SMH to Break Ground on New Hospital in Venice

Sarasota Memorial will celebrate an important community milestone on April 4 the groundbreaking of its new Venice hospital. SMH staff, volunteers, physicians, community leaders and residents will gather to learn more about the facility, which is situated on a 65-acre campus on the corner of Laurel and Pinebrook Roads, conveniently located off Interstate 75 in Venice. The new 4-story, 350,000-square-foot hospital and medical campus is anticipated to open in the Fall 2021. Speakers include: Sarasota County Public Hospital Board Chair Joe DeVirgilio; Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder; and Venice Hospital President Sharon Roush. 

 Founded in 1925, Sarasota Memorial is Sarasota County’s only public hospital, and the only not-for-profit health system in the region. The Laurel Road hospital will be the most significant addition in the health system’s 94-year history. The campus will bring SMH’s extensive physician base further south, which in turn will help build the medical staff for a future hospital in North Port. The new Venice hospital is designed to be flexible and expandable. Initially, it will open with 110 private rooms (90 acute-care beds and 20 beds for observation patients), a 28-room Emergency Care Center and eight surgical suites. The all-private suites will include a 10-bed Labor & Delivery/Post-Partum unit, where women can deliver and room with their babies throughout their recovery. The hospital will have eight surgical suites, including a dedicated operating room for emergency and scheduled obstetrical procedures. The hospital will offer a comprehensive range of medical and surgical care, including: Cardiology Units/Catheterization Lab; Critical Care/Intensive Care Unit; Emergency Care; Endoscopy & other procedural areas; Gastroenterology; Labor & Delivery/Post-Partum Unit; Laboratory/Diagnostic Testing; Nephrology; Neurology/Neurosurgery; Oncology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology; Imaging/Radiology and Urology. The campus will offer all private rooms, advanced hurricane hardening and a seamless connection to SMH’s electronic medical records and information technology. The campus has the capacity to expand to 270 patient rooms, 16 ORs and a 50-bed Emergency Room to accommodate future growth.