SARASOTA, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2023) – Sarasota Memorial’s vision to transform cancer care is quickly becoming a reality with new facilities, new services and a growing multi-disciplinary team of oncology specialists.
Today, the health system broke ground on a new Cancer Pavilion, the third premier facility that makes up in the expanding Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute. The 7-story, 200,000-square-foot outpatient facility is being built across the street from the inpatient Oncology Tower that opened on the SMH-Sarasota campus on the same day in 2021.
“Thousands of local cancer patients are now receiving the highest level of care, close to home,” said Sarasota Memorial Health Care System President & CEO David Verinder, who recognized members of the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, the Jellison Cancer Institute team, Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation and community members supporting the expansion. “We are truly offering new hope and healing to our community, and it just wouldn’t be possible without the vision and commitment of our remarkable partners.”
SMH opened its first Cancer Institute facility, the state-of-the-art Radiation Oncology Center on University Parkway, in 2020, and since then, has treated nearly 1,800 patients and provided over 30,000 advanced treatments there. In 2021 – on this very day – the Cancer Institute’s Oncology Tower opened on the SMH-Sarasota campus. Since then, the team has provided personalized care to more than 5,000 patients and performed more than 9,300 surgeries there.
When it opens in late 2025, the new Cancer Pavilion will provide a full array of outpatient oncology services, supporting an entire continuum of cancer care — from prevention, screening and diagnosis to treatment, clinical trials, survivorship care and lifetime support – under one roof.
Among other services, the Cancer Pavilion will house:
- A new and expanded breast health center with the latest mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic and nuclear medicine technology
- Outpatient surgery suites
- Advanced HDR brachytherapy
- Radiation Oncology
- Infusion Center
- Diagnostic imaging suite, with latest CT and MRI technology
- Medical, surgical and radiation oncology physician practices
- Integrative care clinics
- Patient navigation and support
The Jellison Cancer Institute was recognized nationally in the Becker’s Hospital Review “100 Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs” in 2023. The annual list recognizes hospitals and health systems that offer leading-edge clinical trials and pioneer research discoveries that expand access to care and enhance patient outcomes.
SMH Breaks Ground on Cancer Pavilion from SMHCS on Vimeo.
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 million patient visits each year across its 2 hospital campuses, a freestanding ER, skilled nursing and rehabilitation center and network of outpatient and urgent care centers. Its flagship 901-bed Sarasota hospital has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s best, with superior patient outcomes and comprehensive network of outpatient services. In November 2021, the public health system opened a second acute-care hospital, SMH-Venice, to serve the growing south Sarasota County region and the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute to expand cancer care in the community. For more information, visit smh.com.