San Diego California health care - medical resources

   Nationally  recognized research centers, state-designated trauma facilities and comprehensive hospitals and medical centers, San Diego covers the health care needs of the county with ease and expertise.

   According to a study by Northwestern National Life, San Diego is a good place to receive medical assistance if you are ill or seeking preventative care. The region has above-average access to health care, high enrollments in managed-care programs and a relatively low percentage of births to teen mothers. There are also a high number of doctors per capita, as well as a good ratio of family doctors to specialists. Most of San Diego's health providers are now affiliated with health insurance groups, networks or managed care programs. The largest networks and HMOs -- Scripps Health, University of California, San Diego (UCSD sharp HealthCare and Kaiser Permanente -- provide care to the overwhelming majority of San Diego residents and maintain hospitals,  urgent care centers,  walk-in  clinics,  physician offices and auxiliary services throughout the county.

   More than 25 full-service hospitals are located in the San Diego area. Many are nationally renowned for specific areas of specialization including Level 1 trauma, cardiology, organ and bone transplantation, eye care, oncology, geriatric care, laser surgery, in vitro fertilization, mental health, substance abuse and diagnostic services.

   Since the 1950's, when Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, San Diego has been home to a number of research and specialty institutions and biotechnical companies investigating a wide range of diseases and disorders from cancer to the common cold. The Salk lnstitute for Biological Studies and the Scripps Research lnstitute are two of the world's foremost and largest private, nonprofit research facilities/medical centers. Two government hospitals are located in the region including the only designated Alcohol Research Center in the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Diego. It is also a designated AIDS research center.

   In  1954, Children's Hospital became a major resource for seriously ill or injured children. The hospital is San Diego's designated pediatric trauma center and the region's only juvenile emergency care center. Its neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care, oncology, orthopedic and surgical units have received worldwide attention for excellence. Other specialty centers include Grossmont Hospital's David and Donna Long Center for Cancer Treatment and Cardiovascular Diagnosis, which is the first outpatient center of its kind in the county, the Shiley Eye Institute, the nationally recognized Sharp-Cabrillo Diabetes Treatment and Research Center and the Mary Birch Hospital for Women. A full spectrum of health care professionals and university-level physician, nursing and public health training programs support San Diego's medical caregivers. These include helicopter medical evacuation services, hyperbaric chambers, home health care options, top-notch physical rehabilitation facilities and mental health treatment centers.

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