About Sarasota Memorial

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, an 806-bed regional medical center, is among the largest public health systems in Florida. With about 4,000 staff, 766 physicians and 1,000 volunteers, it is one of Sarasota County's largest employers. A community hospital founded in 1925, Sarasota Memorial is governed by the nine-member elected Sarasota County Public Hospital Board. It is a full-service health system, with specialized expertise in heart, vascular, cancer, and neuroscience services, as well as a network of outpatient centers, long-term care and rehabilitation among its many programs. Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital providing obstetrical services, pediatrics and Level III neonatal intensive care in Sarasota County.

Sarasota Memorial ...

• ... ... is the only hospital in southwest Florida named in the nation’s top 1% of hospitals for consistent clinical excellence, earning a spot on HealthGrades' “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” list. Sarasota Memorial also received the independent health care ratings organization’s highest honor for patient safety – the Patient Safety Excellence Award™. Indeed, of approximately 5,000 hospitals in the nation, Sarasota Memorial is one of only five hospitals to achieve both awards five years in a row. HealthGrades also gave Sarasota Memorial 5-star ratings in 23 specialty areas – Click here for more details

• ... is one of only 15 independent institutions named among Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® based on superior clinical outcomes and overall operational performance. Sarasota Memorial also was among 12 hospitals to receive Thomson’s Everest Award for top current organization-wide performance as well as the fastest long-term performance improvement. The annual study evaluates 10 measures of hospital performance, including: mortality; medical complications; patient safety; average patient stay; expenses; profitability; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; post-discharge mortality; and readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. The winners were announced in the April 16, 2012 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.

• …has been recognized for demonstrating some of the best mortality/quality of care statistics in the nation. Newly released data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reveals mortality and re-admission rates for more than 4,600 hospitals nationwide. Statistics track patients who were admitted for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia. Sarasota Memorial was the only Tampa Bay-area hospital to perform well above the national average in three of six categories. Sarasota Memorial had the lowest (best) heart failure readmission rate of any Florida hospital and ranked among the top 15 hospitals nationally. The hospital also ranked in the top 15 hospitals in the nation for its low mortality rate for heart attack patients. Sarasota Memorial ranked in the top 10 hospitals in Florida for its low (better than average) mortality rates for pneumonia patients.

• … earned Magnet Nursing Services Recognition, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in nursing. Given by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, the premier authority on nursing, Magnet recognition means that Sarasota Memorial provides a supportive environment that attracts and retains the best and brightest caregivers. To be recognized as a Magnet hospital, applicants must meet criteria indicating superiority in all aspects of nursing services. Sarasota Memorial was re-designated in 2008 after a rigorous application process that included detailed documentation and an on-site visit by Magnet surveyors, who looked at all facets of care, including patient outcomes, nurses’ participation in decision-making, education/career development and management philosophy and practices. Independently sponsored research projects suggest that Magnet facilities have positive outcomes for patients, nurses and workplaces. The hospital is currently the only provider in the region with the designation.

• Achieved Recognition as a Center of Distinction from:
-- Blue Cross Blue Shield Distinction Center for Cardiac Care
-- Aetna for Institutes of Quality for Bariatric Surgery Facility Spine/Orthopedic, Total Joint Replacement, Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiac Intervention, Cardiac Rhythm, Infant Safety
-- Cigna recognition for Heart Attack, Cardiac Pacemaker Implant, Craniotomy, Stroke, Transurethral Prostatectomy, Spinal Fusion, Vaginal Delivery, Pneumonia
-- United Premium Specialty Centers: Cardiac Care, Cardiac Surgery, Heart Rhythm Disorders, Spine Surgery, Total Joint Replacement

• … earned special Joint Commission certification for its congestive heart failure program and advanced re-certification for stroke care.

• … was named a Consumer Choice Award winner for the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice metropolitan area by the National Research Corporation (NRC) for the 14th consecutive year for 2011 - 2012. The award identifies hospitals that health care consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image ratings in more than 300 markets throughout the nation.

• … is state-certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. The designation demonstrates that our stroke care program follows standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients. The hospital also has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and advanced certification from the Joint Commission.

• … instituted a number of hospital-wide improvements so emergency patients see a physician or physician assistant within 30 minutes after registering.

• … received full three-year accreditation for its Cancer Care Services from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. Only one in four hospitals that treat cancer receive this special approval.

• … is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehab Facilities (CARF) for its Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Specialty Stroke programs. CARF accreditation is voluntary and is awarded only to those rehabilitation programs able to meet the commission’s standards of excellence of patient care. Organizations must be re-accredited every three years.

• … has a Mobile Intensive Care Unit, a specially equipped ambulance designed to respond on-demand to critically ill adult patients who live in outlying communities.

• … ensures residents receive consistent, top-notch primary care with its physician partnership, First Physicians Group of Sarasota. First Physicians Group was named by the national Medical Group Management Association a “better performer” because of its superior operational performance compared with similar medical group practices around the country.

• … has a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with neonatologists, perinatologists, a maternal-fetal transport team and highly skilled clinicians. The hospital’s perinatal center offers mothers and newborns the most advanced clinical care in a four-county area and specializes in helping women with high risk pregnancies maintain the safest possible condition to deliver a healthy baby. Its Maternal/Neonatal Transport vehicle safely carries at-risk expectant mothers to the hospital. It is fully equipped and staffed to handle any emergency, stabilizing the mother and baby.

• … is grateful for the generosity of the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation Inc., which has provided tens of millions of dollars in grants since 1976. The true magnitude of these donations are put into perspective when one considers that for every $30 million of charges for procedures and services, Sarasota Memorial generates about $1 million in cash flow.

• … depends on its hundreds of volunteers, who donated more than a hundred thousand hours of devoted service to the organization. The hospital’s Auxiliary has selflessly contributed millions of dollars through the years to hospital programs.

• … has been designated by the state of Florida as a site for a Memory Disorder Clinic sponsored by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Under the direction of Dr. Bruce Robinson, Sarasota Memorial’s chief of Geriatrics, a multi-disciplinary team provides evaluations to those with memory loss.

• … has a Corporate Volunteer program made up of staff members who donate more than a thousand hours annually to the community as well as hundreds of items to Mothers Helping Mothers.

• …has a Diabetes Treatment Services that has received continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association for offering high-quality education services to patients. The program earned ADA’s Education Recognition Certificate for demonstrating compliance with national standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs.

For more information on Sarasota Memorial’s commitment and service to the community, please click here to read our Community Impact Report.