FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 25, 2006

Media Contact: Ellen Simon

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

Phone: (941) 917-1499

Pager: (941) 252-8101

Sarasota Memorial names new chief financial officer

SARASOTA, Fl. – David C. Verinder has been named the new chief financial officer for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Verinder comes to the hospital from Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic, a 653-bed institution in Temple, Texas, where he has served as chief financial officer since 2003. He has been responsible for the financing and development of several new facilities, including a freestanding long-term acute-care unit and a 200-bed hospital, as well as the day-to-day fiscal management of the organization and oversight of two affiliate hospitals. From 2000 to 2003, Verinder served as chief financial officer at Palms of Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fl.

"We are delighted to have a chief financial officer with David's strong track record in all areas of health care accounting, budgeting and reimbursement," said Sarasota Memorial CEO Gwen MacKenzie. "As the region's only publicly owned and operated hospital, Sarasota Memorial faces unique financial challenges. David's proven expertise in strategic financial management, combined with his hands-on experience in developing new facilities, will help ensure the organization has the financial strength, stability and resources to serve as the community's health care safety net for years to come."

Verinder will assume his new duties at Sarasota Memorial at the end of August. 

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to join such a strong team with a national reputation for high-quality care and commitment to the community," Verinder said. "I'm looking forward to building on the organization's financial strengths and helping to support its mission of providing services that excel in caring, quality and innovation."

A Certified Public Accountant, Verinder earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn University and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Louisiana State University. From 1997 to 2000, he served as chief financial officer at Lane Memorial Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., and also was appointed that facility's interim chief executive officer. Before that, he worked at Faulk & Winkler, providing financial consulting and administration services for health care organizations throughout southern Louisiana.

A native of Louisiana, Verinder is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He also is a member of the National Eagle Scout Association. He and his wife, Monica, have two daughters, Hayden, 9, and Haley, 6.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, an 826-bed regional medical center, is a full-service facility with specialized expertise in heart, vascular, cancer and neuroscience services, and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, outpatient services, home health and long-term care among its many programs. For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report magazine has listed Sarasota Memorial in its prestigious “America’s Best Hospitals” issue, ranking the health system among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in six specialties for 2006: heart and heart surgery, orthopedics, cancer care, digestive disorders, gynecology and respiratory disorders.

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