Thousands of donors fund Grossmont Medical Plaza renovation

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Foundation funds went toward lighting, flooring, improved equipment and more facility renovations at Sharp Grossmont Medical Plaza.

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Melissa Major and Juliana Chan spearheaded the renovations at Sharp Grossmont Medical Plaza, which is set to be fully completed in 2025.

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Before and after: Lobby

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Before and after: ENT procedure room

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Before and after: Radiology ultrasound room

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Before and after: Oncology exam room

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Before and after: Oncology hydration area

Five exam rooms and one procedure room can now be found on the first floor of Sharp Grossmont Medical Plaza, all with fresh paint on the walls, new millwork and sharper finishing. The lights are a little bit brighter throughout the building. The chairs, stations and equipment are all new, as well.

Welcome to the renovated Grossmont Medical Plaza, the new home for Sharp Rees-Stealy oncology services; ear, nose and throat (ENT) care; and audiology services.

The entire project at Grossmont Medical Plaza came to life thanks, in part, to nearly $500,000 in philanthropy funds the Foundations of Sharp HealthCare distributed between January 2023 and May 2024. “Especially in health care, philanthropy means a ton,” says Melissa Major, chief administrative officer of Sharp Rees-Stealy.

Identifying a need in East County

The urgent care unit that previously existed on the first floor at Grossmont Medical Plaza moved to Santee in 2020. During the pandemic, the space was used to treat COVID-19 patients.

When the surge ended and the first floor was vacant again, that’s when Major and her team determined what to do with the space. “Employees see our patients with a need and are willing to make those investments to bring those services to East County,” Major says.

Oncology, ENT and audiology services were all added to the first floor of the building. Additionally, radiology, lab testing, podiatry and the blood draw areas were upgraded.

“The facilities department is constantly trying to improve all our spaces, and it’s been amazing to see what we could renovate and refresh,” says Juliana Chan, a Sharp facilities planner analyst who worked specifically with Grossmont Medical Plaza.

Inside the renovation process

Major likens the renovation process to remodeling a house. Construction happens during the day and some areas aren’t available for use. People are coming and going inside the building throughout the day.

“When you’re living inside your house while you’re having your kitchen replaced, it’s not fun,” Major says. “You come in one day and your sink’s gone, and your stove is no longer there.”

It’s part of the reason why, Major thinks, renovating an existing space can sometimes be more challenging than constructing a new facility from the ground up.

Grossmont Medical Plaza is six stories high and features over 140 exam rooms and 40 bathrooms. Rather than shut the entire building down, Chan and her team completed the project over the course of 14 phases, each one lasting about three weeks.

In each phase, they would turn over a batch of 10 exam rooms and three bathrooms. “There is a lot of planning, scheduling of movers and IT entity coordinators,” Chan says. “It’s quite an ordeal.”

Renovations required different units to be shuffled throughout the building for weeks at a time. Relocation to temporary rooms can be confusing for physicians and patients. The podiatry unit, for example, was moved from the third floor to be closer to the X-ray unit.

“We look at this holistically to determine what needs to be aligned, what needs to be closer to the lab, and what needs to be closer to radiology,” Major says.

New spaces with new equipment

In addition to over $1 million in operating costs, the Foundations of Sharp HealthCare contributed nearly $500,000 to fund the Grossmont Medical Plaza renovations.

Over the span of a year and a half, nearly 2,000 different donors combined to make 4,587 gifts toward the Grossmont Medical Plaza project. Some gifts were Guardian Angel awards, some were Doctors’ Day donations. Some donations came at year-end, and some were payroll deductions from employee paychecks.

“It’s great knowing that our community supports our Sharp facilities,” Chan says. “It warms my heart. We wouldn’t exist without our community.”

On the first floor of the renovated space, the floors have been redone with a wood finish. The walls are painted white, with artwork to come. Cabinetry and sinks feature brand new millwork.

In total, there are now seven exam rooms, one procedure room, one hearing room, a hydration area and four offices. Foundation funds also went toward purchasing new chairs in the exam rooms, new stations for patients to have their blood drawn and hydration stations for oncology patients.

Chan expects the entire Grossmont Medical Plaza project to be completed in 2025. In addition to purchasing paintings for the walls, the pharmacy on the first floor will soon undergo its transformation.

"I'm so happy Sharp continues to contribute and pay for these renovations," Major says. "Our patients need it."

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