About Sarasota Memorial
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, an 806-bed regional medical center, is the among the largest acute care public health systems in Florida. With more than 4,000 staff and 1,000 volunteers, it is one of Sarasota County's largest employers. A community hospital founded in 1925, Sarasota Memorial is governed by the nine-member elected Sarasota County Public Hospital Board. It is a full-service health system, with specialized expertise in heart, vascular, cancer, and neuroscience services, as well as a network of outpatient centers, long-term care and rehabilitation among its many programs. Sarasota Memorial is the only provider of obstetrical services and Level III neonatal intensive care in Sarasota County.
Among its many achievements, Sarasota Memorial...
• … outperforms most U.S. hospitals in caring for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients. In 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a study of mortality and readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients at more than 4,000 hospitals across the nation. Sarasota Memorial had the lowest (best) heart attack and pneumonia readmission rates of any Florida hospital included in the report, and on a national level, ranked number two out of 4,400 hospitals for the lowest heart attack readmission rates, fifth in the U.S. for pneumonia readmissions, and 31st for heart failure readmissions.
 • … has been listed for six straight years in U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals.” It remains the only hospital in Southwest Florida consistently named among the nation’s top
hospitals. Authoritative and influential, U.S.News annual “Best Hospitals” study reviews quality indicators, including death and complication rates, at nearly 5,000 hospitals each year, then ranks the 50 best in 16 specialties. Only 174 – less than 5 percent – made the grade in 2009. Sarasota Memorial ranked #37 in geriatric care – a highly specialized, multi-disciplinary field of medicine dedicated to
treating complex conditions of aging and preserving the quality of life of the nation’s elderly population.
 • …was recognized by Forbes.com among the top 5 percent of hospitals in America, recognizing Sarasota Memorial three years in a row for its low mortality and complication rates.
 • … is the only hospital in the region to earn Magnet Nursing Services Recognition, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in nursing. The American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, the premier authority on nursing, awarded Magnet recognition to Sarasota Memorial for having the resources to attract and retain the nation’s best nurses and provide the highest quality care to patients.
• … was the highest-rated hospital in the Tampa Bay area, according to a 2009Consumers’ Checkbook survey reported in AARP The Magazine. Just 125 hospitals across the nation made the quality list. Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit research organization, surveyed doctors and rated nearly all acute-care hospitals in the United States based on death rates, complication rates, patient recommendations and other measures.
• … was named a Consumer Choice Award winner for the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice metropolitan area by the National Research Corporation for the 12th consecutive year. The 2009-2010 award identifies hospitals that health care consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and reputation in 300
markets throughout the nation.
 • … is the only hospital in Southwest Florida with a nationally recognized, state-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. The designation is awarded sparingly to hospitals with advanced technology, treatments and specialists that offer patients the best protection from death and disability when standard stroke
treatments are not enough.
… was named a winner in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s 2009 Reader’s Choice survey for providing the best home health care in our community. Our Home Care was also named among the nation’s 2009 HomeCare Elite, a designation recognizing the top 25 percent of home care agencies nationwide.
• … was listed among Nursing Professionals magazine’s “Top 100 Hospitals to Work For” i n 2009.
• … was selected by nurses across Florida as one of the top hospitals in the state, earning the hospital a spot on ADVANCE for Nurses magazine’s Reader’s Choice Honor Roll two years in a row (2008 & 2009).
 • … ensures local residents have access to top-notch primary and specialty care with its physician partnership, First Physicians Group of Sarasota.
• ... is embarking upon a $250 million campus improvement project – the biggest construction project at the public hospital in a half-century. The project includes the new Courtyard Tower (featured on the cover), a nine-floor bed tower featuring spacious private rooms, new labor and delivery suites, a state-of-the-art
intensive care nursery, new orthopedic, medical and surgical units and an expanded surgery center.
 • … offers the region’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, providing mothers and at-risk newborns the most advanced care in the four-county area.
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is grateful for the generosity of Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation Inc., which has provided tens of millions of dollars in grants since 1976.
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