SARASOTA - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently appointed two Sarasota Memorial leaders to advisory councils that impact critical services provided throughout the state.
Sarasota County Public Hospital Board member Britt Riner was appointed to the Florida Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers, a council that assists the Florida Department of Health in implementing a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary interagency programs providing early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
Since 2019, Riner has served on the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, which governs Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. Riner represents At-Large Seat 3 on the Hospital Board, which includes nine citizens elected by local voters. Born and raised in Sarasota, she gave birth to all four of her children at SMH.
A business and civic leader, Riner currently serves as the president of Liber Consulting. She also has served as former chair of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and as president of the Junior League of Sarasota.
Riner earned her bachelor’s degree at Duke University and her master’s degree from Stanford University.
The governor also appointed Sarasota Memorial Trauma Program Manager Jennifer Sweeney, DNP, RN, CEN, TCRN, to the Florida Trauma System Advisory Council,.jpg?ver=epdtd0goD8OQ6GUWXOeYMQ%3d%3d "Jennifer Sweeney")
which creates recommendations on issues impacting emergency and trauma care, including standards governing trauma center operations, equitable access to trauma care for all Florida citizens and the continued development of the statewide trauma system.
Sweeney is the current secretary of the Association of Florida Trauma Coordinators and previously served as president of the Emergency Nurses Association, Manasota Chapter. She joined Sarasota Memorial in 2011, and played a leading role in establishing and opening the hospital's Trauma Center — the first and only Trauma Program in Sarasota County — in 2015.
The SMH Trauma Program recently earned re-designation as a Level 2 Trauma Center after meeting or exceeding all Florida Department of Health Standards, with zero deficiencies identified by a team of American College of Surgeons trauma experts who performed an in-depth, on-site assessment last year.
Sweeney earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Nevada, her master’s degree in nursing education from South University and her doctorate in nursing from Walden University.
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 two hospital campuses, a freestanding ER, behavioral health hospital, skilled nursing and rehabilitation center and network of outpatient/urgent care centers and physician practices. For information, visit smh.com.