SARASOTA (Jan. 1, 2024) – It was a record-breaking year for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s labor and delivery teams, helping bring more than 4,800 babies into the world at the two Sarasota County hospital campuses in 2023.
SMH-Sarasota delivered a total of 4,449 babies in 2023, including 77 sets of twins and one set of triplets. SMH-Venice delivered 385 babies in 2023, including five sets of twins. The previous record for deliveries was approximately 4,500 babies born at the two hospital campuses in 2022.
The final four record-breaking babies were born at SMH-Sarasota on December 31st to finish out 2023.
A baby girl was the first baby of 2024 born at the SMH-Sarasota Campus at 1:56 a.m. The patient has requested privacy at this time. Two additional babies have already been born on New Year’s Day, with several more expected at SMH-Sarasota.
The mother-baby nursing team at the Sarasota Campus presented the mother of the first baby with a special New Year’s baby basket filled with gifts for the new baby. The SMH-Venice LDRP nursing staff will present a similar gift basket to the first baby of the year at the Venice Campus, which is anticipated later in the day.
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/urgent care centers and physician practices. Its flagship 897-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.