Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is closing 2021 with 3 milestone projects, a $1.2 billion investment in its community.
In the midst of a global pandemic that left workers, materials and other essential resources in short supply, Sarasota Memorial opened Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice, a 65-acre medical campus and new 110-bed hospital in Venice on Nov. 4, the same day it unveiled the heart of its new Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, an 8-story oncology and surgical tower on its Sarasota campus. The health system also spent the past several weeks paving the way for construction to begin on a new, state-of-the-art behavioral health pavilion in the New Year.
Collectively, the three much-needed projects represent a $1.2 billion capital investment and the most significant expansion in the publicly owned, not-for-profit health system's nearly century of service to the community. All three address pressing community needs. Sarasota Memorial's inpatient volumes have increased by more than 30 percent over the last five years.
The hospital's Sarasota campus was regularly at capacity before the onset of COVID-19, and stretched beyond its limits during pandemic-related patient surges. The two recently opened facilities have increased system-wide inpatient capacity from 839 beds to 1,005 beds, allowing the organization to better respond to evolving patient needs and improve access to care.
The behavioral health pavilion will allow Sarasota Memorial to expand essential services at a time when COVID-19 has disrupted lives and led to an increase in people struggling with mental health challenges.
