Sharp ‘Envisions’ the future of health care

For more than four generations, Sharp HealthCare has been dedicated to the San Diego community. As the region’s largest and most comprehensive health care system, Sharp touches the lives of more than 1 million people each year.

Keeping with its mission as a not-for-profit institution serving all those who need care, Sharp provided a record-setting $500 million in community benefits within the last fiscal year — including charity, uncompensated and undercompensated care.

Now, Sharp HealthCare is strengthening its commitment to the community. The Foundations of Sharp HealthCare have launched ENVISION — a $250 million fundraising campaign in support of Sharp’s $2 billion, decade-long investment in San Diego’s health care future.

“At Sharp, we believe a first-class health care system is a vital part of a community,” says Bill Littlejohn, senior vice president and CEO of the Foundations of Sharp HealthCare. “This is perhaps the most sweeping group of initiatives to enhance health care delivery in San Diego’s history.”

The ENVISION campaign is framed by four goals, known as the Aspirations of Excellence:

• Provide clinical and technical innovation

• Enhance knowledge and learning

• Create an extraordinary patient experience

• Deliver this world-class care to every community

“With our philanthropic partners, we are embarking on a new generation of transformation: a journey to deliver the health care of the future,” says Littlejohn.

ENVISION initiatives
The ENVISION campaign includes more than a dozen initiatives, including the new Prebys Innovation and Education Center; modernization of Sharp Memorial Hospital and Sharp’s medical campus in central San Diego; continued growth of Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center; enhancements to mental health services at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital; and expanded emergency and intensive care services at Sharp Coronado Hospital.

The campaign will also support the creation of the Sharp Grossmont Hospital Neurosciences Center; Sharp’s fourth hospice home; expansion of the Sharp Rees-Stealy clinic network; and growth of the Terrence and Barbara Caster Institute for Nursing Excellence, which provides nursing scholarships and training.

“At Sharp, we are guided by a relentless devotion to doing what’s best for our community and our patients every time,” says Chris Howard, president and CEO of Sharp HealthCare. “We are excited to embark on this inspiring initiative that further drives our commitment to The Sharp Experience — delivering the advanced technology, medical expertise and modern health care centers that will serve San Diego for generations to come.”

A communitywide effort
The ENVISION campaign formally kicks off this month, with more than $80 million already raised toward the $250 million goal.

“We are humbled by the extraordinary support for ENVISION from across the Sharp HealthCare family and the community,” says Littlejohn. “As was the case seven decades ago when Thomas E. Sharp donated $500,000 to establish a hospital in his son’s memory, San Diego is coming together to enable Sharp to continue our mission to improve the health of the community with a commitment to excellence in all that we do.”

Learn more about the Foundations of Sharp HealthCare and the ENVISION campaign.