La Jolla

A planned expansion and renovation of Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas and the construction of a new hospital and medical complex in Carlsbad, described in a certificate of need to the state, has been approved by the state Department of Health Planning and Development, Scripps Memorial Hospitals announced.

Laura Blagg, executive vice president for the hospitals, said the project will include a $17.7-million, two-story expansion of the Encinitas facility that will add three 36-bed medical-surgical nursing stations, a new lobby atrium with an administrative service center and a gift shop, and a 30-bed rehabilitation center. The rehabilitation center will be the only one of its kind north of Mission Valley, she added.

An expected increase in patients in the intensive-care unit over the next decade has also prompted an expansion of the unit and the emergency department. The two-year expansion will increase the number of beds at the hospital from 93 to 150 when finished, Blagg said.

A new medical complex emphasizing ambulatory care, such as outpatient surgery, is planned to be built on 70 acres of land in Carlsbad owned by the hospitals, Blagg said. The complex will include a 24-hour emergency unit to serve the rapidly growing area, she added.