SARASOTA, Fla. — (Sept. 8, 2017) Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Operations and Logistics teams continue to meet regularly to ensure our hospital, physicians and staff have the equipment, supplies and support necessary for uninterrupted operations and patient care before, during and after the storm.
Sarasota Memorial’s main hospital, ER and Trauma Center in Sarasota, and its freestanding ER in North Port are operating 24/7, with teams of physicians, sub-specialists, nurses and support staff providing around-the-clock care for patients throughout the storm.Following are operational changes (as of 2 pm Friday, Sept. 8):
Limited Outpatient Services & Hours
• SMH's
St. Armands Urgent Care Center closed at 2 pm today due to mandatory evacuations of the area and will remain closed Saturday and Sunday. All other
SMH Urgent Care Centers (UCCs) will close at 4 pm Saturday and remain closed on Sunday. SMH will make decisions about re-opening the UCCs on Monday based on the weather forecast.
• Outpatient lab, radiology and rehab services at all SMH outpatient centers will be closed Monday, as will
First Physicians Group offices.
• SMH is postponing all non-urgent, elective surgeries throughout the weekend and on Monday. It is up to the surgeon's discretion to determine which cases are urgent or emergent.
Medical Shelter Information
• Sarasota County has designated SMH as a medical shelter for people with special medical needs (PSNs) who require hospitalization during emergencies. People with special needs must register with Sarasota County by calling (941) 861-5000 to be signed to a medical shelter.
• In addition to caring for its admitted patients, SMH also is preparing for the possibility of becoming a receiving facility for patients evacuated from other hospitals should Irma strike other areas.
Visiting Hours
• Sarasota Memorial is a medical shelter, not a community shelter. Facilities are limited and reserved for patients, assigned PSNs and staff.
• General visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Exceptions can only be made by nursing supervisors or physician orders.
• In order to safely care for our patients and PSNs, SMH may ask visitors of adult patients to leave the hospital, while travel conditions are still safe, in advance of the storm.
Media Updates
Periodic updates will be shared via Sarasota Memorial’s Facebook (@SarasotaMemorialHospital) and Twitter (@SMHCS). SMH will use the hashtag “#SMHmedia” for all SMH news releases and updates related to emergency preparedness and response. SMH also will be using the same hashtags as Sarasota County government (#941irma and #IrmaSRQ) for information related to Hurricane Irma.
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 900,000 patient visits each year. Sarasota Memorial’s flagship 829-bed, acute-care hospital has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s largest and best, with superior patient outcomes and a complete continuum of outpatient services — from urgent care, trauma and emergency services to laboratory and diagnostic imaging, home health, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital in Florida with the highest five-star ranking from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid for quality and safety.