Officials cut the ribbon Friday on the UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, a state-of-the-art facility for research and patient care.
The four-story, 128,000-square-foot building was completed six years after Richard Sulpizio, a longtime Qualcomm executive, and his wife, Gaby, donated $10 million for the project.
"My father died at the very young age of 54 from cardiovascular issues,'' Richard Sulpizio said. "My older brother died at 48. My wife's mom has some cardiovascular issues. So, it was a no-brainer for us when we were asked to be involved with the cardiovascular center and if our lead gift helped and encouraged others to participate, that's great.''
The center has 50 beds and four operating rooms. The center will be open for patients beginning early next month.
An expanded emergency room will be shared with the adjacent Thornton Hospital.
Each medical discipline involved in cardiac care will be housed at the new facility.
"The Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is no longer a blueprint, but rather a beautiful, modern healthcare facility, ready to accept its first patients,'' said Dr. Kirk Peterson, the director of the center. "The faculty and staff of this institution are exceedingly grateful to the donors who have brought this long-standing goal to fulfillment.''
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said UCSD has become known in its 50 years as a home of innovators, and the new center "is tangible proof of that and it's a symbol of the truly remarkable things that we can look forward to in the next 50 years.''
