To have reputable hospitals in your community is akin to being able to sleep at night. It might not be something you focus on or take the time to appreciate until you need it. In the middle of your health crisis or that of a loved one, you realize how appreciative you are of high-quality doctors and nursing staff, state-of-the-art hospital equipment, cleanliness of the facility and having competent, nice people care for you. Other considerations like dealing with billing and insurance departments, onsite pharmacies, post-operative options, and outpatient facilities come into play as well. So important to everyone, but never really valued until you need them.
We are so fortunate to have the Sarasota Medical Healthcare System in our area. Not only is it recognized as one of the best hospitals in the country, SMH is also Sarasota County’s largest employer. A drive down I-75 through Sarasota County will show you the growth of this tremendous healthcare system. SMH Venice, located at Laurel Road and I-75 opened in 2021. Since then, the hospital has rapidly grown with additional outpatient services and parking and ongoing construction at that campus. Traveling south, North Port will be getting a new SMH campus at I-75 and Sumter Road. Groundbreaking has happened and construction has begun. Expected completion of this 100-bed hospital is anticipated to be in 2028, with infrastructure to support 400 beds in the future. Also planned is a SMH campus at Wellen Park with plans currently in progress.
Recently, Sarasota Memorial Hospital was recognized by Forbes Magazine for being a top hospital. From the press release: Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH) was recognized in Forbes’ first-ever list of the top hospitals in the United States. The media company’s inaugural “Top Hospitals 2026” list released this month identifies high-quality general acute care facilities nationwide, demonstrating superior clinical outcomes, best practices, value and patient experience.
To develop the list, Forbes partnered with Inovalon, a healthcare data and analytics firm, as well as nationally recognized measurement experts, physicians, statisticians, health policy researchers and patient advocates. Their methodology placed the most weight on clinical outcomes and quality measurements obtained from federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provider data, including mortality and readmission rates…