US-based non-profit integrated healthcare delivery system Scripps Health has started construction on the $263m Lusardi Tower and Lusardi Pulmonary Institute.

The event marked a significant milestone in the expansion of the Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas campus in California.

The three-storey, 224,000ft² facility will provide various patient care services and features.

With a planned completion before the end of 2025, the building will offer 64 private inpatient rooms, including medical/surgical and intensive care unit beds, multiple operating rooms, and the Lusardi Pulmonary Institute.

The institute aims to enhance the hospital's interventional pulmonary medicine programme and offer comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care for respiratory issues.

The Lusardi Tower is part of the final phase of the hospital campus expansion project.

Philanthropists Warner and Debbie Lusardi contributed a $25m gift, the largest in Scripps Encinitas' history, towards the project.

Scripps aims to raise $60m in philanthropic gifts to support the phase two facilities, with additional investment from the organisation's income and debt funding.

Scripps Encinitas provides a wide range of healthcare services, including heart care, orthopaedics, cancer care, emergency care, and specialised services for pulmonary, neurological, and vascular conditions.