Scripps, Kaiser Permanente Extend Cardiovascular Partnership Another Decade, Keeping It the Region’s Largest Heart Program

Scripps Health and Kaiser Permanente announced today the two non-profit health systems have signed a 10-year comprehensive agreement, the longest-term contract in a 30-year partnership that continues a legacy of working together for the good of the community.

Under the agreement, Scripps will be the exclusive provider of cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology (at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla) and bariatric services (at Scripps Mercy San Diego) to the more than 500,000 Kaiser members across San Diego County. Scripps also will provide hospital services to Kaiser Permanente members transferred to a Scripps facility or who are treated in a Scripps emergency department. Scripps is the region’s largest provider of cardiovascular services and the only San Diego provider recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the best for heart and heart surgery in 2010, a distinction reflective of the exceptional skills of the cardiovascular physicians of Kaiser Permanente and Scripps Health.

“This agreement extends our close working partnership that has been built over the past 30 years around quality, medical management, and patient satisfaction,” said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. “In an era of health care reform, collaboration is more important than ever before. Through it, we are able to maintain our standing as the largest cardiovascular program in the region, which allows us to make the best use of our infrastructure and leverage our expertise to best serve the community.”

“Kaiser Permanente and Scripps have worked in partnership for the past three decades to provide premier cardiovascular services to San Diego County,” said Mary Ann Barnes, Senior Vice President & Executive Director for Kaiser Permanente San Diego. “Through this new agreement, we look forward to even greater opportunities to provide innovative, leading edge cardiovascular health care.”

Scripps will break ground next year on a new eight-story, 383,000-square-foot hospital tower on the campus of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. The new tower, estimated to cost $398 million, will serve as the hub of the Scripps Cardiovascular Institute, which will combine the cardiovascular programs of Kaiser Permanente, Scripps La Jolla and Scripps Green Hospital.

The institute will feature 108 in-patient beds in private rooms, 60 intensive care beds, 10 state-of-art operating rooms and cardiac catheterization labs with the most advanced medical technology, centralized cardiovascular research labs, and a center for graduate medical education.

Computerized room-level observation stations, a decentralized medication dispensing process and decentralized nurses stations allow caregivers to closely monitor patients and improve communications with family members. Rooms include a variety of amenities for families, including wireless internet access, plasma screen televisions and comfortable pullout couches for overnight stays.

Scripps performs more cardiovascular procedures than any other heart care program in California, last year providing cardiovascular care to more than 45,000 patients. In 2010, Scripps was recognized by Thomson Reuters as one of the Top 10 health systems in the nation for quality care. Scripps has also achieved the gold standard for stroke care with Primary Stroke Center designation. Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego has been designated as a Bariatric Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and the Surgical Review Corporation.

About Scripps

Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated not-for-profit health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a group practice prepayment program headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente began serving San Diego in 1967, and currently provides care for nearly 500,000 members throughout the county. More than 7,400 staff and 3,200 physicians provide quality care at 20 medical facilities conveniently located throughout the county and at San Diego’s Kaiser Foundation Hospital. The hospital has 392 licensed beds and a 78-bed Emergency Department. To learn more, visit the web site at kp.org.

Scripps Media Contact: Janice Collins
Phone: 858-678-7486
E-mail: Collins.Janice@scrippshealth.org

Kaiser Permanente Media Contact: Rodger Dougherty
Phone: 619-528-7783
E-mail: rodger.w.dougherty@kp.org