Sanitas Medical Center

The Project

When Sanitas Medical Center prepared to open its Union City, New Jersey location, the Florida-based healthcare company needed an event partner who could bring its grand opening to life.

The celebration was an opportunity to introduce Sanitas to a new community, giving guests a welcoming first impression of the medical center while reflecting the company’s brand and commitment to wellness. With just two weeks to bring everything together during the busy holiday season, E218 was brought in to make it happen.

The Challenge

The timing made the assignment especially significant for us. E218 was just two weeks into its own business journey when our founder, Rhonda James, received the initial call, and what began as a relatively modest event request quickly grew into something much more ambitious.

The marketing representative had initially discussed a budget of $1,500. But after meeting directly with the client and understanding what they wanted to accomplish, we developed a more comprehensive production plan, bringing the budget to more than $15,000.  The scope had expanded considerably, yet the deadline hadn’t moved.

With Christmas approaching, we had to secure vendors, source specialty items, and coordinate multiple production elements in a matter of days. It was the kind of assignment that called for quick decisions, trusted relationships, and a team comfortable working under pressure.

The E218 Approach

We wanted the grand opening to feel like a genuine welcome to the community, with an experience that reflected Sanitas’s identity from the moment guests arrived

A custom blue carpet set the tone, bringing the company’s signature color into the arrival experience. Inside, live jazz created a relaxed atmosphere, while a Tai Chi demonstration introduced an element of wellness that connected naturally to the medical center’s mission.

We complemented the programming with full-service catering, specialty desserts from a local bakery, and blue sparkling wine selected to coordinate with the brand. Even the smaller details received attention, including custom-branded mugs individually packaged with tissue paper in the company’s colors.

Bringing those elements together required careful coordination behind the scenes. Our team managed photography, valet parking, florals, décor, audio-visual production, lighting, furniture rentals, and the ceremonial ribbon-cutting arrangements, ensuring that the different components worked together as one experience. 

Then, on the morning of the event, we encountered an unexpected complication.  When we arrived, portions of the medical center were still under construction. With guests expected shortly, we had to adjust the setup while keeping the unfinished areas from interfering with the celebration.  We worked with our vendor partners to prepare the space, arrange furniture, and position retractable signage to conceal unfinished doorways. Guest traffic was redirected away from incomplete areas, and holiday decorations helped make the surroundings feel warm and welcoming.

The circumstances had changed, but our responsibility to the client remained the same. We adapted the production to the space we had and kept the guest experience at the center of every decision.

The Experience & Outcome

Despite the compressed timeline, expanded scope, and unfinished venue conditions, we delivered a fully produced grand opening that brought together the Sanitas brand, hospitality, wellness programming, and live entertainment

We later learned that two other event producers had reportedly declined the assignment because of its demands, adding perspective to what our team had accomplished so early in E218’s history.

The relationship also continued beyond that first event. Nine months later, E218 was invited back to produce the grand opening of Sanitas' affiliate, Horizon Connect, this time with additional responsibilities for public relations and marketing.  What began as one of our earliest assignments developed into another opportunity to support the client’s growth.