SARASOTA, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2024) – Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice (SMH-Venice) opened its much anticipated ER expansion on Monday, a transformative step to meet the growing healthcare needs of South County residents.
The $90 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion significantly increases the hospital's emergency care capacity. The newly expanded Emergency Care Center (ECC) now has 61 exam rooms, up from the original 28. The expansion includes two additional resuscitation suites, upgraded imaging facilities, and a third, centrally located CT scanner, all designed to address the rising demand for emergency services.
Earlier this year, SMH-Venice also opened a new, 5-story patient care tower. The addition of the third patient care tower doubled SMH-Venice’s inpatient bed capacity from 110 patient rooms to 212. Along with the ER expansion, the upgrades and enhancements will help streamline emergency response times at SMH's Venice hospital and provide a more efficient and comfortable experience for patients during emergency situations.
On Monday, SMH-Venice Campus President Sharon Roush and hospital staff held a ribbon-cutting celebrating the ER expansion.
“This milestone represents our commitment to the community and our mission to provide world-class healthcare close to home,” she said. “With these new resources, we are better equipped than ever to meet the needs of our growing population.”
SMH-Venice reached full capacity just days after its original opening in November 2021, prompting the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board to prioritize these critical expansion projects. The abrupt closure of ShorePoint Health Venice in 2022 further underscored the urgency to increase capacity and capabilities at SMH-Venice. ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda has been closed since Hurricane Milton struck the area in October.
Ribbon-cutting, front line L-R: SMH-Venice ER Clinical Manager Steve Davidson, Asst. Clinical Manager Sandy Owenby, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wesner, Chief Financial Officer Jan Viera, Chief Nursing Officer Julie Polaszek, City of Venice Mayor Nick Pachota, SMH-Venice President Sharon Roush; Respiratory Care Manager Mary Anne DeHaven; ER/ICU Director Cynthia Carr; and Patient Registration Manager Tabatha Terhune
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional health system offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with more than 10,000 employees and 1.5 million patient visits each year across its two hospital campuses, freestanding ER, skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, cancer institute, behavioral health pavilion and regional network of outpatient/urgent care centers and physician practices. For more information, visit smh.com.