SARASOTA, Fla. (March 12, 2025) – Sarasota Memorial has won Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award for 2025, a prestigious honor recognizing organizations that have attained world-class performance by putting employees first and setting benchmarks for excellence in the work environment.
Sarasota Memorial is a 4-time winner of Gallup’s award and one of only 62 organizations worldwide to win the “Exceptional Workplace Award” for engagement in 2025. According to Gallup, the award honors the health system’s ongoing commitment to employee engagement — a measure reflecting SMH staff involvement in and enthusiasm for their workplace and culture.
David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial, said providing a workplace where people can thrive fosters professional growth and learning, which leads to safer, high quality care for patients.
“Our staff are our greatest asset, and we prioritize investing in their well-being—because when our team thrives, so do our patients,” Verinder said.
Gallup, an internationally known research and polling organization, reports that highly engaged organizations significantly outperform their peers on important outcomes, including quality, safety incidents, customer ratings, turnover, productivity, absenteeism, well-being and organizational citizenship.
Gallup conducts an employee survey for Sarasota Memorial every three years. SMH also won Gallup workplace honors in 2015, 2018 and 2022. Despite changes and challenges in a rapidly evolving workplace, Gallup found that Sarasota Memorial continued to support and develop its staff in innovative ways, setting new benchmarks for workplace excellence.
“Your commitment to creating an environment where employees feel valued, heard and empowered to do their best work is truly remarkable,” Gallup CEO Jon Clifton said in his congratulations to SMH and winning organizations. “By prioritizing both people and performance, you are shaping the future of work and proving that exceptional workplaces drive real results.”
Sarasota Memorial is the region’s largest employer, with 10,500 employees committed to delivering top-quality care at two hospitals, a network of ambulatory locations and physician offices, a skilled nursing facility and behavioral health hospital. About 96 percent of staff on SMH’s workforce completed the Gallup employee survey in 2024. The survey, which contains key questions to measure staff’s engagement, has been administered to organizations around the world, and is based on decades of research across multiple industries.
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 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and nearly 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, freestanding ERs in North Port and Lakewood Ranch, a behavioral health hospital, skilled nursing facility and comprehensive network of outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Founded in 1925, SMH is celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2025 and encouraging community members to visit smh.com/100 throughout the year for centennial events and updates.