SARASOTA, Fla. (April 3, 2024) – Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice is on track to nearly double its inpatient capacity from 110 beds to 212 this year, with 68 new private patient suites opening today, and an additional 34 private suites scheduled to open this fall.
The two upper floors of the Venice hospital's new five-story Northeast Tower began filling with patients today, with each new floor adding 34 patient suites. The fourth floor will serve as a larger, dedicated unit for cardiac patients, while the fifth floor will be dedicated for the growing volume of orthopedic patients.
The expansion is in response to the high demand for medical services in the community. Since opening in November 2021, SMH-Venice has operated at or near full capacity, and often beyond, as a critical health care safety net for people following the closure of ShorePoint Health Venice Hospital and Hurricane Ian in 2022.
"I am so proud of the Venice team for the outstanding care they have provided to our patients, despite a volley of challenges our community and hospital faced since we opened," said Sharon Roush, President of the SMH-Venice Campus. "The new tower will ease our capacity constraints, decrease the need to transfer and admit patients to our larger hospital campus in Sarasota, and allow the Venice team to provide top tier care to even more members of our community."
This fall, an additional 34 private suites will be opening on the second level of the new Northeast Tower to expand care for general medical/surgical patients. The ground level includes space for additional patient care and support services in the future, while the third level is interstitial space for mechanical systems.
Construction is also well under way on a 30,000-square-foot expansion of SMH-Venice's Emergency Care Center (ECC). When complete this fall, the ECC will more than double in size, from 28 rooms to 61, and include enhancements to registration and support areas and increased imaging capabilities. The hospital also increased the number of surgical suites from six to eight in January and created space for future expansion of eight additional operating rooms.
Sarasota County Public Hospital Board Member Sharon Wetzler DePeters, APRN, who lives near the SMH-Venice campus, says her neighbors have been anxiously waiting for this expansion. "When we opened SMH-Venice, it was an important step in bringing SMH's 5-star, nationally recognized hospital care to the growing south county region. The fact that we are expanding so quickly is a testament to the excellent care our community can expect to receive from SMH. This has been a priority of the Hospital Board for many years, and I am excited to see the growth of the Venice campus, as well as new campuses now in the master planning phase in North Port and the Wellen Park community."
To prepare for the expansion, SMH-Venice has been actively recruiting new staff. More than 200 new team members have been hired in recent months, with more staff set to come on board in the weeks and months ahead.
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional referral center offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with more than 1.5 million patient visits each year across its 2 hospital campuses, freestanding ER, and network of outpatient care centers. Its flagship 897-bed Sarasota hospital has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s best, with superior patient outcomes and comprehensive network of outpatient centers. The public health system opened its second acute-care hospital, SMH-Venice, in November 2021 to serve the growing south Sarasota County region. For information, visit smh.com.