Scripps Health celebrates 100 years of caring for our community

Of course, none of Scripps’ work would be possible without support from the community.

“Philanthropy has been at the heart of Scripps since its founding 100 years ago,” says John B. Engle, Scripps’ corporate senior vice president and chief development officer. “As a nonprofit health care system, we’ve made tremendous advances through the years in our facilities, technology and tools to advance medicine, thanks to our generous donors.”

As grateful as Scripps is for the community’s support, Scripps Health Board Chairman Kevin Hamilton says the feeling is mutual.

“Our board of trustees is made up of volunteers from the community — all with different areas of expertise — but with one common goal: to help Scripps provide the best possible health care to our community. We take that responsibility seriously,” Hamilton says. “As the longest-established health care system in San Diego, we are here to help Scripps care for our community now and for generations to come.”

Beatrice Fulgham has been with Scripps La Jolla for so long that she likes to joke she didn’t actually know the hospital’s founder, Ellen Browning Scripps. Fulgham did, however, work at Scripps’ original location on Prospect Street, joining as a nurse in 1960. She ended her official employment in 1992 — only to start as a volunteer immediately after.

“Basically, I resigned one day. Then I went downstairs and said, ‘OK, I’m back,’” she recalls with a laugh.

A volunteer for 32 years, she’s the longest-serving volunteer in hospital history.

“I love that it keeps me social,” she says. “Plus, it gives me that feeling that I’m doing something important and making a difference.”

Fulgham’s affection for Scripps is clear as she describes the changes she’s seen the hospital undergo, from Scripps La Jolla’s move from Prospect Street to Genesee Avenue to expanding and building new hospital towers. But one of her most memorable moments is the inauguration of Scripps’ first trauma center in the 1980s. A supervisor at the time, Fulgham says she was given a “crash course to learn all about the new facility.”

“It was an incredible time,” she says.

But just as precious to her are the memories she has of the people — be it staff, patients or volunteers.

“When I started at Scripps La Jolla, I remember I just got this comfortable feeling. Everyone was so welcoming and upbeat and exciting,” she says, “and that feeling has never gone away.”

Listening to Ann McCullough talk about her responsibilities at Scripps La Jolla, you can see how important the work she and her team do is for patients at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute.

As a certified surgical technologist, she sets up the operating room before a procedure, counts and preps all of its equipment, helps patients get to the operating room, assists the surgeon during surgery and ensures the room and equipment are returned to pre-surgery condition afterward.

While this responsibility might sound intimidating to some, for McCullough, it’s a perfect fit.

“I really do love being in the operating room,” she says. “I come to work every day with the expectation that I’m going to help someone and provide quality patient care.”

McCullough says she’s enjoyed being part of many incredible health care advances at Scripps. She’s particularly appreciative of A. Brent Eastman, MD, Scripps’ former chief medical officer and the driving force behind Scripps’ first state-of-the-art trauma center in La Jolla.

“We all felt so privileged to be there for that new era at Scripps,” she says. 

McCullough was also part of Scripps’ adaptation of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) heart surgery, a therapy for patients awaiting a heart transplant. She proudly recalls when she and another surgical tech supported an early LVAD case of a woman in her 30s, who eventually received a heart transplant. But that lifesaving transplant was only possible because of the LVAD operation.

“I’m very blessed to get to do this work,” she says. “My time at Scripps has been a wonderful and exciting journey, and I’ve loved all of it.”

The connections Stan Amundson, MD, has to Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, run deep. His daughters were born at Scripps Mercy, and both became physician assistants who completed some training there. He and his wife (also born at Scripps Mercy) both did their residencies at the hospital.

“And my wife’s grandfather was actually the baker at Scripps Mercy, back when we had a bakery,” he adds.

During his own time at Scripps Mercy, Dr. Amundson has often found himself on the leading edge of medical advancements, such as helping administer a brand-new treatment for metastatic testicular cancer decades ago.

He has also participated in multiple research projects, including the nationally recognized point-of-care ultrasound studies (POCUS) led by Bruce Kimura, MD, a cardiologist at Scripps.

Today, he stays at the forefront of medicine by leading the same Scripps Mercy residency program in which he was once a resident.

“I’m really proud to train our excellent physicians for the future,” he says. “They’re smart, motivated and go on to do incredible work all over the country and right here in San Diego.”

A lot has changed in the world of medical technology since Donie Inis entered the field. His current job of CT tech didn’t even exist when his career started — Inis was working in radiology when the opportunity came about. Curious about this new CT scanning, Inis used his days off to train himself on it.

“At the time, there was a mobile unit that traveled from hospital to hospital. So, I’d go to whatever hospital it was at, to observe and to learn that way,” Inis says.

Decades later, Inis still loves his job.

“I’ve become really good friends with people I’ve worked with, and helping patients is very rewarding,” he says. “A lot of times people will come in and they’ll be nervous, so it’s our job to help however we can.”

Asked how it feels to have been with Scripps for 45 years, Inis chuckles at the number. “Really, it’s gone by pretty fast. That’s the great thing about doing something you love to do.”

When Karen Whalen began working at Scripps Encinitas, the hospital was “basically a single-story facility,” she says, with a much smaller number of beds for patients.

“What we did in a month back then is what we do in a day now,” she says with a laugh. “But, remember, that was decades ago.”

Whalen says both the facilities, as well as the quality of the equipment and imaging techniques, have grown “to a phenomenal degree” during her time at Scripps — those advancements are one of her favorite parts of her job. “Without that, we wouldn’t be able to make such a significant impact on patients.”

One thing that hasn’t changed? The strong sense of community she feels with the physicians and staff.

“We always celebrate each other and the culture is so positive,” she says. “I know this can sound like a cliché, but it’s true: Working here really feels like being part of a family.”

Sue Dastrup first took a job at Scripps assuming she wouldn’t stay long. Originally from Massachusetts, Dastrup figured she’d spend a little time on the West Coast before moving closer to family. Forty years later, she hasn’t gone anywhere.

“Whenever I think, ‘Should I retire?’ I just can’t do it yet,” Dastrup says. “I love my job. I love what I do.”

As a radiation oncology nurse at Scripps, Dastrup and her team are the first people patients see after receiving a diagnosis, a role she takes very seriously. “It’s a very vulnerable appointment,” she says, “so my job involves counseling, caring for and supporting all of my patients and their families throughout their journey in oncology.”

When Dastrup knows she’ll be working with a patient who has a particularly challenging diagnosis, she’ll research the disease process and its treatment options, so she’s equipped to provide the best care possible.

“Whenever my team and I see an opportunity where we can do more for our patients, we do it,” she says.