Scripps Health Celebrates 100th Anniversary on Sept. 17

Ellen Browning Scripps, part of a legendary American news media family, was recovering from a broken hip in 1922 when she learned about the need for a modern hospital in La Jolla. Her philanthropic support made possible Scripps Memorial Hospital on Prospect Street, which opened Sept. 17, 1924, as well as the Scripps Metabolic Clinic next door, which opened Dec. 11, 1924. The metabolic clinic was built to treat patients with chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes, anemia and nephritis, as well as to conduct research to advance patient care. It was partly inspired by the early 1920s discovery of insulin to treat diabetes.

Scripps expanded its hospital and clinic facilities on Prospect Street over the ensuing years, but San Diego's growing population created the need for more space. Scripps Memorial Hospital relocated to its current location on Genesee Avenue in 1964, while the former metabolic clinic - renamed Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation - moved to its current spot on the Torrey Pines Mesa in 1977.

Other hospitals later joined the Scripps family, including San Dieguito Hospital in 1978 (now Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas); Bay Hospital Medical Center in 1986 (now Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista); Green Hospital in 1991 (now Scripps Green Hospital); and Mercy Hospital in 1995 (now Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego).

The early foundations for Scripps Health were laid not only by Ellen Browning Scripps, but also by another visionary woman: Mother Mary Michael Cummings, who in 1890 founded a downtown hospital called St. Joseph's Dispensary, which eventually moved to Hillcrest and evolved to become Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego.