Grossmont Healthcare District considering East County Economic Development Corporation director for CEO spot

Grossmont Healthcare District directors will consider hiring a new chief executive officer on Tuesday, potentially choosing an individual with significant experience in East County.

According to the agenda for the organization’s regular meeting, the board is considering James Sly, the current chief executive officer of the East County Economic Development Corporation, to serve as its next leader. Sly, according to his LinkedIn page, served as the corporation’s vice president from 2012 to 2020 when he was named president and CEO.

The Grossmont board declined to renew the contract of Christian Wallis, its previous chief executive, in March without providing a public reason for the dismissal.

Grossmont, with its headquarters in La Mesa, has worked closely with the East County EDC in recent years, creating a workforce pipeline project focused on training workers for in-demand jobs such as patient care aide, medical assistant, and licensed vocational or registered nurse.

Unlike its sister public health care districts Palomar Health in Escondido and Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, the Grossmont board partners with a private nonprofit, Sharp HealthCare, to run its hospital, Sharp Grossmont Hospital. The Grossmont board focuses on grantmaking, allocating funds from property tax levies for a range of programs. The district board is set to adopt its 2025-26 grant award list at its regular meeting Tuesday. A total of 45 local organizations are recommended to receive grants this year, with the board also considering sponsoring 10 events.

If the board hires Sly as its next CEO, his contract specifies an annual salary of $280,000 with an annual “professional development” stipend of $10,000.