San Diego-based Scripps Health said Monday it is partnering with binational company Sistemas Medicos Nacionales S.A. de C.V. to establish a hospital in Mexico that will cater to people who want to get care south of the border instead of in the U.S.
The facility is slated to be built south of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, in Tijuana, Mexico.
Scripps Health will provide consultative services to SIMNSA for the hospital's planning, construction and operation, which SIMNSA, a health insurance company and a medical provider, will design, build and manage to achieve the standards of the Joint Commission International Accreditation, both parties said. As part of the arrangement, the hospital will be co-branded as an affiliate of the Scripps Health Network.
"Our affiliation with Scripps will be important as we work together to transform the delivery of healthcare in our region," Frank Carrillo, president and CEO of SIMNSA, said in a prepared statement. "This collaboration effort is the first of its kind, and the possibilities that this affiliation agreement brings are very exciting to our company."
Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health, echoed Mr. Carrillo's excitement.
"We live in a binational region where thousands of people cross the border between San Diego and Tijuana daily for work. Access to high quality healthcare on both sides of the border is important for our regional economy," Mr. Van Gorder said. "We have been looking for opportunities to expand the Scripps Health Network and our agreement with SIMNSA is the perfect way to do so in Mexico."
Over the years, SIMNSA's medical campus in Tijuana has grown to an eight-story outpatient medical tower with services including primary and specialty care, a full-service dental clinic, stem cell therapy, an ambulatory surgical center, a medical spa, radiology and laboratory, both parties said.
These offerings will expand even more with the new hospital, which will be built in phases. The first phase, anticipated to be completed by early 2017, will feature an emergency room with four operating rooms, an intensive care unit and 30 inpatient rooms. Once the project is complete, the hospital will have 200 beds. The hospital will be equipped to meet the needs for emergency, cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology and labor and delivery.