Campus Improvements
Construction crews get an early start on the day as they work on the roof of the new 9-story Courtyard Tower scheduled to open in 2013.
The next time you’re at Sarasota Memorial, stop by the third level Waldemere Garage walkway where you can take a look at the historical timeline that was installed this week. The timeline begins in 1925 with the opening of the original 32-bed hospital and ends with the new Courtyard Tower, currently under construction, scheduled to open in 2013.
“Sara,” Sarasota Memorial’s new virtual greeter, arrived this week. Designed to help visitors navigate the hospital, locate a patient room, learn about hospital events and guest services and look up physician addresses and phone numbers, Sara is very user-friendly and can be found in the main lobby and Emergency Care Center. She offers maps and step-by-step instructions that can be printed or sent to a phone via a text message or email.
Pictured above is a panoramic view of Sarasota Memorial’s new state-of-the-art, nine-story patient care tower scheduled to open in 2013.
Pictured above is the east side of the Courtyard Tower and to the left is the section housing the new “J” elevator bank, which will help connect the nine-story patient care facility to existing hospital buildings. The tower is scheduled to be complete in 2013.
A new member of the Sarasota Memorial family will help guide patients and visitors around the hospital.
“Sara” is the name of our virtual greeter, the digital face and voice on two new information kiosks that will allow visitors to view and print facility directions, physician directories, details about guest services and schedules of SMH events.
The 46-inch touch-screen information kiosks will be located in the main lobby and Emergency Care Center and are part of our overall campus improvements. When visitors stop at the kiosk, Sara will offer a greeting and ask how she can help. Individuals touch the appropriate button in response. If someone is looking for a patient room, the system will offer a map and step-by-step instructions that can be printed or sent to a phone via text message. Sara even can give visitors an estimated walking time to their destination.
Scheduled for installation later in August, “Sara” will not replace Information Desk staff, but rather will enhance our patients’ and visitors’ experience.
Installation of precast panels on the south side of the new Courtyard
Tower is complete. Today, installation began on the north or “front”
side of the 9-story patient tower, as shown in the series of photos
above.
http://video.heraldtribune.com/video/1017900439001
Tuesday Sarasota Memorial unveiled its new Women’s & Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, part of the hospital’s Critical Care expansion and ongoing campus improvements. This short video provides a behind the scenes view of the new area.
Now that Sarasota Memorial’s new nine-story Courtyard Tower is “topped out,” the next phase of the project is to enclose the building frame and make it water tight.
Shown above is the first precast panel being hoisted and erected on the new patient care tower. This is the heaviest panel on the building, weighing more than 38,000 pounds!
