TCMC Historical Timeline

In the 2010s, Tri-City Medical Center continued advancing healthcare in the heart of coastal North County with innovative treatments and technologies hyper-focused on the needs of the community as well as nationally recognized care initiatives. It formalized its commitment to engaging with the community to enhance their health outside of the hospital’s walls through COASTAL Commitment. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world and Tri-City Medical Center led the community through the once-in-a-century worldwide public health crisis.

In spring 2012, Tri-City Medical Center launched Code Caleb, an overhead announcement that summons specialized Neonatal and Emergency Department teams for newborns brought into the Emergency Department with a life-threatening condition. The program is named after Caleb Peltier, whose life was saved by Tri-City’s Emergency and Neonatal specialists in 2010 when he was just three days old.

Tri-City Medical Center became the first hospital in North County to utilize a new 3D robotic surgical system for minimally invasive procedures and expanded its robotic surgery offering with the Mazor X Robotic Guided Surgery System, which eventually led to it being named one of the 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery by Healthgrades.

Tri-City Medical Center accepts its first patients at the newly opened Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, making it one of the few in the county to use hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat patients with non-healing wounds. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) delivers high concentrations of oxygen in a pressurized chamber to accelerate the healing of wounds and infections. The most common wounds that benefit from this type of therapy include chronic, non-healing wounds, diabetic foot wounds, compromised skin graphs and flaps, and pressure ulcers.

Tri-City Medical Center partners with non-profits for the inaugural North County Healthy for Good Heart and Stroke Walk. More than 3,300 people and 20 businesses and local organizations participated. Over $200,000 was raised for heart-related research.

California Senator Patricia Bates honors Tri-City Hospital Foundation as the 2018 Nonprofit of the Year for the 36th Senate District. President of the Tri-City Hospital Foundation, Glen Newhart, and Chairman of the Tri-City Healthcare District, Dr. Jim Dagostino, receive the legislative recognition at the California Nonprofits Day luncheon in Sacramento.

Tri-City Hospital Foundation celebrates its 55th anniversary and raises more than $500,000 at the 39th Annual Diamond Ball to bring state-of-the-art MRI screening technology to the Imaging Department at Tri-City Medical Center.

Tri-City Medical Center and the County of San Diego partner to build a $17.4 million psychiatric health facility on the hospital’s campus.

As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tri-City team cared for more than 850 COVID-positive patients at the hospital and administered over 30,000 vaccine doses to at-risk community members.

Tri-City Medical Center announced a growing partnership with Kaiser Permanente San Diego to expanded service for even more North County families seeking health care. Through the partnership, Kaiser Permanente members living in North County can utilize Tri-City Medical Center for a wide range of services, including emergency department access, inpatient hospital care, surgical services, and specialty procedures. The partnership expands access to integrated health care services so that over 185,000 people in North County can get the care they need closer to home.

The San Diego Business Journal honored Tri-City Medical Center’s Steve Dietlin with its prestigious CEO of the Year award, a recognition of Dietlin’s leadership in stewarding the community medical center through an unprecedented health crisis. In his acceptance remarks, Dietlin said, “As a leader, I recognize any individual success is truly due to the collective efforts of a dedicated team of thousands of people working collaboratively to deliver on our mission to advance the health and wellness of our community. Success is defined by our ability to positively impact the communities we serve.”

Hospital emergency departments play a significant role in the United States health care system. The Conrad Prebys Foundation and David C. Copley Foundation generously contributed $1 million and $1.6 million, respectively, toward a redesign of Tri-City Medical Center’s Emergency Department. Thanks to the generosity of these compassionate partners, the facility will be modernized to enhance patient experience and continue to support the emergency department’s world-class staff in providing premium care close to home for community members.

Tri-City Medical Center is interwoven into the communities it serves. In October 2021, the hospital’s interior was updated to better reflect that connection, complete with towers renamed for the cities the hospital serves, new local art from renowned photographer Aaron Chang and new color-aligned signage to help with navigation around the hospital. Complementing its patient experience, the Oceanside Pavilion is adorned in tranquil blue to represent the deep waters of the Harbor. The Carlsbad Pavilion is represented by healing aqua to reflect the shallow waters of its local lagoons, and the Vista Pavilion is splashed in vitality orange to represent the city known as “America’s Climatic Wonderland.”

Celebrating 60 Years Serving Our Community.