Couple Donate $5 Million for New Hospital on UCSD Campus

The largest individual gift in UC San Diego history, $5 million, has been made by San Diego couple John and Sally Thornton toward the university’s new general acute-care hospital on the La Jolla campus.

The $65-million facility, on which ground breaking is scheduled early next year and completion in 1992, will be named the John M. and Sally B. Thornton Hospital in recognition of the donation.

The gift will spearhead a fund-raising effort in the San Diego area to raise part of the cost. UCSD will also borrow money to build the 120-bed hospital, which will be part of a new medical complex on the campus east of Interstate 5 that will include an ambulatory care center, a psychiatric hospital and an eye research clinic.

John Thornton raises money for high-technology enterprises. He previously served as chairman of the board of Wavetek Corp., an electronics manufacturer, and still is on its board of directors. He is chairman of several high-tech companies, including Software Products International, Hanzon Data and Mitek Systems.

Sally Thornton has published articles on history in local publications and is chairman of the UCSD Medical Center planning board.

The hospital will be operated in conjunction with the existing UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest. The 120 beds will be transferred from the Hillcrest hospital to alleviate space problems and permit improvements there. Specialized programs will be located only at one or the other hospital, avoiding expensive duplication. The trauma unit, burn center and neonatal intensive care unit will remain at Hillcrest.

Along with the new hospital, the east campus complex will include an ambulatory care center named for donors William and Edith Perlman. There will also be the Shiley Eye Center, named after Donald and Darlene Shiley, and the UCSD/Charter Neuropsychiatric Hospital, an $11-million facility being built by the Charter Corp. as a joint venture. All will be under the supervision of the UCSD Medical School.