Local resident honored by Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas

On Thursday, Aug. 11, friends of Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas gathered at the Del Mar Country Club for the 11th Annual Circle of Life 100 Distinguished Achievement Award Celebration. This year’s event honored Judi Mezzullo, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Community Advisory board member, co-chair of The OR/354 Campaign part of The Campaign for Encinitas, and Circle of Life 100 Membership Chair.

Circle of Life 100 is a service organization that advocates for health education and philanthropy in support of Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. The fundraising proceeds from this event supported the purchase of the Zeiss Microscope, advanced intraoperative technology that is a critical piece of equipment used in surgery. The Zeiss Microscope is used in neurological surgeries, and provides surgeons with state of the art optics providing crystal clear images, sharp details and natural color rendition for neuro-monitoring. The Zeiss Microscope is not only a time saver but in many cases, a life saver.

In her role as Co-chair of the OR/354 campaign, Mezzullo has helped raise funds to expand the surgical and endoscopy services at Scripps Encinitas. With the opening of the Leichtag Foundation Critical Care Pavilion in 2014, adding 40 new emergency rooms and 36 private patient rooms on the second floor, the hospital has seen an increase in emergency visits by 23 percent, representing over 9,000 additional patients each year. This increase necessitated expansion of the surgical and endoscopy services.

For information regarding how to support Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas or involvement in the Circle of Life 100, please content the Scripps Foundation office at (760) 633-7722.