Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton has 150 beds, a 26-bed emergency center, nine operating rooms, six imaging rooms, and a labor and delivery unit. It also operates branch clinics in the Southern California area. It provides medical care for active-duty military, veterans and their families. Noted architectural achievements include a large solar energy system in the parking structure.[1]
The first naval hospital in the area was called U.S. Naval Hospital, Santa Margarita, California. It was established in 1943 on Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, near Lake O'Neill, to care for the sick and wounded during World War II. It was built quickly, initially with temporary wood-frame buildings on 252 acres. By 1945 it had expanded from 600 to 1,584 beds. In 1950 it was renamed Naval Hospital Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, and has had several other name changes. After the war it was reduced in size, and rebuilt twice.[2][3]
