New Palomar Medical Center Opens in Escondido

The new, highly-anticipated Palomar Medical Center officially opened Sunday morning in Escondido.

The doors to the medical center located at 2185 West Citracado Parkway opened at 7 a.m., ready to welcome its first patients.

As many as 130 patients are set to be transferred by ambulances throughout the morning from the existing Palomar Medical Center in downtown Escondido to the brand new, 288-bed facility.

Palomar Health media relations manager Leonel Sanchez told NBC 7 San Diego the historic hospital opening is years and years in the making. Sanchez said they chose to open the hospital on Sunday because it’s a lower-traffic day.

With the opening of the new medical facility, Palomar Health makes history. The 740,000-square-foot, 11-story center is one of the most technologically-advanced hospitals in the nation.

The $956 million dollar hospital is also the first new hospital to open in North County in more than 30 years.

It was funded, in part, by Proposition BB passed by district voters in 2004, a bond measure that helped pay for construction of the so-called “Hospital of the Future.”