From cancer prevention to healthy eating, Sharp HealthCare plans to offer dozens of free education classes at libraries and recreation centers throughout the City of San Diego.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer named Sharp the city’s official “Health and Wellness Partner” Tuesday, after reaching an agreement that would have the region’s largest health care system pay $100,000 per year for the privilege.

Sharp plans to offer six health care classes per year in each of San Diego’s nine city council districts plus two classes per week for city employees. Though the public education program was just announced, some classes began in April using the city’s 36 library branches and 57 parks and recreation centers.

Mike Murphy, Sharp’s chief executive, said the opportunity was worth paying for because Sharp has a long-standing commitment to community involvement outside of its hospitals, clinics and other facilities.


“We feel like, when we have opportunities to engage with our community, we have a duty to lead,” Murphy said.

Sharp assessed health care needs in each council district and tailored its offerings to each region rather than offering classes in random locations. So, the selection of available in Ocean Beach will be different from those offered in, say, San Carlos.

The city reached out to eight different health care providers to see if any would be interested in becoming its first health and wellness partner. Natasha Collura, San Diego’s executive director of corporate partnerships and development, said that three different health companies showed interest, but only Sharp responded with a detailed proposal.

“We saw that Sharp really was interested in working with the whole community,” Collura said.


The city, she added, has pursued a handful of partnerships with local companies in recent years. For example, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. supplies city lifeguards with trucks and sport utility vehicles in exchange for Toyota being named the “Official Vehicle of the San Diego Lifeguards.”

“That partnership alone has saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Collura said.

Anyone interested in what the program is offering can check www.sharp.com/citywellness and can email info@sharp.com for more information.

Classes scheduled for the remainder of July include:


July 24, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., 8 Steps to Quitting Tobacco, Carmel Mountain/Sabre Springs Recreation Center;

July 25, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Senior Resources in San Diego, North Park Library;

July 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Medicare 101 (in Spanish), Otay Mesa/Nestor Library.

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paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com

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Twitter: @paulsisson