Hospitals & Medical Centers Near SDSU — College Area

What Hospitals Are Near College Area?

College Area lists 15 medical facilities in 92115 & 92120, anchored by two full hospitals: Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center on Zion Avenue in Allied Gardens and UC San Diego Health East Campus Medical Center on Alvarado Road adjacent to SDSU. Both operate 24-hour emergency departments and provide inpatient care, surgery, and specialty services.

UC San Diego Health East Campus — formerly Alvarado Hospital until December 2023 — is a 302-bed teaching hospital that UCSD Health acquired for $200 million. It serves as a San Diego County STEMI receiving center for severe heart attacks, operates a remodeled intensive care unit, and is building a dedicated behavioral health tower for inpatient psychiatric care. The Green Line trolley stop sits across the street, connecting the hospital to SDSU, Grantville, and La Mesa.

Is Alvarado Hospital Still in College Area?

The building and campus at 6655 Alvarado Road still exist and still operate as a full-service hospital — but the name changed in December 2023 when UC San Diego Health completed its acquisition from Prime Healthcare. The facility is now UC San Diego Health East Campus Medical Center. Patients searching for Alvarado Hospital will find the same location, same emergency department, and many of the same services, now under the UCSD Health system.

The transition brought the hospital into UCSD Health's academic network, which means residents and fellows from UCSD's medical school train on site, and patients can access UCSD Health's broader specialist network from the East Campus location. The hospital had served the community for more than 50 years before the acquisition, and the name change is still catching up with long-time residents who refer to it by its former name.

What Medical Centers Are in Allied Gardens?

Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center at 4647 Zion Avenue is a full-service hospital open 24 hours with an emergency department, pharmacy, cardiology, orthopedics, oncology, maternity, and psychiatry departments. Kaiser Zion is ranked among the top hospitals in San Diego by U.S. News & World Report and earned high-performing marks in 14 procedures and conditions including heart failure, knee replacement, and maternity care.

The campus covers Kaiser members across eastern San Diego, handling primary care, specialist referrals, lab work, imaging, and pharmacy all on one site. Non-Kaiser patients in Allied Gardens access services at UC San Diego Health East Campus on Alvarado Road or at independent providers throughout the health & medical directory.

Is There a Kaiser Facility in College Area?

Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center is the Kaiser facility serving College Area, located in the Allied Gardens sub-community at 4647 Zion Avenue in 92120. In addition to the hospital campus, Kaiser operates the Vandever Medical Offices nearby for outpatient primary care visits, specialist appointments, and pharmacy pickups.

Kaiser members living in San Carlos, Del Cerro, or College Area proper drive to the Zion campus for most in-person care. The Grantville Trolley Station on the Green Line also connects to the Zion Avenue area for Kaiser patients who prefer transit. For hospital services outside the Kaiser network, UC San Diego Health East Campus on Alvarado Road and Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa serve as the primary non-Kaiser alternatives in eastern San Diego.

Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa serves as the primary non-Kaiser, non-UCSD hospital option for eastern San Diego residents.