The San Diego county medical community includes 26 accredited hospitals, with a total of more than 6,600 beds. The largest networks are ScrippsHealth and Sharp Healthcare, which maintain hospitals and walk-in clinics throughout the county. Scripps Mercy Hospital, the city's longest-running and largest hospital, was established in 1890 and has 517 beds. San Diego's research and specialty institutions include the Salk Institute of Biology—established by Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine—which conducts research in such areas as genetics and neuroscience; Children's Hospital and Health Center, the county's designated Pediatric Trauma Center; the Naval Medical Center, which provides care to officers, personnel, and their dependents and is among the largest and most technologically advanced military health care centers in the world; and the Scripps Research Institute, internationally recognized for its research in immunology, molecular, and cell biology.
Health Care Information: San Diego County Medical Society, 3702 Ruffin Road, Suite 206, San Diego, CA 92123; telephone (858)565-8888