Tri-City Medical Center (Tri-City or TCMC), founded in 1961, is a full-service, acute-care public hospital in Oceanside, California. Located 40 miles north of San Diego, Tri-City serves three major cities in the North County section of San Diego County: Oceanside, Vista, and Carlsbad. The hospital also owns and operates nearby outpatient services. TCMC is administered by the Tri-City Healthcare District, a Health District of California.

History

The Tri-City Medical Center was founded in 1961 after voters elected to form the Tri-City Hospital District, approving a bond issue to pay for the cost of land and construction. At the time, northern San Diego County was a rural area with little medical infrastructure, and community leaders from Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Vista knew the region needed a modern local hospital in order to grow. The finished product, originally named the Tri-City Hospital, was the outcome of their labor. When Tri-City Medical Center first opened, it was a relatively small facility, with only 42 physicians on staff; as North County's population continued to grow, it quickly became apparent that the hospital would need to expand. In the 1970s, responding to demand, Tri-City added a cardiopulmonary lab, additional surgical suites, and a 42-bed maternity unit. In the 1980s, the hospital expanded further, adding a four-story wing and remodeling existing facilities. It also increased its range of services, creating a mental health unit and a dialysis center, and began providing cardiac rehabilitation. By the time Tri-City Hospital changed its name to Tri-City Medical Center in 1985, the hospital had also developed a magnetic resonance imaging center, a neonatal intensive care unit, and an updated emergency department.

Medical Specialties

As a full-service public hospital, Tri-City Medical Center provides a wide range of healthcare services, including behavioral health services, home health care, and rehabilitation services. The following services, however, are considered to be its medical specialties:

Facilities and Current Operations

Tri-City Medical Center's main campus is located at 4002 Vista Way in Oceanside, California. Adjacent to Tri-City Wellness Center, located at 6260 El Camino Real, is the award-winning Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine. Together, the hospital system has a partnership with more than 700 physicians and handles nearly 200,000 outpatient visitors a year, about 17,000 of whom are admitted. The hospital's 388 licensed beds are utilized to a wide variety of ends. Tri-City treats around 92,000 patients a year on an outpatient basis and over 70,000 patients a year through its 24-hour Emergency Department.