Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee set to open

Mary Mayes-Wollas has worked for Sharp Rees-Stealy for the past 35 years, with many of those years focused on serving the people of East County. Over that stretch, Mary, who is now East County operations manager, and her team have witnessed new buildings open, medical groups merge and the region's growth.

As a result, when planning began for the new
Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee Medical Center and the subsequent closing of other East County sites, Mary felt compelled to do something unique to mark this milestone.

She wanted to symbolically blend the sites that were closing - El Cajon, La Mesa West, Mount Helix (all closing Oct. 3) and San Carlos (already closed) - with the new Santee site that was opening. So she decided to bring a piece of each of those sites to the new building.

Mary took a key from each building that is closing its doors and, working with the building contractor, had the keys buried under the foundation of the new medical center. Small pieces of Sharp Rees-Stealy history to support the medical group as it moves into the future.

"To me, it is symbolic of so many things," Mary says. "It's letting go of the old and embracing the new. It also represents a group of amazing people coming together in one building to form new relationships and begin a new chapter in Sharp Rees-Stealy history."

Mary Mayes-Wollas is the East County operations manager for Sharp Rees-Stealy. The artwork at the new Santee medical center honors the many communities it serves.

This exciting new journey begins Oct. 4 at Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee Medical Center, located at the corner of Cuyamaca Street and Buena Vista Avenue, right next to the 52 and minutes from the 125.

The new center will offer primary and specialty care, urgent care, pharmacy, laboratory, mammography, optical shop, radiology, rehabilitation services, and diabetes and nutrition education.

Both in-person and virtual care (video and phone visits) are available for patients. Every precaution is being taken at all Sharp Rees-Stealy clinics to ensure the health and safety of patients, providers and staff. Appointments are now being accepted for the new medical center. To schedule a primary care appointment at Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee, call
858-499-2715.

Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee features drought-friendly landscaping, original art and free surface parking with more than 400 spaces, including several with electric car chargers. Also, there will be a power microgrid that will allow Sharp Rees-Stealy to generate solar power and save approximately $300,000 a year in electricity charges.

While the urgent care replaces the one currently located next to Sharp Grossmont Hospital, there will be no interruption to urgent care services in East County. The urgent care at Sharp Rees-Stealy La Mesa will close Saturday, Oct. 3, at 8 pm, and the new Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee urgent care will open Sunday, Oct. 4 at 8 am.

"With its many features, we hope this new medical center will be a tremendous asset to East County," says Stacey Hrountas, CEO, Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers. "As we continue to navigate these challenging times, we are looking forward to the new Santee medical center providing a huge boost and dose of energy to the region. We are excited to bring our coordinated care model to this growing area."

To introduce the community to Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee, a virtual open house will be held Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 am to 2 pm. The event will feature a virtual tour, Ask-the-Doctor sessions, a cooking demo with culinary medicine physician Dr. Angie Neison, a live exercise session with a physical therapist, Medicare information and more.
Register for this free event.