VENICE, Fla. (Sept. 24, 2026) – Just months after opening the new Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion on its flagship Sarasota campus, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is moving forward with plans for a new outpatient cancer center in Venice, expanding access to advanced cancer care for patients throughout south Sarasota County and surrounding communities.
The Venice center represents the next phase in the continued expansion of Sarasota Memorial’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, which SMH launched in 2020 to give cancer patients, caregivers and medical providers greater access to the latest treatments, technologies, clinical trials and supportive services close to home.
The cancer center will be located in a new outpatient medical facility that will be constructed on Curry Lane, adjacent to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice campus. The 5-acre site was acquired by Flagship in January 2025, and Sarasota Memorial is leasing and completing the build-out of the facility to expand a range of outpatient services in Venice, including cancer care and endoscopy services.
Together with SMH’s existing cancer services, the new cancer center is part of a long-term strategy to provide comprehensive, coordinated cancer care close to home.
"Cancer treatment can require frequent appointments with multiple specialists and care teams, sometimes over many months," said Kelli Dancer, vice president of the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute. "Expanding these services in Venice will make it easier for patients in south Sarasota County and surrounding communities to access comprehensive, coordinated cancer care closer to where they live. It's another important step in our commitment to bring the highest level of cancer care to patients throughout our region."
Since opening in 2020, the Jellison Cancer Institute has grown into one of Florida’s highest-volume cancer programs, providing thousands of local patients access to multidisciplinary cancer specialists, advanced treatments and technology, clinical research and comprehensive support services.
Patient volumes also underscore the need for specialized cancer services in the region. Before SMH established the Jellison Cancer Institute, approximately half of local cancer patients left the community to seek advanced cancer care elsewhere. That figure has since fallen to approximately 30%, and SMH continues to expand services with the goal of allowing even more patients to receive advanced care close to home.
"Every patient who can receive high-quality cancer care here rather than traveling hours away is able to spend more time focused on healing and less time traveling for appointments and treatments," Dancer said. "The Venice center is an important step in our commitment to build a comprehensive cancer program that meets the needs of our growing region."
As proposed, a radiation oncology center and medical, surgical and radiation oncology physician clinics will be built on the first floor. Patients also will have convenient access to infusion services, diagnostic imaging, and integrative and supportive care in one location. The third floor will house the endoscopy center and SMH First Physicians Group’s team of gastroenterologists. The second floor will be shelled for future growth.
Preliminary site work has already begun. Pending permitting and construction plan approvals, Flagship will begin work on the building shell, with SMH's design/build team completing build-out of the specialized centers in 2028.
About the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute at Sarasota Memorial
The Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute at Sarasota Memorial is a center of excellence that provides advanced cancer care across the entire continuum— from prevention, screening and diagnosis to advanced treatments, clinical trials and survivorship support. The Cancer Institute's world-class facilities include an 8-story oncology inpatient and surgical tower and 7-story outpatient Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion on the Sarasota campus, an outpatient Radiation Oncology Center on SMH’s University Parkway campus and an outpatient cancer center under construction next to SMH-Venice’s hospital campus. Learn more at smh.com/cancer.
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional medical center offering Southwest Florida's greatest breadth and depth of care, with about 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers, 11,000 employees and 2 million patient visits a year across its network of care. Sarasota County's largest employer, the community-owned health system includes two full-service hospitals in Sarasota and Venice (and third under construction in North Port), freestanding ERs in North Port and Lakewood Ranch, a rehabilitation hospital, skilled nursing facility and comprehensive network of outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and First Physician Group primary and specialty care practices. Founded in 1925, SMH's flagship Sarasota campus also is home to the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion and Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute. Both Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Sarasota and Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice have earned the highest 5-Star quality ratings from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The SMH-Sarasota is the only Florida hospital - and one of just 11 in the nation -- to earn a perfect 5-Star rating from CMS every year since the federal rating program began in 2016.