Johnson of Spring Valley was the first patient to make the move from Scripps Memorial La Jolla Hospital to the adjacent $456 million facility. The heart care institute is being called the most advanced of its kind on the West Coast.
The hospital will tend to four times the number of patients and conduct four times the number of procedures than any other cardiovascular institute in the region, according to Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder.
The hospital combines the latest diagnostic and treatment technology and includes special features such as floor to ceiling windows. The added natural light and view from her new room is an added bonus for 75-year-old Johnson.
"When I came in of course, everyone pointed out the window, from ceiling to the floor, which is fantastic," she said. "It lets in a lot of light, and I'm an outdoors type of person so the outside means a lot to me."
The hospital says it has gathered physicians, experts, and staff from the Scripps hospital system to work togeter in the new facility.
The facility will be open 24 hours, seven days a week.
