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A CENTURY OF CARING

THE HISTORY OF SARASOTA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

1925-2025

DEDICATED TO THE CITIZENS OF SARASOTA COUNTY

As our centennial year unfolds in 2025, we proudly pay tribute to the dedication and diligence of Sarasota’s early founders. It was their pioneering spirit and strong convictions that created Sarasota County’s first modern hospital, and an unwavering commitment to community that continues to inspire and shape Sarasota Memorial Health Care System today.

PUBLISHED BY

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

1700 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34239

www.smh.com

PUBLICATION TEAM

Historian/Author: Jeff LaHurd

Project Director/Editor: Kim Savage

Editorial Support: Ellen Simon, Phil Lederer, Mackenzie Jones

Special thanks to Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation and Williams Parker Attorneys at Law, whose generous donations helped cover the costs of production.

PRINTED BY

Palm Printing, in Sarasota, Florida, December 2024

ISBN: 979-8-9918250-0-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. Grateful acknowledgment is made to those who have granted permission for the use of their materials in this edition. If there are instances where proper credit was not given, we will gladly make any corrections in subsequent printed or online editions. Visit smh.com/about for more information.

SINCERE THANKS

Sarasota Memorial celebrates our 100th anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, with sincere thanks to our Hospital Board, physicians, staff, and volunteers, past and present. A Century of Caring is a remarkable compilation of newspaper and hospital archives and personal interviews documenting the creation of Sarasota County’s first modern hospital and evolution to the nationally ranked public health system that continues to proudly serve the community today.

Many dedicated individuals assisted in the research, preparation, and publication of our centennial story. First and foremost, we would like to thank local historian and author Jeff LaHurd, whose personal interviews, historical collections, and storytelling added color and context and brought our hospital history to life.

We also would like to recognize the time and talents of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s marketing and communications teams, who developed the framework and provided research and editorial support for this special book and a host of centennial events that will unfold throughout the year.

Everyone involved—employees, retirees, current and former board members and hospital leaders, donors, longtime residents and community advocates— have a special connection to SMH, and it is our pleasure and privilege to share their collective memories and perspectives in SMH’s storied history.

Because our story is your story.

The SMH Centennial Committee

FOREWARD

In a time before penicillin, when people still relied on “cure-all” potions for common ailments, the only facility for emergency care on the Suncoast was a five-room, converted bungalow and a tent for the tubercular. But in this despairing state of affairs, Sarasota civic leaders found purpose. Rallying residents and businesses alike—through sheer grit and a whole lot of fundraising—they promised to build the community’s first modern hospital.

On November 2, 1925, the original 32-bed Sarasota Hospital opened its doors to patients with a dozen physicians and a staff of 10 nurses and caregivers to provide around-the-clock care. At the dedication ceremony, the local newspaper called the $40,000 facility a “model of medical institutions.”

From those humble beginnings, Sarasota’s flagship hospital has evolved into one of the nation’s best health systems, and one of the most respected. A pioneer of new treatments and technologies, a life-saving trauma center, and an award-winning teaching hospital, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is one of the largest and most recognized public health systems in the U.S., with clinical outcomes and a reputation for quality care that remain unmatched in our region. It is also the Suncoast’s largest employer, with more than 10,000 employees and 2,500 physicians and advanced care providers on our medical staff, overseeing nearly 2 million patient visits each year.

President & CEO David Verinder

Though much has changed in the past 100 years, one thing remains constant—our deep commitment to the health of this community. SMH has stayed true to its public mission—providing the highest quality care to our patients, while delivering essential, safety-net services other hospitals do not, including vital maternity care, neonatal intensive care for critically ill newborns, pediatric care, and behavioral health services for people of all ages.

All of this has been made possible by you, the people of Sarasota County, and the outstanding doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers, donors, and publicly elected Hospital Board, whose strong convictions continue to guide our care. It is with that same resolution and resolve that we step bravely into the future, knowing the best is yet to come.

We hope you enjoy reading about our 100-year history and look forward to serving you in our next century of care.

David Verinder President & CEO, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

INTRODUCTION

OPPORTUNITY & OPTIMISM

Early on in Sarasota’s history, the small community advertised the healthful benefits offered by the temperate climate, the refreshing salty air of the Gulf of Mexico, and the relaxed lifestyle away from the vagaries of snow, slush, and sleet of the North.

In contrast to the dreary ambiance of Northern winters with gray skies and leafless trees, spirits here were lifted by the bright tropical scenery that remained lush and colorful throughout the year.

As an ongoing advertising campaign put it—Spend Your Summer This Winter in Sarasota.

The Sarasota Times enthused, “Newcomers find prolonged health here. It invigorates the strong and strengthens the weak.” Underscoring this sentiment, Sarasota pioneer Dr. Charles McFerrin remarked, “There are families in this section who have never had a doctor in their house for professional services except childbirth.”

Later the paper reported, “Sarasota is coming to be known as one of the most wonderful health resorts in all America.” The newspaper beseeched its readers to invite any of their family or friends to come down if they were experiencing heart trouble, bronchial ailments, or asthma. “Our air and sunshine will do the rest, aided by plenteous supplies of distilled water.”

As in any rural town or village, with few if any doctors or hospitals, pioneer settlers mostly took care of their own maladies with curative methods passed down by previous generations.

Sarasota as a rural village.

Elixirs of every persuasion could be bought at Badger's Drug Store.

The infirm also sought relief from “cure-all” elixirs and patent medicines of dubious virtue. For instance, Leonardi’s Blood Elixir (“The Greatest Blood Medicine of the 20th Century”) promised to cure rheumatism, catarrh, blood poison, scrofulous afflictions, ulcers, nervous debility, and, of course, the “run-down condition.”

Before the automobile was invented and proper streets were constructed, reaching one of the few area physicians in an emergency could be a long, time-consuming trek through rough paths and primitive roads by horse, or horse and buggy.

The first automobile in Sarasota belonged to Dr. Cullen Bryant Wilson, who could finally make speedier house calls.

As the 20th century inched forward, grandma’s home remedies, our health-giving climate, and the magical elixir that promised a cure for all ailments fell out of favor.

Pioneer residents and newcomers from the North sought state-of-theart, science-based medicines and trained physicians to care for them. Hospitals became a necessity for a town to be successful.

Dr. Wilson, who owned the first automobile in Sarasota, in his Reo in front of his home/office, circa 1908.

One of Sarasota’s earliest physicians, Dr. Jack Halton (known locally as Dr. Jack), moved to Sarasota from England in 1905 and opened the Halton Sanitarium on Gulf Stream Avenue in 1908. Noted more for offering rest and relaxation in a beautiful setting across the street from Sarasota Bay than for medical procedures, one guest described her stay, “After a few days in the genial surroundings… we yielded to the charm of the tranquil and healthful atmosphere.”

When Bertha Palmer arrived in the winter of 1910, the sanitarium was outfitted as a hotel to accommodate her. Three months later, Sarasota’s first major developer, Owen Burns, stayed there as well and purchased it, refurbishing it as his home. (It was demolished as the Admiral Motel in 1964.)

During a Yellow Fever outbreak, so lacking were medical facilities that Sarasota could offer only a tent with one bed. Fortunately, the quarters were not needed.

According to a remembrance penned by Nellie Lawrie of the Scot Colony, no one in the community contracted the disease.

The first Sarasota hospital to serve the small community was a well-intended but short-lived establishment Dr. Jack opened amid much

Dr. Jack Halton, one of Sarasota’s earliest physicians, opened the Halton Sanitarium on Gulf Stream Avenue in 1908.

Initially constructed as a boarding house at Five Points, this 1880s building became Sarasota’s first hospital, referred to as the Sarasota "Hotel" Hospital in SMH archives. Operated by Dr. Jack Halton with funds and equipment supplied by local residents, the facility lasted a brief nine months.

optimism in 1915 at Five Points. Situated in an old Sarasota boarding house, it was a simply designed two-story wooden structure with a wraparound veranda built in the late 1800s.

Centrally located, and guaranteed to be “completely sanitary,” the Sarasota "Hotel" Hospital offered 16 “delightful” rooms on the second floor for patients and quarters for nurses. Also included was a large ward, laboratory, and treatment section “fully and carefully provided with every modern medical and surgical means for the alleviation of the suffering and saving of human life.” Dr. Jack assured the town that no person would be turned away because of an inability to pay for services. Between March 1 and March 22, 1915, 549 patients were treated.

Unfortunately, Dr. Jack’s venture was short-lived, possibly due to too many charitable cases among the patients who sought its services. The Sarasota Times never reported why the hospital, which opened with such hopeful promise, lasted less than a year. But within nine months it was closed.

The defining period of Sarasota’s first major growth spurt occurred during a handful of heady years during the Florida real estate boom of the 1920s.

Before those frenetic, free-wheeling days, Sarasota was mostly known for its fishing and agriculture potential—not much of a draw for travelers who had to brave primitive, rutted roads with mud bogs or dusty unpaved streets. It was not unusual to see a motorist being pulled out of the mire by a farmer with a horse or a mule.

Until 1921, this small community was still tied to Manatee County. But once those chains were broken, Sarasota was set free to burst forth as a go-to destination for upscale travelers here for the winter, or for two-week vacationers who traveled down for a look-see, swim in the Gulf, bask in the sun, and then headed back home with a dream to return.

Within approximately five years, building and development progressed at an unprecedented pace. Schools, banks, homes, paved roads, bridges, tall office buildings, hotels, and myriad retail establishments sprouted up, along with social and recreational opportunities, and houses of worship.

Travel through Florida was sometimes a slow and arduous process.

Celebratory parade when Sarasota broke away from Manatee County in 1921.

Added to Sarasota’s profusion of nature’s tropical beauty were money-making opportunities, actual and imagined, in real estate. Real estate, like the stock market that everyone was making money in, could be very lucrative, especially if the property was above water.

A typical advertisement in the newspaper promised: “NOW IS THE TIME. Buy now before the first price advance, ahead of the great rush of investors … Let your profits go up with the climb.”

Longtime attorney Lamar Dozier, who lived here in the 1920s, remembered, “Sarasota was electric with excitement.” As a newcomer from Kansas put it, he could tell Sarasota was a lively town because he had to circle Main Street several times to find a vacant parking space. (Sound familiar?)

Dr. Joseph Halton, Dr. Jack’s brother, followed him here a few years later. When John Ringling was in town, Dr. Joe was the circus magnate’s personal physician (and sometimes was called upon to care for the Ringling circus animals).

But he was also known for his humanitarian gestures for those who needed his help.

Dr. Joe opened the Halton Hospital on South Pineapple Avenue in 1924. Although his was a private hospital, the Sarasota Herald reported that Dr. Joe performed more than 1,600 free operations and provided free care and hospitalization to those in need.

Downtown Sarasota was booming when this photo was taken of lower Main Street.

Advertisement touting money-making real estate opportunities during the Roaring '20s.

As the population continued to grow, the need for a public hospital became as obvious as it was necessary.

It was during this vibrant period—often dubbed the Jazz Age—that today’s Sarasota Memorial Health Care System came into existence.

Dr. Joe opened the private Halton Hospital on South Pineapple Avenue near Five Points in 1924.

The outpouring of support for building a hospital with state-of-the-art medical equipment, comfortable rooms, and competent, caring staff was inspiring.

As The Sarasota County Times put it, construction of Sarasota Hospital in 1925 represented “The Greatest philanthropic undertaking which this county has ever known.”

Although originally named Sarasota Hospital, the community-owned hospital of 1925 had no connection to Dr. Jack Halton’s earlier Sarasota "Hotel" Hospital at Five Points.

1920s

CHAPTER 1

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

“The hospital, which was the dream of many, was made possible by the intensive efforts of a few and the generosity of all.”

Just as every growing community in Florida needed suitable lodging, coupled with well-paved streets for easy transport to attract snowbirds, so, too, a hospital became mandatory. Particularly, as many out-of-towners were coming to the Sunshine State for their health.

Newcomers were enticed to come down by the highly active Florida State Chamber of Commerce. The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce was also just as active and astute.

To put the fast-paced growth in perspective, the city’s first mayor, A.B. Edwards, conjectured it would have taken at least 50 years of normal development activity to achieve what Sarasota had accomplished in just five whirlwind years. As the 1920s roared forward, it was obvious that the city lacked only a hospital to be complete.

Sarasota's first physicians found a village of 1,200 people then under Manatee County jurisdiction. By 1921, the same year that Sarasota split from Manatee County, the Sarasota Welfare Association began laying the groundwork for a modern, public hospital.

1921

As the Jazz Age rages in the North, upscale tourists flock to Sarasota’s tropical beauty and to swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sarasota County separates from Manatee County. Sarasota swells in a building boom, with the county population reaching 12,000.

While the men were lauded for the community’s growth and development—the bricks and mortar of Sarasota as it transformed from a village into a city—their wives were the conscience of the community and took care of its social needs.

The women of the Sarasota Welfare Association, led by its president Kate Blount Prime, were credited for making the dream

The Sarasota Welfare Association pitches a tent in the front yard of Mrs. C.M. Howard to help care for tuberculosis patients. More tents would follow.

1924

Dr. Joseph Halton, MD, brother of Jack Halton, opens Halton Hospital, a private hospital, on South Pineapple Avenue, but also provides free operations to those in need.

Dr. A.O. Morton and J.C. Herrick offer free use of a 5-room bungalow as a make-shift emergency hospital.

Chamber of Commerce float at Five Points.

Chamber of Commerce ad, 1926.

a reality. Sarasota Hospital was called a monument to their hard work.

Kate was the wife of George B. Prime, a successful merchant, real estate agent, banker, two-term city commissioner, and member of the first county commission.

Jean Shute Smith assumed the daunting task of gathering the finances for the project.

A natural fundraiser, Mrs. Smith served as vice president and chair of the Red Cross for two successful collection drives.

1924

The most massive fund drive in Sarasota up to this time begins when Mrs. E.A. Smith is named chair of the hospital building fund.

Wife of six-term mayor Earnest A. Smith, and a successful fundraiser, Jean Shute Smith led the fund drive for Sarasota's public hosptal.

The women of the Sarasota Welfare Association work tirelessly to raise the $40,000 it will cost to build the county’s first modern hospital.

Meanwhile, the small emergency facility run by supervisor Ruth Wilhelm, RN, operates for 11 months, serving 325 admitted patients plus emergency cases.

Kate Blount Prime, president of the Sarasota Welfare Association.

Her husband, Earnest A. Smith, served six terms as mayor during the fallow years of the Great Depression, and was a founding member of the chamber of commerce. He oversaw the hospital’s building fund for four months.

The Welfare Association’s first order of business was to purchase a tent for a tubercular patient who was cared for by one of its members. Another tent was soon bought to help other patients as needed.

Until the new hospital could be completed, Dr. A. O. Morton and J. C. Herrick loaned the ladies the use of a five-room home as a stop-gap emergency hospital. The temporary quarters opened on December 4, 1924, and filled quickly, underscoring the need for a larger medical facility.

Ruth Wilhelm, RN, took primary responsibility for patient care and recalled how the bungalow was arranged: “There were three beds in each of the two bedrooms. The kitchen was used to sterilize the instruments, and we operated in the dining room. The patients waited on the front porch. We boiled the intravenous solution and refrigerated it.” She jokingly recalled, “It’s a wonder we didn’t kill more people than we saved.”

Wilhelm was a graduate of Chicago’s South Shore Hospital School for Nursing. By comparison, Sarasota’s arrangement at the bungalow was primitive, but she did not mind. She recalled that the experience made

Earnest Arthur Smith, mayor of Sarasota and founding member of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.

her feel like a pioneer. She and her husband, Ralph, settled in above a garage on the bungalow’s property, where she could provide 24-hour service when necessary. Along with her minimal staff, she also planned and prepared meals and washed the laundry.

Preliminary meetings for the proposed first unit of the new hospital were held at Mrs. Prime’s home to strategize the most efficient way to raise the funds for construction, equipment, and furnishings. The idea of approaching the county for finances through a bond referendum was considered and rejected because of the length of time it would take.

Certain that local businesses and individual citizens could be counted on for the necessary donations, Mrs. Smith and one of her associates, Mrs. Paul Noble, channeled their energies to approach every business (and as many individuals) that they could reach. As time went on, it was said that “no self-respecting businessman would venture to walk down Main Street except with his pockets turned inside out, showing he had no more money to give for the hospital.”

The temporary emergency facility took care of 325 patients during its 11-month existance. "We sterilized in the kitchen, ate in the kitchen, cooked in the kitchen and operated in the dining room," said Ruth Wilhelm, RN, supervisor of the facility. According to hospital archives, only one patient died.

This cardboard notice was placed in the windows of companies supporting the Hospital Building Fund.

The Sarasota Times and the newly established Sarasota Herald were vocal in support of the fund drive.

Businesses were challenged to have 100% of their employees donate to the cause. When that mark was met, they were given a cardboard notice to place in their window: “This company and its employees are 100% subscribers to the Sarasota Hospital Building Fund.”

The design of the hospital was offered free of charge by noted architect Thomas Reed Martin, who had come from Chicago at the behest of Bertha Palmer in 1910 to design her winter retreat, The Oaks.

The Palmer brothers, Honoré and Potter Palmer, Jr., quickly answered the call and donated money for equipment. A letter by Honoré reprinted in the Sarasota Herald stated: “Please say to Mrs. Smith that my brother and I will contribute $5,000 to the hospital for the X-Ray unit, as suggested by her and in memory of my mother.” (Bertha Palmer died of cancer at her winter retreat in Osprey in 1918.)

The A. S. Skinner real estate firm, one of the largest in the county during the 1920s boom, pledged money for an operating room, assuring that it would be second to none, “regardless of costs.”

The Logan and Currin Company, a well-respected firm responsible for some of Sarasota’s major structures, was chosen as the builder for 10% of the cost. According to the Sarasota Herald, Mr. Logan ordered his supervisor to ensure the work was above standard.

As the hospital collection drive went on, it was said that "no self-respecting businessman would venture to walk down Main Street except with his pockets turned inside out, showing he had no more money to give for the hospital."

Noted architect Thomas Reed Martin designed the hospital free of charge.

The Herald reported, “The perfection of the workmanship of this building shows that his instructions were carried out.”

David B. Lindsay, co-founder of the Sarasota Herald, which published its first issue October 4, 1925, wrote that the Herald was a 100% subscriber. The Sarasota Times donated an electric sewing machine as well as being a 100% subscriber.

The hospital was located outside the city limits in Sarasota Heights, a separate township that incorporated in 1917. Consequently, it opened as Sarasota Hospital, becoming Sarasota Municipal Hospital only after Sarasota Heights was annexed back into the city in 1926.

Hospital Chief of Staff, Dr. A. O. Morton, and State Representative Louis Combs, who owned a large real estate company, donated four lots on Hawthorne Street for hospital property.

Everyone who donated or pledged was listed on the front page of the paper. Nearly every business in Sarasota donated.

As the opening date for Sarasota Hospital drew near, a rush to gather all pledges not yet collected ensued—but that problem was dwarfed by the fact that the half-completed hospital was mistakenly being built on property owned by a gentleman who lived in New England – across the street from the parcel owned by the Welfare Association.

Mr. George Thacker, of the Building Committee, took a 5-day train trip to New England to negotiate as best he could for a way out of the dilemma. The exact solution to the problem has been lost in the records of the time,

1925

Despite myriad challenges, including a discovery that the hospital was being built on the wrong lot, the 32-bed Sarasota Hospital officially opens on Nov. 2, 1925.

Ruth Wilhelm, RN, serves as the hospital’s first superintendent, the director of nursing and a member of the Hospital Board.

The Sarasota Herald reports, “It is, no doubt, the greatest philanthropic institution which has been established in Sarasota County thus far.”

but indications are that the deal Thacker negotiated involved a land swap plus $5,000.

Even with these problems, Sarasota’s first modern hospital opened on November 2, 1925, with Nurse Wilhelm serving as superintendent, director of nurses, and a member of the hospital board. There were a dozen physicians on the medical staff and 10 nurses/employees to cover three shifts.

Hundreds of locals and tourists turned out for the grand event and were given a tour of this “monument to Sarasota.” The Sarasota Daily Times (formerly, The Sarasota Times) noted that cars “of every description, many bearing foreign license tags, drew up at the hospital Tuesday, bearing young and old, housewives and businessmen, society belles and touring golfists, realtors and business girls…”

Regarding the Nov. 2 opening, the Sarasota Herald reported, “The hospital, which was the dream of many, was made possible by the intensive efforts of a few and the generosity of all. It is, no doubt, the greatest philanthropic institution which has been established in Sarasota County thus far.”

Dedication of Sarasota Hospital in 1925.

The original 32-bed Sarasota Hospital opened to the public on Nov. 2, 1925.

The newspaper introduced the 32-bed facility with the large headline: “Citizens Glorify in Results of Good Works. New Structure is Model of Medical Institutions.”

Every part of the hospital was described in the most glowing terms: “The interior finish is a perfect symposium of pale blue and shades which blend in a most restful manner… ” The doors were “exquisite.” The woodwork was “spotless white.”

The electric fixtures were “of the neatest and most effective patterns.” The ceiling globes were “finely traced and give off a soft light.” All the rooms were “light and pleasant,” with “large and especially attractive porches where patients could be wheeled for fresh air.”

A reporter for the Sarasota Herald wrote, “the hospital was so inviting that he almost wished he could be sick enough to be the first guest of the new establishment.”

Only a few portions of the $40,000 hospital had not been pledged for. On the door of the elevator shaft hung a wishful sign: “Who will give the elevator, the heating system, and the Frigidaire?”

To be admitted to the hospital, all charity patients were screened and approved by the Welfare Association. The hospital also was assisted monetarily by a half mill tax passed by the legislature, and $3,000 set aside by the city for relief work.

Within a year, however, the hospital struggled to keep pace with the growing community, and efforts quickly were under way to support its expansion. A voter-approved bond issue made the $175,000 East Wing Annex possible. Completed in 1927, it increased the hospital bed capacity to 60.

Additional buildings in the late 1920s and early 1930s included a nurses’ home and garage, and a surgical unit. Two small cottages behind the hospital were used to care for segregated Black patients, while old Army barracks were used for overflow (until 1950).

All told, Sarasota Hospital could accommodate up to 100 patients.

Cultivating Caregivers

Faced with a continual shortage of caregivers, Ruth Wilhelm, RN, who was serving as the hospital superintendent, director of nurses, and a member of the hospital board, opened a local nursing school in May 1926.

1927

Within its first year, Sarasota had outgrown the new hospital. Voters approve a bond issue of $175,000 to expand the facility.

The two-story, $175,000 expansion increases capacity to 60 beds.

New construction also includes a segregated ward for Black patients, a nurses’ home to accommodate 30 nurses, and a garage.

SMH nursing students, circa 1930.

CHAPTER 2

GRAY SKIES

There was a palpable difference between the grand day of November 2, 1925, when Sarasota Hospital opened its doors to its first patients, and the opening reception for the first expansion on February 28, 1928.

The effervescent mood of the land boom had run out of bubbles. The obviously slowing real estate market, and the get-rich-folk who were propelling it, were stopped dead by the hurricane of September 1926, which devastated Miami with much loss of life and tremendous property damage.

“Mister Sarasota,” put it this way: “The water had been squeezed out of the sponge.”

A.B. Edwards, aka “Mister Sarasota,” put it this way: “The water had been squeezed out of the sponge.”

Notices of foreclosures, court actions, delinquent tax notices, and pleas for locals to spend their money in Sarasota replaced the grandiose real estate advertisements promising health, wealth, and happiness.

The beautifully planned and promising city of Venice, financed by the deep-pocket Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers union, became a veritable ghost town as residents fled the city.

Sarasota Hospital was directly affected as the storm roared through the county. A special edition of the Sarasota Herald dated Sept. 19–20, 1926, reported the news under the grim headline: “500 REPORTED KILLED IN HURRICANE,” and “Vicious Gale Visits Sarasota Inflicting Vast Losses.”

Only six nurses, including the ever-present Nurse Wilhelm, were on duty to deal with the wind and rain during the storm’s peak and to care for 20 patients, plus “refugees who had been robbed of their homes.”

The hospital suffered only minor damage. Thankfully, the roof remained intact, but the skylight was damaged and the nurses, with Mrs. Wilhelm on a tall ladder, patched it to prevent more wind and rain from entering. A small building on hospital grounds set up to administer to Black patients collapsed. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Throughout the ordeal, Nurse Wilhelm “kept order” and her nurses’ work was described by the Herald as “valiant.” When the storm finally blew through, local Boy Scouts lent a hand wherever they could.

The “Great Miami Hurricane” cut a path of destruction across South Florida on September 18, 1926, killing 500 statewide.

The storm sealed Sarasota’s and Florida’s fate for the near future.

The pervasive optimism that formerly characterized the county was in short supply. John Ringling was lauded for the bright news that he was going to move the circus winter quarters to Sarasota from Bridgeport, Connecticut in time for Christmas 1927, offering much-needed employment.

“Mister John” sought to attract tourists to bolster the sales of his property holdings; what was good for John Ringling was good for Sarasota, and vice versa. The winter quarters became the top tourist draw in Florida until Disney World opened in 1971.

John Ringling

The winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus put Sarasota on the map as the top tourist draw in Florida until Disney World opened in 1971.

Circus acts were among the entertaining and creative events to celebrate and enlist continuing support for the growing hospital.

John Ringling’s oil rig on the Ringling Tract No.1 produced only sulfur water, not the "black gold" locals were hoping for. There would be no Tract No. 2.

Staunch supporters of the hospital, Kiwanis Club members helped pave the way for Sarasota’s early development and success.

False hope that Sarasota might be atop a sea of oil (“black gold”) was played up in the press, often headlined with full-page advertisements offering locals an opportunity to buy in.

These disadvantages notwithstanding, it was still clear that Sarasota County could not get by with a hospital of only 32 beds. The city commission understood this, and in a unanimous vote proceeded to request a bond issue.

As local money was in such short supply, even Mrs. Smith was having difficulty coaxing funds from empty pockets to fulfill previous commitments.

The Kiwanis Club, whose motto was We Build and whose membership included many of the city’s civic, religious, business, and political leaders, worked staunchly to support the hospital’s expansion needs.

Noted architect Clare Hosmer, who drew the plans for some significant Sarasota structures, including the iconic American Legion War Memorial at Five Points and the First Presbyterian Church on Oak Street, was chosen for the design, and work began immediately.

W. H. Butler was chosen from 13 bidders to construct the new wing with the stipulation that he use only Sarasota union workers and purchase Sarasota-made products wherever possible. He agreed.

As part of the expansion, the operating rooms were enlarged and updated with new equipment. Many of the patient rooms and wards were furnished by private individuals in memory of loved ones. Several religious institutions embraced the project. The Catholic Woman’s Club of St. Martha’s Parish underwrote a ward, as did the Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the Baptist Missionary Society. The Presbyterian Adelphia Class and the Guild of the Church of the Redeemer were also among the organizations who furnished rooms.

The Sarasota Fuel Co. gifted the hospital a year’s worth of fuel because, “We feel that the Sarasota hospital fulfills one of the greatest needs of the community.”

The American Legion Bay Post #30, a major organization whose World War I veterans played a significant role in the city’s development, pledged $1,500.

Many of the patient rooms and wards were furnished by private individuals in memory of loved ones.

Harkening to the colorful prose of yesteryear, the Sarasota Herald dubbed the new hospital “a fairytale come true.” They bragged that the building would “do proud the city twice the size of Sarasota” and dubbed it “one of the most beautiful and cheery in the city.”

Until the hospital was declared to be Sarasota Municipal Hospital in 1927, the day-to-day cost of its operation continued to be borne by the Welfare Association, still relying on donations from individuals, clubs, and businesses in the community.

Noted architect Clare Hosmer designed the hospital’s first expansion.

It was promised the new Sarasota Municipal Hospital could meet the needs of a city-wide population of 13,000.

On March 15, 1927, the Sarasota Herald headlined, “CITY COUNCIL TO DIRECT HOSPITAL.” The mortgage, due March 18, would be paid by the city.

A board of directors comprised of two city council members, two members of the Welfare Association, two physicians recommended by the Medical Association, and one county commissioner was appointed by the city to oversee Sarasota Municipal Hospital.

It was promised the new Sarasota Municipal Hospital could meet the needs of a city-wide population of 13,000.

In July 1928, Nurse Wilhelm, who was responsible for much of the hospital’s growth, including the school of nursing, resigned to take on a similar leadership position in South Florida. She would return to Sarasota, however, and open the 125-bed Wilhelm Nursing Home on Tuttle Avenue; and when the county health department was formed in 1941, she became the first county health nurse.

Several other nurses followed Wilhelm’s position of leadership: Mary Allen and Nina Selph. Nurse Elizabeth Williams, who served as superintendent and in various positions for over seven years, resigned in 1935 due to her forthcoming wedding, and was succeeded by Nurse Estelle Petty.

During this era when medical information could be freely shared, local papers often reported the nature of the illness and condition of hospital patients.

Nor was it unusual for patients to describe the wonderful care they received at Sarasota Municipal Hospital. One of the most laudatory plaudits came from W. A. Keen, the captain of the Sarasota Jail, later elected Sheriff of Sarasota County. After an operation, he spent a few days in the hospital in September 1927.

Having been treated in two previous hospitals, including the famed Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Keen wrote to the Herald, “Never have I seen more cheerful or better service given to patients…”

Keen assured Sarasota that “they are wonderfully blessed to have a hospital of such high caliber in Sarasota County…”

Two years into the doldrums of the real estate crash, when ways and means for the city and county to cut back expenses were explored, the hospital came up for review.

Expenses had already been lowered, and Frank Logan, chair of the hospital board, warned city leaders that further cuts to the budget would greatly diminish services rendered. He likened the hospital’s financial position to “being the owner of a Rolls-Royce who cannot afford to maintain it.”

Each member of the board was assigned an area to study what cuts could be made. Reductions were made to the Student Nursing Program, and staff salaries had also been decreased. The superintendent was paid $200 per month, the operating room nurse $125, graduate nurses $100, the bookkeeper $75, the cook $60, and the orderly $45.

All totaled, the monthly payroll amounted to $1,095. Little was available to subtract. The nurses were putting in 12- to 14-hour days, often without lunch breaks—and, Frank Logan remarked, “they are doing it gladly, for it's all in the game.”

Publishing hospital admissions and discharges was commonplace and continued to be shared for some time, like this hospital news brief published in 1951. Privacy rules would not become fully effective until the 21st century.

CHAPTER

COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER

The hardship that Sarasota and Florida suffered during the real estate crash was a snippet of what lay ahead. Just as September 18, 1926 marked the downturn in the fortunes of the Sunshine State, so too did October 29, 1929 (“Black Tuesday”) signal the beginning of the Great Depression. The country was thrown into a state of financial and emotional turmoil that would last until we were pulled out by the industrial demands of World War II, and its call to serve as the “arsenal of democracy.” Glum was the new normal.

Tourism, not industry, was Sarasota’s paycheck, followed by real estate and construction. All on hold. The trickle of tourists was due to lack of discretionary funds for such luxuries as a vacation. No one was predicting an upturn in travel any time soon.

The Great Depression deepened in the 1930s. To find work, men joined the Civilian Conservation Corps - “Roosevelt’s tree army.” They created Myakka River State Park. Local leaders worked to obtain federal funding for more government projects, including the Civic Center with its Municipal Auditorium, the Post Office, and the Lido Casino on Lido Beach. More Sarasota Municipal Hospital patients became indigent, unable to afford basic medical care, but voluntary health insurance was becoming more widespread.

1930

In Sarasota, the population of the city is just over 8,000 and county is up to 12,440. Sarasota Municipal Hospital now has 100 beds, a nurses’ home, garage, operating room, ward for African American patients and an annex to accommodate patient overflow.

Business licenses, which had escalated from 139 in 1923 to 1,057 in 1925, were reduced to 600 by 1931. To put a dollar amount on the downturn in construction, at the peak of the boom building permits totaled over $4 million. By 1932, that amount slid to a paltry $42,000.

The hospital also suffered from the economic slump as more patients became indigent, or close enough to it, and unable to afford medical services. It became so difficult to earn money that some men captured rattlesnakes to collect the $1 bounty offered by the city clerk.

Fortunately, Sarasota was home to a cadre of astute businesspeople who loved their adopted community and had the acumen and contacts to garner important federal government projects, among them the Post Office, the Civic Center with its Municipal Auditorium, and the iconic Lido Casino—the latter two to draw tourists, especially during the annual lull of the summer season.

Assistance was provided to the hospital on November 21, 1932, when the county promised to help wipe out the deficit, so long as the city also participated.

Both commissions understood that the hospital was “one of the county’s most necessary assets,” and each approved a motion that the city and county split costs 50/50.

On May 2, 1933, under a headline, “CITY

HOSPITAL REORGANIZATION

TO BE AFFECTED,” city council member and hospital board member

1932

The city and county team up to erase Sarasota Municipal Hospital operating deficit, calling the hospital “one of the county’s most necessary assets.” City and county leaders vote to split the costs 50/50.

1933

Sarasota Hospital has no hot water system. Nurses are expected to boil water and purify it before giving patients baths.

Sarasota Hospital is reorganized to provide additional oversight and improve "efficiency."

George L. Thacker announced a restructuring to allow operating “in an efficient manner.”

According to the Herald, Mayor E. A. Smith believed that further steps could be taken to “prorate the costs of the institution.” Reiterating the rising number of hospitalized indigents, he proposed the appointment of some city representatives to observe the hospital’s board meetings.

SMH’s founding physicians

May 12, the birthday of British nurse Florence Nightingale, who served her profession so unselfishly during the Crimean War, was annually celebrated by Sarasota Hospital.

The anniversary, which would later be designated International Nurses Day, provided an opportunity for citizens to tour their hospital, observe both the progress of the institution and its needs, and (despite mostly empty pockets) donate whatever they could.

On December 5, 1937, the newly named Sarasota Herald-Tribune announced, “Sarasota Municipal Hospital Among Best Rated in Florida.” The paper reported proudly that the hospital was “thoroughly modern in staff and equipment… with the best doctors and nurses in the county.”

All staff doctors were well known in Sarasota and included: Drs. O.H. Cribbins, Jack Halton, A.L. Matthews, J.E. Harris, David R. Kennedy, A.O. Martin, T.W. Taylor, C.B. Wilson, J.C. Patterson, and J.W. Johnson.

1933

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal reform programs and legislation begin to address the nation's unemployment and economic woes.

Sarasota starts the slow process of recovery following the Great Depression with a renewal of the tourism industry and investment in both public works and private businesses.

1934

On May 12, the birthday of pioneering British nurse Florence Nightingale, Sarasota Hospital nurses dress in crisp white uniforms to greet donors and collect gifts to help equip the hospital.

For the 1938 celebration of Nurses Day, all the nurses were dressed “in crisp white uniforms” to greet “gift laden callers” to the open house. The nurses were true to their previous year’s promise to fund a hot-water system throughout the hospital.

SMH’s First Female Physician

Dr. Blanche Burgner joined the hospital staff in 1932, one of the few female physicians in Florida, and the first in Sarasota. She hailed from Chicago, graduating from the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery in 1910.

As always, visitors were reminded of the necessity of their donations to the hospital’s continued success. Indeed, many of the attendees brought “generous gifts,” which the paper said was proof of “the city’s deep interest in the hospital.”

On the hospital’s 14th anniversary, November 2, 1939, an announcement was made that a drive was underway to collect donations for both a proposed African American hospital and orphanage.

The new mayor, Verman Kimbrough, was quoted, “If this project is feasible, I hope it may be achieved.”

During the 1930s, Nurses Day and Hospital Day celebrations were opportunities for local citizens to tour their hospital, observe both the progress of the institution and its need, and despite mostly empty pockets, donate whatever they could.

Dr. William McQueen was the first doctor to serve as superintendent of the hospital.

This hospital was to be in a two-story, eight-room building on a parcel of Newtown property donated by W.L. van Dame. Only $21 dollars, mostly in singles, had been collected, and neither the hospital nor orphanage were built.

For some time, African American patients would remain segregated in the hospital’s six-bed annex and overflow barracks.

On November 15, 1939, Dr. William McQueen was chosen to be the new superintendent, the first physician to head the hospital.

Of all the hospital administrators thus far, Dr. McQueen was the most qualified. He replaced Nurse Petty, who would devote her time to X-ray and surgery.

1937

District #20 of the Florida Nurses Association forms to “improve nursing education and service.”

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune calls “Sarasota Municipal Hospital among best rated in Florida … thoroughly modern in staff and equipment…with the best doctors and nurses in the county."

1939

A fund drive launches to build a two-story, eight-room African American hospital and orphanage on donated land in Newtown. The drive fails and neither is built.

The doctor’s credentials were impressive. As reported by the Herald, McQueen served 16 years as assistant superintendent of the Sunnyside Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Indianapolis. He was promoted to superintendent and medical director during his last four years there.

Dr. McQueen had been wintering in Sarasota for several years and decided to retire on the advice of his personal physician, as he was physically impacted by the strain of his work.

In Indianapolis, he was applauded for moving that institution forward despite reduced budgets—exactly the skill the hospital’s board of directors and the city and county commissioners of Sarasota needed.

His first order of business was to survey the hospital’s medical assets, as well as its wants and needs, to begin planning a reorganization.

But Sarasota Municipal Hospital and America would face a new host of challenges—and tremendous growth—as World War II broke out in Europe.

African American patients would remain segregated in the hospital's six-bed ward and overflow barracks until the mid-1960s.

World War II begins in Europe on Sept. 3, 1939, and would end on Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrendered to Allied Forces

William McQueen, MD, is chosen as the new superintendent of Sarasota Municipal Hospital.

CHAPTER

FORMIDABLE TRIBUTE

The choice of Dr. McQueen as superintendent of Sarasota Municipal Hospital proved to be fortuitous. No one with Dr. McQueen’s ample qualifications had ever served in that prominent position.

As he began his tenure, he promised to make Sarasota Municipal Hospital one of the best medical institutions in Florida.

On April 21, 1940, the newly formed Sarasota Hospital Improvement Committee announced that over 700 interested citizens joined to help with the hospital’s needs, including former hospital patients who had been happy with their treatment.

World War II and its aftermath dominate the decade, but as the nation emerges from the Great Depression, a period of growth and transformation begins to unfold. Medical breakthroughs include the first kidney dialysis machine, while technology from the nuclear industry brings new radiation therapies.

1940

Post-war population booms spur calls for hospital expansion. The Sarasota Hospital Improvement Committee forms with more than 700 interested citizens meeting at the Municipal Auditorium.

So many attended the first general meeting that it became necessary to use the cavernous Municipal Auditorium. Chair Mrs. Crawford told the crowd that it would take “the concerted effort of the

The opening of Sarasota's Lido Casino marks another stage of recovery after the Great Depression’s diminishment of tourist numbers.

Municipal Auditorium

population to place the hospital in the front ranks.”

Edna K. Wooley, a journalist for the Cleveland Ohio News who lived adjacent to the hospital, wrote an article reprinted in the Herald-Tribune on June 26, 1940, describing the community’s impact on the hospital.

She noted how precarious the hospital’s financial difficulties had been since its inception and credited the nurses for taking time from their busy schedules to raise funds for hand-cranked beds and the hot-water system the hospital recently installed.

“All that has changed,” she wrote. “Donations have been coming in thick and fast. One recently formed group, [the Sarasota Hospital Improvement Committee] watches over the hospital like a mother.”

For the annual Nurses Day hospital tour, “The entire community was on hand” to marvel at the progress the hospital had been making, “demonstrating what civic pride can accomplish.”

Hospital fair at the Municipal Auditorium. SMH invited the public to these health fairs to learn the latest wellness trends and how they could help the hospital address the community's needs.

1941

Hailed as the "Wonder Drug," penicillin begins mass production in the U.S.

Sarasota County establishes its Health Department.

The Sunshine Club, headed by the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, organizes an initiative to beautify the ward for segregated Black patients.

New suction pressure pump gifted to Sarasota Hospital by the Sarasota Exchange Club. From left: E.H. Baker, president of the Exchange Club, and Mrs. E. A. Smith, chair of the Hospital Board, are pictured holding the club’s check, with Dr. William McQueen, hospital superintendent, standing behind the pump.

1943 “Colored Ward” Fund Drive public appeal.

The new equipment included an electrocardiograph, two new oxygen tents, a basal metabolism machine, and a spectrograph. Baby incubators drew onlookers throughout the day. A young nurse demonstrated how the equipment in the X-ray room functioned.

On July 28, 1940, the Herald-Tribune reported that another group of interested citizens, the Sunshine Club, was organized to improve the hospital’s “colored ward.” Headed by A. W. Elam, pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church, and Dr. Joe Halton, it was reported that the group ministered “to the colored patients confined in the hospital, making them more comfortable during their stay.”

Dr. McQueen fully supported the club, which soon began painting, installing new curtains, beautifying patient rooms, and aiding patients when they were well enough to be released. Flowers were added to the rooms.

1941

Dr. McQueen retires due to illness. Nancy Bell Jenkins, RN, is appointed superintendent, but is replaced shortly thereafter by Mary Allen, RN.

On Dec. 7, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, “the Day of Infamy,” pulls America into World War II. Venice and Sarasota serve as Army Air Force training bases.

On leave, trainees from bases in Tampa and Arcadia also boost the local economy. Many settle here after the war.

Donations included paint and lesser amounts of cash, from 35 cents to $1—not much monetarily, but a step in the right direction given the segregated nature of Sarasota.

On March 14, 1941, Dr. McQueen found it necessary to announce his retirement. The illness that brought him to Sarasota had finally taken its toll. The hospital board accepted his resignation “with sincere regret.”

Nancy Bell Jenkins, RN, was appointed as the new superintendent on May 21, 1941. She was replaced less than a year later by Mary Allen, RN, who was given the title Supervisor of Nurses and Administrative Head of Medical Services.

Shortly after December 7, 1941, “The Day of Infamy” that pulled America into World War II, Sarasota County was awash with khaki-clad uniformed service members, as both Venice and Sarasota became sites for Army Air Force training bases. They, along with trainees from nearby bases in Tampa and Arcadia, had a profound effect on the local economy.

The young men were warmly embraced and cared for, as many of Sarasota’s loved ones were stationed in faraway lands.

1943

The Sarasota City Council eliminates hospital committees and establishes a managing board of 21 members to oversee hospital operations and the medical staff.

On August 5, 1943, the hospital could finally announce the great news that for the first time it was operating in the black—at least for a month. Total profit was $6,890.56 (approximately $57,000 in today’s dollars).

Rationing is still a grim reality for Sarasota Municipal Hospital employees, with some reporting a challenging shortage of vouchers needed to buy appropriate shoes and gas to get to work.

Thousands of Army Air Corps trainees were stationed in both Sarasota and Venice during WWII.

In May 1943, the city council did away with the hospital committees and set up a managing board of 21 members to coordinate the hospital staff with the medical staff.

According to the city clerk, J. R. Peacock, the upturn in revenue was due to increased births (there were many soldiers in town), a greater number of paying patients, and the improved organization of the various hospital departments.

When the war ended, the need for more patient beds was once again obvious. Sarasota was experiencing another growth spurt, and a hospital built during the boom of the 1920s was ill-equipped to manage the surge. The hospital had become so packed that patients were placed on beds in the hallways.

Hospital Board Chair Kenneth Koach termed the overcrowding “a lamentable situation,” declaring, “Every patient who is operated on has to endure additional and unnecessary stress and unnecessary handicap during recovery.”

Sarasota service members in Malta.

SMH’s first managing board was created in 1943.

On March 13, 1945, the Herald-Tribune editorialized, “THE HOSPITAL A MUST,” and “…In a city of our size and importance…a hospital is not a luxury.”

At that time, the paper reported Sarasota’s population at 15,000, with 30,000 expected during the forthcoming season.

Not coincidentally, the editorial was penned at the same time the Sarasota Rotary Club began a campaign to raise funds to help build and equip a new addition.

Well-known civic leader, Mrs. Karl Bickel, was charged with gathering money and pledges.

At the conclusion of the drive, Mrs. Bickel boasted there were no doorto-door requests involved, no stopping people on the street pleading for money. The solicitations were made solely through the mail and newspaper publicity.

The construction contract was again awarded to the Logan and Currin Co., with $500 down, and the remaining $7,200 due upon completion. Architect William Zimmerman was chosen to design the building, which he did free of charge.

1945

Sarasota’s population swells to 15,000 along with 30,000 “snowbirds.” On March 13, the paper editorializes: “The Hospital a Must,” reminding readers that “…In a city of our size and importance…a hospital is not a luxury.”

Sarasota Rotary and Kiwanis began to raise funds using the mail and newspaper ads. No more door-to-door requests.

Logan and Currin Co. are again selected to build and equip the new hospital addition, with $500 down, and the remaining $7,200 due upon completion. Architect William Zimmerman designs the building at no charge.

The Sarasota Rotary Club helped raise funds for another hospital addition.

Mrs. Karl Bickel

The 1945 hospital addition included an operating room with air-conditioning donated by Florida Power & Light.

This version of the Sarasota Municipal Hospital was formally opened on Friday, November 23, 1945. Invited guests were given a tour and treated to a turkey dinner.

Shortly after its completion, the Herald featured the new wing in a two-page pictorial: “Hospital Well Equipped As It Starts [20th] Year Of Community Service,” reporting in glowing terms that it was “the last word in a modern hospital design.” The project included a “commodious” operating room, which was finally and, thankfully, equipped with air-conditioning donated by Florida Power & Light. The new wing also included an emergency operating room, an obstetrics room, a doctor’s swab room, and a sterilizing room, as well as a nurses’ dining room, a larger “spotless and fully modern” kitchen, baby room, and nursery.

But it failed to solve the ever-looming and critical need for more hospital beds. Hospital Board Chair Koach gave much thanks to those who made the addition possible, but reminded benefactors, “However we do not yet have the space to care for the patients and we need more bedrooms.”

1945

The U.S. Army agrees to transfer barracks from the Venice air base to Sarasota Hospital. Nurses convert and use it as an additional overflow unit.

As World War II grinds to its end, Lewis Van Wezel gathers other prominent Sarasota citizens to discuss a war memorial dedicated to the sacrifice of The Greatest Generation – and planning begins for a new “Memorial" hospital.

Naval veteran Wilfred Robarts, a respected businessperson and civic leader, leads the committee. The name “Sarasota Memorial Hospital” is first suggested.

More space and more rooms would become a perennial quest.

On June 8, 1945, as the war was ending, a discussion for a suitable living memorial to honor all veterans was called for by Lewis Van Wezel. He invited the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other interested parties to meet at his home. The group formed the Sarasota County War Memorial Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee sought something with a large, permanent presence; a formidable tribute to what has become known as “The Greatest Generation.”

As so many lives had been lost, nothing could better commemorate their sacrifice than an institution whose purpose was to save lives— Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH).

Wilfred Robarts, a naval veteran, was chosen to lead the committee. Since his arrival in Sarasota, he had become a respected businessperson and civic leader who devoted much of his time toward the betterment of his adopted community.

On January 15, 1947, a city-wide effort by the Sarasota County War Memorial Advisory Committee to collect money for a new memorial hospital began. Their goal was $200,000.

On the corner of the Palmer Bank at Five Points, the site upon which Jack Halton’s hospital briefly stood in 1915, a sign depicting a huge thermometer was erected to color in and display the amounts 1945 news clip spotlighting SMH expansion.

Made up of veterans from the local American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other interested parties, the Sarasota County War Memorial Advisory Committee sought something with a large, permanent presence; a formidable tribute to what has become known as “The Greatest Generation.”

of money being gathered –$116,000 had been pledged even before the launch of the formal campaign.

By May 1947, $196,000 had been pledged. At a dinner party celebrating the conclusion of the successful drive, Robarts received a barrage of compliments throughout the evening for “working 24-hour days on behalf of the campaign.”

Two years later, however, the $196,000 sat unspent in local banks. Cost overruns were blamed for the temporarily dashed hopes. The price for a new hospital was pegged at between $900,000 and $1 million.

As an interim measure, hospital officials began a comprehensive refurbishment at the request of the city.

The makeover included modern furniture, new medical equipment, and a new pharmacy room. Rooms were repainted in soft cherry colors.

1947

In January, the Sarasota County War Memorial Advisory Committee starts to collect money for a “memorial hospital” with a goal of $200,000.

By May, citizens pledge $196,000. However, the money sits in local banks for two years, as cost overruns dash hopes.

The Women’s Auxiliary starts with 25 members. Their service hours, coupled with their donations, would help bolster the hospital’s progress.

Wilfred Robarts and wife, Bonnie.

New chairs, tables, and beds were added. Thanks to the Hospital Auxiliary, damaged floors were repaired, and the operating rooms were also refurbished.

But the problem of overcrowding remained. Doctors of the American Medical Association reported Sarasota’s hospital took in more admissions than any other 50-bed hospital in Florida. Its patient population was up to 92, in a building designed for half that many, and patients were “scattered all over the place.”

Several superintendents follow Nancy Bell Jenkins in quick succession.

In August 1948, John S. Duncan is chosen to lead Sarasota Hospital.

City Manager Carl Bischoff called Duncan an "expert in municipal finances" who had addressed similar overcrowding and financial challenges as assistant hospital superintendent at the Lakeland municipal hospital.

In 1949, the Florida Legislature passed a special act creating the Sarasota County Public Hospital District, turning the city hospital into its own governmental entity. A referendum followed, establishing the hospital district and publicly elected Hospital Board. The 9-member board was empowered to levy up to 2 mills in taxes to support hospital operations and maintenance.

After receiving names of 18 candidates, Gov. Fuller Warren appointed members to the first Sarasota County Public Hospital Board:

- Benton Powell

- Emmet Addy

- Hoke S. Bowden

- Altha Mae Leuschner

- O.K. Fike

- Marguerite Maxfield

- Edward D. Shoor

- Grace Newhall

- Roland Davis

1948

Doctors of the American Medical Association reports Sarasota's hospital takes in more admissions than any other 50-bed hospital in Florida. It's patient population was up to 92, in a building designed for half that many.

It is projected a new hospital would cost about $1 million.

New city manager Carl Bischoff seeks federal aid to repair and renovate the current hospital.

The American Red Cross begins the first nationwide civilian blood program, opening collection centers and blood banks across the country.

Centennial Spotlight

On the morning of October 4, 1925, the first edition of the Sarasota Herald (now Sarasota HeraldTribune) rolled off the press and quickly became the flagship newspaper for Sarasota. Over the years, the newspaper supported every effort by the hospital to expand and meet the needs of the growing community, including helping to write the hospital district’s original enabling legislation in 1949. The paper was co-founded by the Lindsay family, and thirdgeneration newspaperman and second publisher of the Herald, David B. Lindsay, Jr., is credited with helping to write what may be the only hospital-enabling act ever drafted in a newspaper office. In a 50th anniversary section of the Herald-Tribune dedicated to SMH, O.K. Fike, who chaired and served with Lindsay on a committee appointed to chart the future course of the hospital, said: “We worked

1948

At the city's request, hospital staff begin to refurbish the hospital as it continues to expand and seeks accreditation by the American College of Surgeons.

Improvements include adding operating rooms, new medical equipment and a new pharmacy room.

1949

O. H. Pike, a successful hospital administrator, chairs a committee to chart a new course for the hospital, which is expected to serve Sarasota County's growing population, which is nearing 27,000 people.

David B. Lindsay Jr., circa 1960s

all night in the old Herald-Tribune office at Little Five Points. We finished about 8 o’clock the next morning and sent the bill to Tallahassee.”

The Florida Legislature passes an act creating the Sarasota County Public Hospital District, turning the city hospital into its own entity and leading to the formation of a nine-member hospital board.

The hospital becomes a countywide medical center with the hospital governing board allowed to levy up to two mills of taxes for hospital maintenance and operation.

Housed in this building on Sarasota's Orange Avenue, the first Herald-Tribune printed October 4, 1925.

By the end of the decade, Sarasota’s population is reaching close to 20,000, almost double from the start of the decade.

1950s

CHAPTER

INTO THE TECHNOLOGICAL AGE

For the supporters of SMH, it felt a bit like Shakespeare’s “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” As time moved quickly forward, it appeared the living memorial to our World War I and World War II veterans would never become a reality.

Ironically, the major hold-up concerned the new war in Korea, which started suddenly in 1950, affecting the cost and availability of hospital building materials and other goods.

The Veterans group, however, continued to struggle toward their goal. Not only for a memorial hospital, but also for a much larger medical facility equipped and staffed to meet the needs of the growing community.

The housing market was pushed forward by the G. I. Bill, which allowed veterans to afford homes, often their first, as well as to

In Sarasota, the post-World War II boom was palpable, but without the thirst for quick profit. Newcomers sought permanence, a place to retire or to raise a family. Newspaper ads delivered the messages of greater Sarasota: “Designed By Nature For Year Around Living.” South Gate advertised: “Where You Live Among the Orange Blossoms.” The housing market, fueled by the G. I. Bill, allowed veterans to afford their first homes and attend trade schools or college. Then, in 1950, The Korean War erupts. Building materials are expensive, or unavailable as the Veterans group struggles toward its goal of a war memorial hospital. Sarasota needs a larger medical facility, equipped and staffed for a community that could no longer be cared for in a 52-bed hospital.

1950

Sarasota Municipal Hospital is crowded. Some patients are placed in beds in hallways; others move to a waiting list. People needing immediate attention are diverted to other hospitals.

Don Laurent would push Sarasota Hospital into the modern era, setting the foundation for it to become one of the finest hospitals in the country.

boost their educational opportunities. To ensure that the pitfalls of the poorly planned housing developments of the 1920s were not repeated, the current form of city manager government was established in 1945.

Col. Ross Windom was appointed first city manager. His son, Dr. Robert Windom, later served as chair of the hospital board and was appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services during President Ronald Reagan’s administration.

On February 1, 1950, Ken Thompson, formerly the assistant city manager of Miami Beach, took over the reins at city hall and held them for 38 years. Thompson guided Sarasota toward its status as a major destination for wealthy snowbirds and permanent residents.

Don Laurent succeeded John S. Duncan as superintendent on September 1, 1950, and with him SMH’s modern era arrived.

Like Duncan, Laurent too would lead with an eye toward avoiding yesteryear’s errors. He was

During the post-World War II boom, the excitement in Sarasota was reminiscent of the 1920s real estate market, but without the frenetic gobbling of property to turn over for a quick profit. This generation of newcomers sought permanence, a place to retire or raise a family.

City

For 38 years, Ken Thompson guides wealthy snowbirds and permanent residents to Sarasota.

“Keep your industry, send us your industrialists,” he said

Don Laurent begins his 25-year career as Sarasota Municipal Hospital administrator, replacing John Duncan who retires due to illness.

Ken Thompson

The

of Sarasota hires Ken Thompson, assistant city manager of Miami Beach, as city manager.

well prepared to manage the difficult tasks at hand. Hailing from Cadillac, Michigan, he moved to Sarasota in 1947 with his wife and three children, for reasons related to his son’s poor health.

Chosen over 34 other candidates, Laurent was a graduate of the Institute of Hospital Administrators and possessed a sunny, optimistic disposition along with a can-do attitude.

Described as “a tall and husky Midwesterner,” Laurent took over a hospital staff of 100 (not including medical personnel) and immediately began a daunting task: administer an antiquated hospital while building, equipping, and staffing a modern replacement—always with a keen eye on the budget.

Staff appreciated his gregarious and unpretentious manners as he walked the hallways, chatting them up, engendering a sense of community, and boosting morale.

1950

The Korean War begins on June 25.

would not end until July 27, 1953.

Sarasota Municipal Hospital develops a Practical Nurses Training Program to address a national nursing shortage.

Don Laurent with staff

Nurse Helen Cramer arrives at Sarasota Municipal Hospital, embarking on a career as director of nursing and hospital leader that lasts until she retires in 1971.

Combat

Laurent began inviting local civic organizations for guided tours to see for themselves the hospital’s advantages, and by extension its disadvantages. He gained their support and approval to turn the nurses’ quarters into a much-needed, larger obstetrical ward.

Still though, by far the most critical hospital need was bed space.

On August 5, 1951, the highly regarded firm Kannenberg & Hanebuth was chosen to draw the plans for the new hospital. Their firm, along with several other local architectural Modernists, became recognized internationally as members of the Sarasota School of Architecture.

To alleviate the perennial problem of acute nursing shortages, Laurent and Nurse Helen Cramer developed a Practical Nurses Training Program. Fifteen women enrolled in the first class. The curriculum lasted 18 months, with tuition covering the first three months, plus books, meals, and lodging. Thereafter the hospital would pay for room and board.

At the top of Laurent’s goals for the hospital was accreditation. To that end he was adamant that the required rules be followed by physicians and staff.

In 1951, the hospital board announced plans to seek special legislation authorizing a referendum on issuing up to $750,000 in bonds for construction of the new hospital. With nearly $200,000 already on hand in the war memorial hospital fund, the board would have nearly $1 million available to build a proposed 72-bed, three-story hospital next to the original hospital. The bond issue was approved—by a margin of 10 to 1—in a 1952 referendum.

In an effort to push Sarasota Municipal Hospital into the modern era, Don Laurent reportedly padlocked the operating room doors at night because some physicians tended to use it at will, resisting the more “sophisticated” age of medical care.

1950

The Women’s Auxiliary

Founded in 1947 at the behest of Col. Ross Windom, Sarasota’s first city manager, the Women’s Auxiliary was one of three volunteer organizations that continued the legacy of the Welfare Association, contributing their time, talents, and equipment to SMH.

By the time administrator Don Laurent arrived in 1950, the original membership of 25 topped 385. A newspaper report described them as “strictly a work organization which allows no time for social activities.” The Auxiliary would also sponsor the teenage volunteers known as the “Candy Stripers.”

A second group of volunteers, the American Red Cross Volunteers, formerly known as the Gray Ladies, also served the hospital year-round beginning in 1951.

In 1965, SMH officially recognized a third group of “Special Studies” volunteers. This group was comprised of retired men who came to the hospital individually and at different times to compile statistics, surveys, and reports for internal audits and annual budgets, and to provide special assistance to the director and controller.

Eventually, the Auxiliary would drop “Women’s” from its name and the volunteer groups would merge.

In an effort to push Sarasota Municipal Hospital into the modern era, Laurent would padlock the operating room doors at night because some physicians tended to use it at will, resisting the more “sophisticated” age of medical care.

The Women’s Auxiliary grows with the hospital. Founded in 1947, its membership swells from 25 to 385 members. Their service hours, coupled with their donations, help ensure the hospital’s progress.

1951

A second group of volunteers, the American Red Cross Volunteers, formerly known as the Gray Ladies, begin serving the hospital year-round.

1952

The Herald-Tribune editorializes “Situation Shocking ... Trying to imagine 107 patients crowded into a facility designed for only 52 staggers the imagination...,” ending with a plea to “overwhelmingly support the hospital’s bond, the No. 1 issue facing the citizens of Sarasota County today."

Voters are asked to approve a bond issue of up to $750,000 to raise additional funds for the new war memorial hospital; the referendum passes by a margin of 10 to 1.

1953

The nurses' home is converted for hospital use, increasing bed capacity to 125.

Mrs. Laurent often volunteered with the Auxiliary (top, left) ; Red Cross volunteers (top, right) ; Special Studies volunteers (bottom)

Jack Floyd, Laurent’s assistant who would later succeed him as hospital administrator, recalled that Laurent padlocking the operating room door at night because doctors tended to use it at will.

In 1952, the Herald-Tribune headlined an editorial, “THE SITUATION SHOCKING.” Usually praising the hospital, this was a more realistic assessment of a dire situation, intended to garner support for Laurent’s expansion plans. Some patients were still being placed in busy hallways with makeshift curtains to afford privacy; others were relegated to a waiting list. "No Vacancy" signs were sometimes posted outside. Those requiring immediate attention were forced to drive to nearby hospitals for treatment.

1954

On January 25, civic leaders break ground on construction of the new main hospital building.

On July 1, the City of Sarasota deeds the hospital to Sarasota County.

The Herald-Tribune wrote: “Trying to imagine 107 patients crowded into a facility designed for only 52 staggers the imagination. It is regrettable that the situation has been allowed...”

The editorial ended with the plea to “overwhelmingly support the hospital’s [$750,000] bond, the number 1 issue facing the citizens of Sarasota County today.”

1955

On Sunday, October 16, the city dedicates Sarasota Memorial Hospital—its new name— in honor of World War I and World War II veterans.

Practical Nurses Training class

In 1953, the hospital celebrated a quality milestone. Accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Hospitals was achieved in 1953, allowing SMH to become the first accredited hospital between Sarasota and Miami. The Joint Commission's national accreditation program began i n 1952.

Construction goals for the new hospital were finally achieved on January 25, 1954. Ground was broken for the new Sarasota Memorial Hospital, for which money had been partially raised seven years earlier. At the groundbreaking ceremony, an appreciative round of applause broke out as Benton Powell, hospital chair and president of the Palmer Bank, sank a ceremonial shovel into the earth.

On hand that day was Marian Baylis, who started as a volunteer and went on to play a pivotal role in the hospital’s future success.

In April 1954, she became a Red Cross volunteer and began working in the emergency room, becoming the head of the hospital volunteer corps of between 35 and 50 women.

She was not only a diligent worker, but tenacious enough

Fully furnished, equipped, and staffed, the new five-story hospital now has 225 beds (including those in the old hospital). It is one of the few fully airconditioned hospitals in the South.

new hospital has a complete nursery, including isolettes for premature babies.

lobby and main entrance, originally facing Hawthorne Street, now face Arlington Street.

1950s groundbreaking

The

Marian Baylis was nicknamed "The General" for her tenacity and tireless work as a volunteer leader, board member and longtime hospital advocate.

to be nicknamed “The General,” often taking up issues with doctors when the nurses were too fearful to approach them.

Baylis was elected to the hospital board several times and years later would be instrumental in forming what is now Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation.

The funds collected years earlier were augmented with $350,000 provided by the federal government, plus a county-approved bond of $750,000, with the balance paid for by special bequests. The city provided property at the rear of the hospital.

On July 1, 1954, the city deeded the hospital to the county. The old building was to be completely updated for incorporation into the new structure. Laurent was quoted as saying that, at midnight, immediately after the county took over operations, departing city officials took all the money on hand, including funds from the cash box.

On a sunny Sunday, October 16, 1955, a seminal event occurred in Sarasota history: Finally, Sarasota Memorial Hospital was dedicated. Finally, “tomorrow” had arrived.

Fully furnished, equipped and staffed, Sarasota Memorial Hospital reportedly cost $2.5 million. Its name was formally changed to honor veterans of both World Wars.

1955

Hospital leaders review bids to add televisions to every room "for the rental price of $1 per day with pillow-type loud speakers."

Support services staff, including nurses, orderlies and aides, jumps from 100 in 1950 to more than 160, with roughly 75 physicians on the medical staff.

1956

A year after the dedication, Sarasota Memorial Hospital establishes its first cardiac care center.

Excitement throughout the county was palpable before, during, and after the new and improved SMH was opened. Laurent anticipated that with its 225 beds, the new hospital could manage 175 patients a day.

The hospital was featured on the front pages of the Herald-Tribune and The Sarasota News, describing in detail all facets of its operation, staff, equipment, and recognizing the physicians who worked there. Over a thousand onlookers stood outside to observe the proceedings before being taken on a guided tour.

U. S. Rep. James A. Haley, formerly a Florida legislator, served as guest speaker. Haley lauded the audience, “Many here have contributed their efforts and finances toward this great institution. This is a great day for them…” Haley also credited Wilfrid Robarts, chair of the Sarasota County Veterans Memorial Hospital Committee, and the American Legion Bay Post #30, “which spurred on the plans that have ultimately resulted in Sarasota having one of the outstanding hospitals in the nation for a city of its size.”

In its first year, the new SMH treats 6,310 patients. The need for another wing grows.

Don Laurent, the hospital board, and the Women’s Auxiliary are tasked with helping secure the money to build, staff, and equip a new facility.

1957

On March 22, the Herald-Tribune asks citizens to vote for a $1.8 million bond for another new hospital wing, reporting “...as Sarasota continues to grow, lack of this hospital space could constitute a crisis.” Sarasota citizens approve the bond.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital campus, 1957.

The Herald-Tribune, too, offered high praise to the citizens for making “the new magnificent, ultra-modern, Sarasota Memorial Hospital a reality.”

The five-story hospital stood as a monument to their hard work. Each room in the hospital was individually air-conditioned from a central supply source.

The Chrysler Air Stream air-conditioning company bragged SMH was “one of a relatively few institutions of its type which was fully air conditioned.”

The hospital’s medical staff, led by Dr. Henry Morton, consisted of 75 physicians, 55 of them active and “virtually impossible to duplicate in much larger communities.”

The nursing staff, “characterized by a wealth of experience” and its ability “to render intelligent, warm human care to the sick,” were also applauded. Nurse Helen Cramer, RN, was in charge.

To help doctors with their diagnosis, the laboratory, run by four chemists, completed 2,500 tests a day: everything from routine blood counts to bacteriological cultures.

On the third floor, the maternity ward was “ideally planned,” with a room comfortably decorated for expectant fathers. In yesterday’s Sarasota, “[it] even provides large ashtrays.” After giving birth, mothers were wheeled to the convalescent wing while babies were supervised in the nursery.

The emergency room was formerly handled by one nurse, while the larger facility required four staff in the around-the-clock department. The non-medical hospital staff jumped from 100 when Laurent was appointed in 1950 to more than 160.

South building, 1950s.

1925-1963 SMH Campus

Sharing Our Centennial

SMH’s Trusted Counsel

Williams Parker Attorneys at Law was founded in 1925 by J.J. Williams, Jr., who stressed the importance of commitment to clients, service to community, and devotion to excellence in the practice of law—guiding principles that have defined the firm for 100 years. Over the years, its attorneys have helped forge some of the area’s most enduring and iconic institutions, including SMH. In 1954, Bill Harrison, just 26 at the time, became the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board’s first and longest serving general counsel, a role he continued for more than 50 years. SMH is grateful to the team of Williams Parker attorneys who have continued to serve SMH for more than 60 years as it fulfills its public mission.

1958

The new $2 million wing houses a new Intensive Care Unit. But, the hospital needs nurses – 20 registered nurses and 20 practical licensed nurses. Laurent advertised in newspapers around the country.

A severe flu outbreak hit Sarasota, overcrowding the hospital. Physicians and nurses tend to patients in hallways.

The original 1920s-era hospital begins a month-long journey inching across Hawthorne Street.

Bill Harrison

J.J. Williams

Meanwhile, a group of physicians were collaborating on a nearby Medical Arts Building for doctors' offices and a pharmacy. The building’s proximity to the hospital, along with construction of the adjacent Doctors Gardens offices and headquarters for the Crippled Children’s Commission, enhanced medical care in the area.

Only two short years passed before another wing became an absolute necessity.

Administrator Don Laurent, the hospital board, and the Women’s Auxiliary were faced with the daunting task of securing money to build, staff, and equip a new facility.

Only two short years passed before another wing became an absolute necessity. As always, the citizens stepped forward.

On March 22, 1957, the Herald-Tribune once again called for citizens to vote for a $1.8 million bond for a new hospital wing. And as always, the citizens stepped forward.

Reflecting Sarasota’s post-war boom, new schools, shopping centers, churches, and housing developments were being built to accommodate the outward spread into the county, while hotels, motels (like the Maple Leaf Motel shown above), restaurants, nationally known franchises, and tourist attractions proliferated to meet the demand of snowbirds and summer vacationers no longer tied down by the tire and gas rationing of World War II.

1959

Manatee Junior College (State College of Florida) begins its School of Nursing in cooperation with Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Manatee Veterans Hospital. Today, it ranks as one of the finest nursing schools in Florida.

On June 6, 1958, the original 1920s-era hospital was moved to make space for the new facility. A picture of the building that served since the mid20s was shown above the caption, “Inching its way across Hawthorne St.” Indeed, the move was a slow process, taking over one month to complete. The new $2 million addition was reported, “Among the best in the nation.” The Intensive Care Unit was reported to be the first of its kind south of Hartford, Connecticut.

Unfortunately, a lack of nurses kept the wing from being completely occupied. That, coupled with a severe flu outbreak, resulted in patients again being treated in the hallways of the south wing.

To bolster the number of available nurses, Manatee Junior College (State College of Florida, today) began a School of Nursing in cooperation with SMH and the Manatee Veterans Hospital, known today as Manatee Memorial Hospital.

On January 16, 1960, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Florida Development Council inspected the new hospital facility, and it was officially approved. Two months later, the new wing was fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation, but would not be completely staffed and equipped until 1965.

A new group of high-school volunteers, the Candy Stripers, forms at the hospital, running errands, making beds, and answering patient signaling lights.

At the end of the decade, the 350-bed Sarasota Memorial Hospital, now H-shaped with 500 employees, serves a community of more than 76,000 people.

On June 6, 1958, the original 1920s-era hospital was moved across the street (facing Hawthorne) to make space for the new facility. It was converted to a service building. The move, described as an inch-by-inch process, took six weeks.

CHAPTER

A STRONGER TOMORROW

In the decade leading to 1960, Florida’s population increased a remarkable 78.7%. Sarasota County numbers were even more astounding—increasing 116.7%.

By May 1960, Laurent’s controller Jack Floyd reported to the board that the hospital was in the best financial condition on record. Annual revenue had increased from $400,000 the year following Laurent’s arrival to almost $3 million. The medical staff jumped to 101, and the emergency room was described “like Grand Central with so many patients receiving care.”

Sarasota Memorial moves into the 1960s as intensive care nursing matures. Computer systems take on more tasks. As the community grows, Sarasota citizens support additional bond issues to fund hospital expansion.

1960

In January, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Florida Development Council approve a new $2 million wing. Two months later, the Joint Commission confers full accreditation. However, the new addition would not be completely staffed and equipped until 1965.

Marie Selby and The Selby Foundation, one of the county’s leading charitable organizations, donate $80,000 (more than $800,000 today) to finance and equip a new laboratory.

Don Laurent, Jack Floyd, and Nurse Helen Cramer at work.

Healthcare for African Americans

Up until the mid-1960s, when federal Civil Rights legislation changed the course of history, health care for African Americans was limited by widespread segregation.

As the Newtown Historic Marker Listing put it, “For almost a third of Newtown’s 100-year history, the African American community supplied most of their own medical care using cobwebs, cotton balls, turpentine, and castor oil as internal and external curealls. Midwives helped pregnant women to give birth.”

At Sarasota Memorial, Black patients were assigned a room in a separate annex or overflow barracks.

Those seeking professional medical services in the community often had to seek out white doctors who provided care in their offices; but most of those remained segregated too, with separate entrances marked “COLORED,”

according to Annie McElroy’s book of Sarasota’s black history, But Your World and My World.

Sarasota Memorial devotes the new wing’s fifth floor to psychiatric patients. The Herald-Tribune calls the new unit a haven and reports Sarasota leads the state in psychiatric care.

Sarasota Memorial’s medical staff jumps to 101. Patients flood the emergency room: “like Grand Central receiving care.”

Sarasota Memorial’s annual budget nears $3 million, up from $400,000 a decade earlier.

Newtown elder and civic leader Jetson Grimes as a young child, with midwife Lenora "Madam" Brooks.

Photo credit: But Your World and My World by Annie M. McElroy.

1960 was a pivotal year in health care for the Black population in Sarasota. The highly regarded John Chenault, MD, who arrived with his wife Dorothy in 1957, opened the first African American medical practice in Newtown, at the corner of today’s Martin Luther King Way and Osprey Avenue. In 1960, he became the first Black doctor to receive privileges to care for patients at SMH.

The Chenaults presence was a tremendous morale boost for the Newtown community. In a 2018 tribute to Dr. Chenault, community elder and civic leader Jetson Grimes recalled visiting the practice as a child: “His arrival was the talk of the neighborhood.” Interestingly, Dr. Chenault’s practice had operated in what would later become Grimes’ business office and hair salon.

Fourth-generation Newtown resident Walter Gilbert also shared his amazement sitting as a 13-year-old in Dr. Chenault’s waiting room.

“It was huge to walk to a doctor’s office a few blocks away at a

1960

A consultant advises to double the hospital’s size within the next two decades. By 1980, he says, the hospital will need 650 beds.

John W. Chenault, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, cares for African American patients at the first Black physician practice established in the area.

Dr. Chenault becomes the first African American doctor to receive hospital privileges at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

John Chenault, MD

time when many doctors wouldn’t even treat a Black child,” Gilbert said in a 2018 Herald-Tribune article. “Just to see a Black doctor at all was huge. And he was bigger than life. I remember him being very, very nice—and very patient, because I was totally afraid of needles.”

Sadly, the Chenaults died of gunshot wounds March 17, 1965, while in their Whitfield Estates home. At the time, their tragic, simultaneous deaths were reported as a double suicide. But the couple faced steep opposition when moving into the area’s popular golf course development on Sarasota Bay, and questions surrounding the circumstances of their deaths continue to this day.

SMH would honor Dr. Chenault decades later for his historic impact on the community. In 2018, the pioneering physician’s portrait was placed prominently on a wall at SMH’s Internal Medicine Practice in Newtown, a practice dedicated to improving access to primary and preventive care.

Washington Hill, MD, an African American physician and longtime minority health advocate, summed up the significance of the portrait’s installation in a 2018 Herald-Tribune article.

“It is important for patients and students and doctors who come here to realize they are following in the footsteps of a great man,” Dr. Hill said at the installation ceremony. “For those of you who don’t know, to come here in the ‘60s like he did… it was not an easy thing to do… not at all.”

1962

SMH no longer has an "off season," with occupancy rates rising to critical levels of 95% (80% was the generally recognized standard for safety).

The hospital's East Annex, though considered obsolete by 1960, would reopen its second floor several times to meet the ever-increasing need for beds.

1963

Voters once again give their approval in a referendum to a $1.35 million bond issue. SMH breaks ground in December, extending the north wings and expanding capacity to 454 beds.

Walter Gilbert, a former pediatric patient of John Chenault, MD, cuts the ribbon during a dedication ceremony honoring the pioneering doctor in 2018. Gilbert is flanked on the left by Jetson Grimes, another longtime Newtown civic leader who recalled being treated as a child by Dr. Chenault. On his right, Washington Hill, MD, and Wilhelmine Wiese-Rometsch, MD, two SMH physician leaders who continue to spearhead education and outreach programs aimed at reducing racial health disparities.

1963

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 36th president.

Indeed, the mid-1960s were fraught with apprehension for SMH and Sarasota County in general, as two federal programs, both controversial at the time, became an unquestioned part of life.

The first concerned segregation or, more appropriately, integration. As difficult as it is to believe from today’s perspective, as late as 1964 (and even beyond in some areas), Florida was still segregated.

Practically the only place African Americans could be seen in downtown Sarasota in any number was Morrison’s Cafeteria, where, as waiters, they served only white customers.

When federal money was tied to social change, it was only a matter of time before institutions (dependent on Uncle Sam’s dollars) complied, and integration evolved

1964

The Civil Rights Act passes, but Florida remains largely segregated until institutions dependent on federal dollars begin integrating.

Inez Timmons, RN, one of the community's first African American nurses, manages the care of African Americans in SMH's segregated ward. She remains at SMH for 20 years and becomes coordinator of SMH's Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

The First African American Hospital Supervisor at SMH

SMH’s first African American hospital supervisor, Albert Collier, was hired in 1955. In a later hospital newsletter article, he recalled that Black staff members were restricted to their own dining area, their own restrooms, and were required to drink water from separate fountains.

A Korean War veteran, Collier was given free uniforms and taught himself on the job for 92 cents an hour. He remembered how much he and the kitchen staff appreciated their free meals.

The hospital underwrote his education. To sharpen his skills, he took management courses at the University of South Florida, University of Alabama, and the University of Wisconsin. His story was inspiring. When he was promoted to supervisor of the cleaning department, the hospital’s CONTACT newsletter honored him as “the epitome of a self-made man.”

He said he came with a mop in his hand. “I didn’t want to mop floors all my life. And when opportunities came along and I was given the chance to better myself, I accepted… When I came here, I could clean out water fountains, but I could not drink out of them.”

Joseph Brockman and Marvin Silverman launch The Century Club, which later will merge with and become the highly successful Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital limits cigarette smoking on its campus. Cigarette vending machines are removed. The public demands a ban be enforced.

1965

The Hospital Board votes to comply with the federal rules and begins work to desegregate the hospital.

Black nurses were trailblazers at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. They included licensed practical nurse Georgia Thomas and registered nurse Inez Timmons, who managed the care of African American patients in a segregated ward attached to the hospital. Shown right, Helen Cramer, SMH's director of nursing and associate executive director, congratulates Georgia Thomas for 25 years of service at SMH. Nurse Timmons (shown on page 93), would remain at SMH for 20 years, working her way up to a leadership role in the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit.

into the norm. Laurent helped the process along by advising the hospital board that Civil Rights regulations must be accepted to receive grants of $2.5 million.

January 1, 1965 was a momentous day for the African American population. The board voted to sign forms assuring that the hospital would comply with the new Civil Rights Law. All other governmental institutions using federal tax dollars would finally integrate as well.

All hospital rooms on the first floor of the north wing, previously segregated, were converted to the ambulance section and Black patients were treated in rooms throughout the hospital. Of course, it took time for the comfort level of everyone to accept integration as a part of everyday life.

The establishment of Medicare insurance also caused consternation, especially among the medical staff. The prevalent fear among physicians was that patients with minor ailments would now visit the hospital instead of their doctor’s office as the first choice for care.

Some thought admissions would soar, and the hospital would become overcrowded.

1965

First-floor rooms on Sarasota Memorial’s northern wing, previously segregated for Black patients, convert to receive ambulance patients.

Physicians begin treating Black patients in rooms throughout the

The inception of Medicare upsets physicians fearing that patients would visit the hospital instead of their offices and fill hospital beds with minor complaints. However, SMH physicians eventually comply with Medicare requirements.

Photo credit: But Your World and My World by Annie M. McElroy.

hospital.

Laurent was not convinced. “I don’t believe the Medicare Bill will place an extra burden because of the restrictions placed on persons over 65, plus the deductibles” that Medicare patients needed to pay, he said.

Despite many misgivings, at the end of June 1965, SMH’s doctors indicated they would comply with all Medicare requirements.

Meanwhile, fundraising remained in full force. Illustrating how one or two dedicated people with a mission can have a major impact, Joseph Brockman, working with Marvin Silverman, was the catalyst for The Century Club organized in 1964.

Brockman, a former resident of Mount Vernon, New York who had experience with the Mt. Vernon Century Club, visited his friend Marvin Silverman, a hospital patient. Silverman bragged about the wonderful treatment he had been receiving at SMH, saying he never had seen such a fine nursing staff. “Sarasota has something that isn’t found in any other hospital,” he told Brockman.

The two figured that if patrons pledged “a century” bill —a $100 bill—each year, $10,000 could be donated annually to the hospital for improvements. Brockman approached some friends, and before the club was formally organized, nine checks were received. The Century Club’s $100 annual membership also offered a “lifetime membership” for $1,000.

The club grew quickly, and by 1965, enough money had been raised to acquire a $145,000 Argon Laser, which vaporized plaque in areas where angioplasty was not effective.

The national nursing shortage continues. Nurses' monthly salaries are $509, with an extra $39 for the afternoon shift and $49 for the night shift.

SMH requests a $3.9 million bond issue, which is delayed by court action. It becomes known as the “on again, off again, on again, bond.”

1967

The Florida Supreme Court rejects the bond referendum. Hospital Administrator Don Laurent calls the 6-1 ruling “a tragedy.”

Like many gifts that preceded it, and the legacy of giving that continues today, it reinforced SMH’s ability to acquire advanced technology. Involved in early studies of the laser, SMH became the first non-teaching hospital given FDA approval for its use. The laser was operational until 1988, when a more advanced system improved the procedure.

In 1960, Marie Selby and The Selby Foundation, one of the county’s leading charitable organizations, donated $80,000 (over $800,000 today) to finance and equip a new laboratory at SMH. SMH often would hold fundraisers at the Municipal Auditorium, with displays spotlighting the cost of needed equipment.

A $3.9 million bond for construction was requested by the hospital on February 9, 1966. After much time elapsed between the vote at the polls and the actions of the courts, it became known as the “on again, off again, on again bond.”

In April 1967, the official word came down that the Florida Supreme Court rejected the bond referendum. Laurent called the 6-1 ruling, which sent the matter back to the trial court, “a tragedy.”

1967

In November, after intensive campaigning by SMH administrator Don Laurent, the Hospital Board, hospital staff and the Auxiliary, county voters approve a $6.7 million general obligation bond enabling Sarasota Memorial to double in size.

SMH accepts a $5.86 million bid for a new emergency room, a surgical suite with 14 operating rooms, a 26-bed recovery room, a 48-bed intensive care unit, a clinical laboratory, a new X-ray department, a medicalsurgical floor and expanded space for the Hospital Auxiliary’s gift shop.

The hospital's Auxiliary and Red Cross volunteers take on new duties in Admissions, Nutrition Services, Nursing Service and at the Information Desk. They also operate the snack bar and gift department.

SMH lab equipment on display in the 1960s.

On Nov. 8, 1967, after intense campaigning by Laurent, the board, hospital staff, and the Auxiliary, a $6.7 million general obligation bond issue finally passed with a vote of 10,058 to 8,152, enabling SMH to double in size.

Sarasota Memorial’s tremendous growth was illustrated by the statistics: Between the decade of 1959 and 1969, admissions increased from 8,512 to 14,827; electrocardiograms jumped from 2,466 to 10,523; emergency treatments from 5,280 to 14,075; surgical procedures climbed from 412 to 1,122; lab tests shot up to 310,991 from 92,671; and adult patient days increased from 58,897 to 138,096. All other relevant numbers in hospital annual reports underscored the need for continued expansion.

According to the 1967 Annual Report, to help cope with the hospital’s expansion, volunteers from the Women’s Auxiliary and the Red Cross undertook new duties in the admitting office, in dietary and nursing services, and assumed complete responsibility at the information desk. They also continued operating the snack bar and gift shop.

That year volunteers provided 64,714 hours of service, along with the newly formed Candy Stripers, established by Katherine Boyer, Sheriff Ross E. Boyer’s wife. The teenagers ran errands, made beds, and answered the patient’s signaling lights.

Another technological step forward in the late 1960s was the acquisition of a Coulter Counter Model S, which automated and increased accuracy of seven common blood measurements in the Hematology Department. The computerized laboratory robot cut diagnostic time in half, reducing costs to patients and preventing delays in care.

The Hospital Board applies for helicopter landing space.

On September 8, more than 200 people gather to watch J. E. Harris, MD, who practiced in the old hospital, crash a gilded sledgehammer into the 1927 annex, making way for a new hospital addition.

Earl and Edith Retter gift

$1 million ($9 million today) to SMH for construction of the Retter Wing.

Earl and Edith Retter

On November 12, 1968, benefactors Earl and Edith Retter gifted the hospital $1 million—over $8 million in today’s money.

The donation was earmarked for the construction of the new Retter Wing on the south end of the hospital campus. The couple also was responsible for a sizeable donation to Easter Seals Happiness House, a facility for those with special needs—and more would be forthcoming from them for the hospital. Mrs. Retter explained their generosity: “We have no children. We have nephews and nieces, but we have more than we need.” Mr. Retter was a retired executive vice president of Eli Lilly & Co. Accepting the gift, SMH adminstrator Don Laurent remarked, “The Retters are helping people of all ages and status of life for many years in the future… their gift will be of infinite value to those people they don’t even know.”

The Herald-Tribune devoted a full-page in the February 8, 1970 edition, summarizing the hospital’s progress during the preceding year. In it was a picture of the new Retter Wing, which opened at the end of 1969, providing 88 beds and a conference room.

On November 4, 1969, the Retters were recognized for their generosity with a large oil portrait of each, along with a bronze plaque poignant in its simplicity: “Sarasota Is Grateful.”

Interestingly, Earl Retter became a patient for a leg ailment in the Retter Wing in 1971. He wanted everyone to know that the “service is wonderful, and I don’t think I’m getting special treatment. Sarasota is very fortunate to have a hospital of this class.”

O il portrait of the Retters.

Thanks to a $1 million gift from Earl and Edith Retter, the Retter Wing expanded SMH’s South building by 92 beds.

1969

Demolition of the original twostory hospital, which opened with such fanfare in 1925, makes way for a larger parking lot on the north side of Hawthorne Street.

Another indication of changing social norms was the restriction placed on cigarette smoking at the hospital. In 1964, cigarette vending machines were removed and due to ongoing complaints about continued smoking, the public demanded that a ban be enforced. Laurent, a non-smoker, believed that while the hospital could prevent smoking by visitors, “We would have a hard time prohibiting patients from smoking.”

1969 proved to be another pivotal year, as the hospital continued to grow along with the community and continued to seek updated equipment and more bed space.

A headline in the July 2, 1969 edition of the Herald-Tribune underscored the hospital’s mood: “OFFICIALS JUBILANT

OVER HOSPITAL BIDS.”

A $5.86 million bid from the J. A. Jones Construction Co. was accepted for the addition of a new emergency room, suite for 14 operating rooms, 26-bed recovery room, 48-bed Intensive Care Unit, clinical laboratory, new X-ray department, expanded space for the Hospital Auxiliary’s gift shop, and a medical-surgical floor. The paper also reported bids of $377,000 for a three-story shell unit to house a future 150-bed expansion, and $4,850 for full-spectrum lighting.

The architect for the project, Donald Ritchie, told the board it would take approximately two years to complete construction. The board also applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for helicopter landing space.

SMH hosts a dual ceremony on Sept. 8 to mark the last time the old East wing would be of service and break ground for what would become known as the East Tower, a $6.7 million addition.

SMH completes construction of the Retter Wing, which accommodates 92 beds, a medical library and conference room.

Construction commenced with the razing of the 1927 hospital addition, which community leaders from the previous generation worked so hard to have constructed and were so proud of after its opening. On September 8, 1969, 200 interested people gathered to witness the historic event as Dr. J. E. Harris, who practiced in the old hospital, slammed a gilded sledgehammer into the 1927 annex. Later that day, Hospital Board Chair Benton Powell sank a shovel to break ground for the newest addition.

With the modern hospital finally completed, and “best practices” becoming the new norm, such experiences as Casper the furry black cat entering through open doors or torn screens, rubbing across the legs of Dr. Harris in the operating room, were no longer acceptable.

Dr. Joe Halton, John Ringling’s personal physician and “Circus Doctor,” would not be given the hospital privilege as he once was to operate on a circus monkey, which he described as “the perfect patient.”

Patients would no longer be wheeled through the operating room during a procedure. Nurses boiling water for sterilization was a memory. Long gone, too, were cigarette machines and oversized ashtrays in the maternity ward; and patients, visitors, and staff no longer suffered the heat of long summer months. Such SMH lore became the bittersweet stuff of nostalgia.

CHAPTER

50 YEARS STRONG

The hospital entered the 1970s with its worth up by $2 million, increasing its value to $16 million, according to hospital annual reports.

Other financials included a 6% raise for all hospital employees. A report that nurses and technicians were leaving their jobs because they could not locate affordably priced housing feels like a page torn out of today’s news.

Throughout the nation, health care costs were climbing to a new peak, “with cure unknown.” However, it was reported that SMH’s costs were still below the state and national average.

The hospital suffered the loss of two benefactors who had been key players in the 1950s and 1960s. Mrs. Lota Mundy, a longtime Sarasota benefactor and board member, stepped down for health reasons, saying, “We’ve worked hard during these 17 years.” Also stepping aside was board member Brigadier General Arnold Funk, who had been vital to the hospital’s ongoing success. He was much appreciated by the patients, for he often stopped by to say “hello” and check on their progress.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital enters the 1970s valued at $16 million. It is one of the first hospitals to establish a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit with sophisticated monitoring equipment and specialized nursing care. New services include total body scanning, intermediate intensive care, kidney dialysis and cardiac catheterization.

1970

Men join the Sarasota Memorial Hospital nursing corps and the Women’s Auxiliary, which drops “Women” from its name.

Sarasota Memorial declares July 31 as “Don Laurent Day” to recognize his 20 years as executive director.

Nurse Helen Cramer, who served from 1951 to 1971 as director of nurses and later as associate director of SMH, also retired.

Friday, July 31, 1970, was declared “Don Laurent Day” in recognition of his 20 years as director. All employees, board members, medical staff, and volunteers took him by complete surprise. One doctor chided him for not realizing what a thousand employees were up to.

At a Marina Jack luncheon, Nurse Cramer spoke of Laurent’s many accomplishments, including several firsts: incorporation of a psychiatric section; establishment of a cardiac care center and cardiac intensive care center; installation of the first recovery room in Florida for post-operative care; and instituting the first intensive care section for the critically ill. Finally (and gratefully), SMH reportedly was the first hospital in the South to be fully air-conditioned.

The biggest hospital news of 1970 was the new East Tower, topped off on October 15. The first five floors were expected to be fully outfitted and operational in January 1972,

The new East Tower tops off in October, with the first five floors to be outfitted and operational by January 1972. Floors six through nine would wait until funds became available.

The Retters make another sizeable donation to help Sarasota Memorial open an inpatient rehabilitation center.

1971

Nurse Helen Cramer, who served from 1951 to 1971 as director of nurses and later as associate director of SMH, retires.

East Tower construction, 1972

Into the 1970s, local ambulance service was managed by funeral homes. In a 1972 referendum, local voters transferred this critical service to the Sarasota Fire Department. Soon thereafter, ambulances were equipped with EKG units capable of transmitting vitals from a patient’s home, or from the ambulance, to the emergency room.

with floors six through nine to be finished as funds became available.

With the ever-increasing size and scope of the hospital, and to augment the number of nurses, Sarasota and Manatee Memorial Hospitals (then a public hospital) voted to set up a joint fund of $10,000 to expand the nursing program at Manatee Junior College.

Physician specialization became increasingly popular. The five full-time doctors of the emergency room were certified as specialists by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

During the 1970s, SMH continued to build upon its reputation as the leading treatment center on the West Coast of Florida.

An $11.2 million expansion program was completed with the opening of the East Tower on February 22, 1972, which was announced as “The flagship of the Southwest in the hospital industry.”

The first floor was reserved for emergency care, the Radiology Department, medical reference library, Department of Nuclear Medicine,

1970

Sarasota Memorial and Manatee Memorial contribute $10,000 to expand the nursing program at Manatee Junior College.

Five full-time doctors of Sarasota Memorial’s emergency room are certified as specialists by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

President Richard Nixon signs the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law, promoting workplace safety and reducing the risks of job-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.

and a new $35,000 hospitality shop, a long-sought dream come true for the Women’s Auxiliary.

The second floor was comprised of surgery suites and recovery rooms; the third floor housed the laboratory; and the fourth floor housed the new Intensive Care Unit for patients in critical condition.

By 1976, the upper floors that had been shelled-in for future use were completed and included a specialized cardiac care unit as well as an inpatient rehabilitation center, providing occupational and physical therapy on the 10th floor.

Mr. and Mrs. Retter were special guests at a luncheon celebrating the expansion. Laurent told guests that SMH was the first general hospital in the South (and the first south of Hartford, Connecticut) to establish a specialized Cardiac Care Unit. He said that the new building gave “Sarasota Memorial a degree of sophistication not achieved in any other hospital in the South, providing for surgery, laboratory and radiology, emergency care and rehabilitation services.”

1972

Sarasota Memorial’s East Tower opens in February. It is pronounced “the flagship of the Southwest in the hospital industry.” It has a heliport to enable air transport of critical patients.

The tower’s first floor houses emergency care, the Radiology Department, a medical reference library, Department of Nuclear Medicine, and hospitality shop.

The second floor includes surgery suites and recovery rooms. The third floor holds the laboratory; the fourth floor houses the new Intensive Care Unit for patients in critical condition.

SMH lab, 1970s

In January 1974, the position of Chaplain was added to the hospital roster, when the Rev. Robert H. Yolton was hired to fulfill the spiritual needs of patients and employees. The new chaplain wore a beeper and was on call to answer emergencies.

Services provided by the chaplain corps expanded, and by 1981 a Chaplain Training Program was instituted and accredited through the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and the Academy of Parish Clergy. More comprehensive programs to address myriad and diverse spiritual and emotional needs of patients, visitors, and staff continue to this day.

In addition to spiritual services they provided to patients and families, hospital chaplains later began the popular “Blessing of the Hands,” a historic tradition in which chaplains anoint nurses’ hands with oil and bless them as instruments of healing during Nurses Week each year.

1973

The Sarasota County Fire Department takes over ambulance service from private vendors. The department operates four ambulances, employing 20 medical technicians.

In the 1970s, not long after the addition of the Retter Wing and East Tower, and for the first time in its history, SMH announced there were more beds than patients. If the trend continued, a budgetary crisis loomed.

The dire forecast may have been related to Doctors Hospital, a private medical facility that opened in 1967 at Bahia Vista Street and Tuttle Avenue.

Built by doctors, Doctors Hospital offered such “luxurious appointments" as fully carpeted rooms, color television sets in each room with a remote

1974

Chaplains join Sarasota Memorial Hospital to comfort patients and family members.

Physicians begin asking for pay raises. Obstetricians, who oversaw 210 deliveries annually, demanded a 90% increase. They said $30 per hour was inadequate; they wanted $50 per hour.

control, and a personal menu from which patients without medically supervised diets could choose meals, according to a December 24, 1972 article in the Sarasota Herald.

During this time, Doctors Hospital sought to double its patient capacity to 164. The “intensifying rivalry” between the two institutions would continue for some time.

SMH’s financial woes were exacerbated when surrounding hospitals declined to provide care for impoverished patients; those who could not afford service were sent to the public hospital for their medical needs.

Still, SMH managed the challenging task of keeping costs below the state and national average.

While the median cost per day per patient in Florida grew to $121.10, and $123 nationally, SMH managed a daily rate of $110.41.

April 1, 1975 marked the end of an era for SMH, with Don Laurent’s resignation capping a 25-year tenure characterized by foresight, strong leadership, and a diligent work ethic.

As a new chapter in SMH’s history was about to be written, Laurent passed the torch to his loyal assistant, Jack Floyd.

Despite financial challenges, SMH keeps costs below the state and national average. While the median cost per day per patient in Florida was $121, and $123 nationally, SMH's daily rate was $110.

A $200,000 donation from the Sudakoff family allows the hospital to open and equip an eight-bed Cardio Intensive Care Unit. Sarasota Memorial is one of the first general hospitals in the United States to provide the service.

1975

April marks the end of an era with longtime administrator Don Laurent's retirement. During his 25-year career, Laurent shepherded many ground-breaking services, including catheterization labs.

The Laurents next to farewell portrait

Raised in Ocala, Jack Floyd received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Florida in 1950. His term, like Don Laurent’s, would be marked by growth and success.

The Hospital Board could not have chosen a person more qualified to take over the hospital’s operations than Floyd.

Hired as controller in 1958, he also served as Laurent’s assistant, gaining insights into all facets of the hospital’s operation. He was well-versed in the politics of city, county, and state, as well as the encroaching dictates of the federal government.

He had a firm grasp of the hospital’s financial situation and was well regarded for keeping a keen eye on the budget.

Soft spoken and personable, with a ready smile, the one element of Laurent’s leadership style Floyd could not continue was the close personal contact with employees, prevented by the dramatic growth of the hospital and staff.

By 1975, SMH had expanded to a 600-bed facility with 1,316 full-time employees, 235 part-time employees, and a medical staff of 200 who cared for approximately 20,000 patients each year. Figures in the 1975 Annual Report underscored SMH’s growth: From 1971 to 1975, bed space increased from 515 to 601; and admissions increased from 17,418 to 20,472.

1975

SMH names Jack Floyd as executive director. Hired in 1958 as the hospital’s controller and long-time assistant to Don Laurent, he is well versed in the politics of city, county, state and federal government.

By 1975, SMH has grown to a 600-bed facility with 1,316 fulltime employees, 235 part-time employees, and a medical staff of 200 caring for approximately 20,000 patients per year.

Indigent patients sent to SMH by area for-profit hospitals erodes Sarasota Memorial’s financial condition. Nonetheless, Sarasota Memorial keeps costs below state and national averages.

Meanwhile, the federal Economic Stabilization Program was imposing burdensome government regulations on hospitals and physicians to lower health-care costs. Passed by the Cost-of-Living Council (COLA), the new mandates were received with the same hearty skepticism that greeted Medicare.

In a January 27, 1974 article in the Herald-Tribune, journalist Sally Glendenning explained that the rules were developed to help shift the delivery of medical care from a “get well” to “stay in good health” approach.

During Floyd’s era, SMH continued to expand in both size and medical capabilities, often pioneering the latest technology and procedures.

With a donation of $200,000 from Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sudakoff, the hospital was able to purchase and equip an eight-bed Cardio Intensive Care Unit, which opened in September 1974. SMH became one of the first general hospitals in the country to provide this vital service on its campus.

During a tour of the X-ray department at its Golden Anniversary

Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sudakoff at an appreciation tea coordinated by Nurse Inez Timmons, who coordinated care in the Cardio Intensive Care Unit.

SMH celebrates its Golden Anniversary with public celebrations and facility tours.

SMH unveils a revolutionary new device for detecting brain disorders, an EMI scanner, acquired for $400,000. It is called the most significant advance in radiology since X-rays.

The federal Cost-of-Living Council and Economic Stabilization Program regulate patient treatment, the length of treatment time and the length of hospital stays.

The EMI brain scanner was a revolutionary device in its time, described as the most significant advance in radiology since the discovery of X-rays in 1895.

A Stellar Foundation

celebration, hospital officials unveiled an array of imaging advances, including a new diagnostic camera in the emerging specialty of nuclear medicine.

SMH also acquired a state-of-the-art EMI brain scanner, sending its first operator, Mike Stalnaker, to the Mayo Clinic to learn how to operate the equipment.

1975

SMH adds "short-stay" outpatient surgery, enabling patients to undergo minor surgery and return home the same day.

What would become a stellar fundraising organization, the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation held its first meeting at the University Club on December 5, 1976. Chair Harlow Heneman, President Charles “Chick” Estill, and Marian Baylis, the former volunteer and hospital board member who spearheaded the idea, shared the group’s goals for the hospital, promising that collections would dwarf those previously raised.

Theirs would be a low-key effort to reach affluent citizens who had a particular interest in the hospital. In presenting the group’s goals, invited

In November, the Herald-Tribune notes that there are more candidates than needed to fill vacancies on the ninemember publicly elected Hospital Board.

Bankers, lawyers, physicians, insurance executives, builders, philanthropists, Auxiliary volunteers and a retired Army general had all attained a spot on the board up to then.

guests were told that as a nonprofit, the Foundation could receive funds through behests, trusts, real estate, and real property, which the hospital could not otherwise accept.

As Estill put it, the Foundation would be looking to make purchases in the range of $25,000 to $650,000.

It was Baylis who helped raise the funds to purchase the $500,000 brain scanner, which the hospital could not otherwise afford. Her success in that endeavor bolstered her desire to form the Foundation.

Estill offered a wealth of fundraising experience, having been successful for four years in the same capacity as vice president of fundraising at the University of Miami, and 10 years raising money for the Johns Hopkins medical institutions. He also formed his own fundraising company.

The Foundation’s first order of business was to have Floyd prepare a special-needs list in order of importance. The Foundation would then match one of those needs to a donor’s specific interests.

Before they merged, the Foundation would also work closely with the Century Club, which then numbered 200, with Estill promising to increase that group’s membership. True to his word, by 1981 the Century Club grew to 700 “civic-minded individuals.”

The Foundation, which began with a budget of $0, and no pledges, quickly made its presence felt. In less than three years, it procured $11,000 for bed-

1976

The Sarasota Memorial Hospital Foundation, later renamed Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, is created to help equip the hospital with the latest technology while keeping the hospital millage rate low. $1 million in gifts and pledges are received its first year.

Harlow Heneman, Charles “Chick” Estill and Marian Baylis spearhead an effort to raise funds through behests, trusts, real estate, and real property.

1978

The hospital’s first computed axial tomography (CAT) scanner provides quick, accurate, safe and painless imaging, helping physicians make accurate diagnoses for numerous medical conditions.

Foundation President Charles Estill

side monitoring units; a $5,000 gift toward a new Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory; $35,000 from Harry Sudakoff to supply medical equipment to the new Senior Friendship Health Center; $180,000 to help pay for the forthcoming $761,000 computed axial tomography (CAT) body scanner; and a $10,000 gift from Mrs. Max H. H. Edwards toward the intra-aortic balloon pump program.

Although their mission statement has evolved over the years, the Foundation’s original goal remains unchanged: “To raise significant amounts of money required to meet Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s medical challenges of today and in the future.”

Led by President Charles Estill, the Foundation’s original board of trustees included seven community leaders: Harlow Heneman (chairman, second from right) and Theodore Watson (far left), who guided the trustees during the critical formation period. The original board also included Charles Denby, Davis Parker, Harry Sudakoff, Marian Baylis, and Jack Floyd. (In this photo, A. Werk Cook is shown as an early member, presumably succeeding Floyd.)

1978

Sarasota Memorial opens its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory providing physicians almost instantaneous data to decide the best course of treatment, ranging from a simple diet change to open-heart surgery.

The first cardiac catheterization was performed by Gene Myers, MD on March 28.

On May 8, 1977, Dr. Robert E. Windom, SMH’s chief of staff, was re-elected as secretary to the Florida Medical Association. Windom was the first Sarasota resident to serve as an officer of the 11,000-member association.

In 1981, Dr. Windom was elected president of the Association, sharing his philosophy about medicine and community:

1979

A select panel of physicians is appointed to determine if Sarasota Memorial should take all the steps necessary to offer open-heart surgery.

“I feel that doctors should be a vital part of their community," he said. "We should be good neighbors and good citizens as well as good doctors.”

A medical milestone began unfolding in the community in early 1978 when SMH opened the area’s first diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, which brought the most advanced and accurate means of diagnosing heart conditions to the Sarasota community.

According to the American Journal of Medicine, heart disease was an uncommon cause of death in the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century.

Dr. Robert E. Windom, shown right in the SMH lab, circa 1960s; he goes on to serve in a number of local, state and national leadership positions, including his appointment as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services by President Ronald Reagan.

In 1979, a select panel of physicians was appointed to study whether SMH should take all the steps necessary to offer cardiac surgery. According to news reports at the time, the first steps of the delicate procedure were “quietly practiced for a year and a half."

By mid-century, however, heart disease had become the most common cause of death due to an increase in the prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis.

Cardiac catheterization provided doctors with instantaneous data to help determine the best course of treatment for heart patients, ranging from a stent or angioplasty to open-heart surgery—for which patients still had to travel elsewhere.

The first cardiac catheterization was performed by Dr. Gene Myers on March 28, 1978. On July 17, 1987, Dr. P. Natarajan completed the 10,000th such procedure.

In October 1978, SMH also introduced its Cardiac Rehabilitation program. The medically supervised exercise program helped those recovering from heart attacks or other chronic heart issues restore heart health and quality of life.

SMH's first cardiac catheterization lab, 1978.

In the 1970s, the revolutionary, full-body CAT (CT) scanner was on Floyd’s most-wanted list of new equipment.

Three quarters of a million dollars was a hefty price tag for the scanner, but this ultra-modern piece of equipment could scan the entire body in minutes, offering a non-invasive, painless test for patients and a clear and accurate picture from which doctors could diagnose numerous medical issues.

In its 1979 Annual Report, SMH reported the scanner was the same one the Mayo Clinic had on order, “… an indication that SMH will have a standard of health care available which is the best medical science has to offer.”

The CAT scanner was the prelude to open-heart surgery. Before it could create an open-heart surgery program, SMH would need to submit a Certificate of Need application and receive approval from the state.

SMH CAT body scanner, 1979

CHAPTER

HEALTHCARE WITH HEART

A phenomenal era of progress and change took place at SMH during the 1980s—most visibly, the addition of the 10-story Waldemere Tower and a much-needed 742-space parking garage.

With construction expected to be completed in the first half of 1982, the garage was not an easy build. The structure actually collapsed halfway through construction (fortunately, the crews were taking a lunch break, and no injuries were reported).

When it opened in 1984, the Waldemere Tower changed the face of the public hospital, standing tall as a bright beacon of SMH’s ongoing growth.

The first floor contained a two-story lobby, a 341-seat auditorium, a gift shop, and a central stores area. The next few floors

The 1980s are an age of high tech and birth of the Internet. Adding heart surgery transforms care at Sarasota's community-owned hospital.

1980

Sarasota Memorial Hospital purchases a house on Waldemere Street to create one of the first modern child-care centers in Florida.

The Auxiliary donates $600,000, helping to transform the house for 120 three- and four-yearold children of hospital staff.

Waldemere Tower

housed a pharmacy, respiratory therapy, central sterile services department, laundry facilities, and administrative offices.

Fashionably decorated patient rooms on the six upper floors gave an unparalleled, bird’s-eye view of the Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota Bay, and the city’s growing skyline.

On Sunday, October 23, 1984, U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins came to Sarasota to be the keynote speaker for the dedication. She expressed her happy surprise that the interior of the Tower was not painted the typical “sterile hospital green,” but presented comforting “muted interior colors.”

A pivotal year for heart patients unfolded in the early 1980s. In 1981, more than 200 heart patients were traveling from Sarasota to out-of-town medical facilities for open-heart surgery.

That changed abruptly on May 2, 1983, when “due to a pressing need,” SMH opened the area’s first Open-Heart Surgery Unit, supported with a generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sudakoff.

More than 550 open-heart surgeries were performed by 1984, with patients from six adjacent cities traveling to SMH for specialized care.

“At last we’ve done it,” Harry Sudakoff said at SMH's Open-Heart

Surgery Unit dedication. His comment reflected the fact that bringing heart surgery to the Sarasota community was a team effort that required government approvals and extensive behind-the-scenes work constructing and equipping the surgical suite, recruiting surgeons and training staff.

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Sudakoff with SMH Executive Dir. Jack Floyd and SMH's newly recruited surgeons Tom Kelly, MD, and Donald Snyder, MD.

Dr. Thomas Kelly and Dr. Donald Snyder in surgery in SMH’s new open-heart suite in 1983

The need was so great that SMH quickly added a second open-heart surgical suite, again supported by a grant.

In April 1983, a plaque bearing the images of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sudakoff commemorated their generous donation for the first Open-Heart Surgical Suite.

SMH recruited cardiac surgeons Thomas F. Kelly, MD, and Donald M. Snyder, MD; they were assisted by a surgical team from SMH who traveled to the Texas Heart Institute in Houston for training.

The first open-heart surgical team included nurses Darlene Clardy, Michael Cochrane, Lynda Innes, Molly Schnering, Martha Melgs, and Pam Simon, and surgical technician Charla Hampton.

All expressed pride at being chosen.

1981

SMH goes a little green, with a redesign of the Energy Center that recaptures energy produced by water and steam, saving Sarasota taxpayers millions.

Sarasota Memorial adds a Hypertension Clinic, helping patients manage chronically high blood pressure.

A $1 million gift from the Auxiliary funds a modern auditorium and learning center. It also included audiovisual equipment to produce recorded lectures and education programs for hospital staff, clinicians and the public.

SMH's heart surgery team included specialized surgery nurses and technicians.

The dawn of minimally invasive and same-day surgery began in 1984.

On August 15, 1984, as lasers, scans, kidney ultrasounds, and open-heart surgery became universally accepted by the public, Herald-Tribune reporter Mark Zaloudek explained the many benefits of “New Devices Bypassing Conventional Surgery”– among them, lower costs, smaller incisions, quicker recovery time, less time away from work, and less pain.

A new vascular laboratory was also established at SMH in 1984, with new, sophisticated medical equipment that allowed non-invasive visualization of major arteries, especially to the brain.

The hospital’s obstetrics unit was modernized with the addition of specialized Labor & Delivery rooms, which gave women more comfortable, home-like accommodations to deliver their babies. The rooms were larger than a typical hospital room and decorated with curtains, plants, a table lamp, and a comfortable recliner that opened into a cot, allowing the father to remain with his wife and support her throughout the birth process.

1982

Construction gets underway on the Waldemere Tower, which will increase capacity of the hospital to nearly 800 beds.

In the winter of 1984, a $3.4 million donation from Harry Cape allowed construction to begin on the outpatient Cape Surgery Center, a 14,500-square-foot building memorializing his wife, Helen S. Cape. Situated on Floyd Street adjacent to SMH, the center was the first of its kind in Sarasota, offering an array of same-day surgeries in close proximity to SMH and the critical support it could provide. The Cape was demolished in 2024 to make room for a new outpatient center

Ahead of what would become a national focus, SMH offers rentals of infant car seats through a program called "Operation Childsaver."

1983

Debates begin on whether or not a private status for the hospital would be desirable, given increasing competition from for-profit hospitals in the area.

Carolyn Dixon, MD, joined the SMH Medical Staff in November 1984. She was the first Black female physician treating patients at SMH and among the trailblazing African American specialists who would bring diversity to its medical team and approaches to care. Though highly respected in her specialty (OB-GYN), Dr. Dixon faced questions from some physicians for her holistic approach to patient care. Techniques labeled “alternative” at the time, such as acupuncture and massage therapy, would become accepted forms of integrative medicine in years to follow

1983

The Sarasota Memorial OpenHeart Surgery Unit opens, with Donald Snyder, MD, and Thomas Kelly, MD, recruited from Baylor University to start the program.

The rooms also were equipped to handle obstetrical emergencies.

A mother who had delivered four babies wrote to CONTACT describing her most recent experiences in the new obstetrics and birthing room: “The entire staff was excellent… The sibling visitation program is wonderful… I used the birthing room for the first time and found my labor and delivery to be much more comfortable … [SMH] has made some remarkable changes in just the two years since my last stay.”

At the other end of the age scale, with Florida having the fastest growing elderly population in the nation, in June 1986 the hospital began offering specialized care and education programs for people age 65 and older.

The November 1984 Annual Report indicated that “millions in bad debt had to be written off.” The emergency room accounted for 98% of the $3.4 million in losses.

Since the emergency room was prohibited from turning anyone away, it was often being used as a readily accessible, 24-hour-aday, walk-in clinic.

More legislative restrictions in the 1980s designed to protect consumers capped the budget while expanding medical care for the poor by nearly $300 million per year.

1984

By 1984, the two surgeons perform more than 550 open-heart operations on patients from six surrounding cities. Demand requires a second openheart surgical suite and recruitment of at least one more cardiac surgeon.

Sarasota Memorial completes the Waldemere Tower. The first floor includes a two-story lobby, a gift shop and 341-seat auditorium. It feels like a high-end hotel.

The Health Care Consumer Protection and Awareness Act was said to be the among the nation’s most stringent, and forced the hospital to operate on a tighter budget or risk losing its license.

Rapid regulatory and medical changes, along with SMH’s ongoing growth, necessitated the need for a full-time medical director, which was filled by Charles R. Mathews, MD, on May 1, 1984.

The pivotal year of 1984 would be Jack Floyd’s last at SMH. At the time of his departure, the hospital had grown to become the fifth largest public hospital in Florida, with 802 licensed beds and more than 300 physicians on its medical staff.

Floyd had served the hospital and community well for 26 years, and congratulations for his tireless effort to SMH and the community poured in. Even President Ronald Reagan thanked him “for the service you have rendered to your fellow citizens.”

A committee of five was formed to find a successor for Floyd, and on October 8, 1984, Philip Beauchamp was offered and accepted the position. His credentials were impressive: he was the first academically trained hospital administrator, with a master’s degree in Hospital and Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota; he had worked as CEO at the 354-bed Fort Hamilton-Hughes Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, Ohio; and before that, he had spent more than a decade as administrator of two other hospitals. He also was a former military man, having served

In 1986, SMH began offering specialized care for people 65 and older. Over the years, the hospital has continued to expand and improve its geriatricfocused programs, and today is nationally recognized as an "Age-Friendly" facility with accredited "Geriatric Emergency Departments" in Sarasota, Venice and North Port.

The six upper floors of the new Waldemere Tower give patients and visitors a view of the Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota Bay and Sarasota’s growing skyline.

A donation from Harry Cape starts construction of the outpatient Cape Surgery Center next to the main hospital. The Cape memorializes his wife Helen and offers same-day surgery services at less cost to patients.

Sarasota Memorial establishes a Vascular Laboratory with advanced medical equipment that allows non-invasive visualization of major arteries, especially those in the brain.

as captain with the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps in surgical research.

In the hospital newsletter CONTACT, Beauchamp mentioned that when he left Ohio it was a shivering -21 degrees, no doubt reinforcing his decision to work in the Sunshine State. His opinion was that all hospitals should adjust to new opportunities, and he promised to follow that philosophy to keep SMH progressive and strong.

He advocated for “evolutionary” rather than “revolutionary” methods to growth and, after spending several months in an evaluation period, was given a green light by the board to move forward with many new initiatives, including additional satellite centers and expanded medical services.

Since Medicare was paying less than actual hospital and physician costs, new revenue streams became mandatory to maintain the hospital’s standards of excellence.

In November 1986, after much discussion, the Hospital Board agreed to create a side-by-side corporation, Community Health Corporation (CHC). The hospital would then be permitted to enter joint ventures with private firms in the healthcare field.

The Herald-Tribune agreed with the concept,

1984

Obstetrics modernizes with the addition of birthing rooms that aim to bridge the gap between a sterilized hospital setting and the peace and comfort of home birth.

Painted in soft tones of blue or pink and larger than a typical hospital room, the new birthing rooms are decorated with curtains, plants and a table lamp. A recliner opens into a cot, allowing fathers or support partners to remain throughout the birthing process.

Sarasota Memorial’s 1984 Annual Report states “millions in bad debt had to be written off” with the emergency room accounting for 98% of $3.4 million in losses. By law, the emergency room, often used as a 24-hour-a-day, walk-in clinic, could not turn away patients.

Philip Beauchamp

Charles Baumann

editorializing, “It is in the best interest of Memorial Hospital and this community it serves.”

The independent, not-for-profit CHC has been ably led by Charles Baumann, a former SMH board member. In December, CHC agreed to construct and lease a one-story building to care for and counsel the terminally ill.

With the philosophy that “there is no place like home” and in keeping with its decision to expand its services outside of the hospital’s campus, in 1986 the Hospital Board acquired Florida Health Services as a new subsidiary corporation to begin providing home care services under Medicare guidelines. The new service offered skilled nursing and physical, speech, and occupational therapy, plus a home health aide or social worker for patients confined to their homes.

According to the director of Florida Health Services, “We’re now able to do a lot in the home” that was previously treated in the hospital or a nursing home.

In 1986, thanks to a $1.5 million donation from Longboat Key residents Harry and Alwena Mayer, SMH was able to purchase a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. It was the largest grant to date to the healthcare foundation.

Debates began in 1983 on whether or not a private status was more desirable. Operation under the “glare” of “government in the sunshine” legislation made SMH vulnerable to its competitors—and their legion was growing. Yet SMH’s charges continued to remain lower than those at other area institutions, and the community rallied round with dollars and volunteer help.

The Health Care Consumer Protection and Awareness Act caps hospital budgets while expanding medical care for the poor. The legislation forces hospitals to operate on tighter budgets or risk losing their license.

Sarasota Memorial names Charles R. Mathews, MD, its first full-time director of medical staff affairs.

Jack Floyd, who served the hospital for 26 years, retires in 1984. Under Floyd’s leadership, the hospital grew to become the fifth largest public hospital in Florida, with 802 licensed beds and a medical staff of more than 300 physicians.

The MRI’s huge, cylindrical, 10-ton magnet is 25,000 times stronger than the earth’s magnetic field and produces a clear cross-section of images of the human body. It was best suited at the time for the diagnosis of strokes, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

During SMH’s first decades, and through much of its modernization, lawsuits concerning the hospital and its medical staff were practically unheard of.

By 1984, however, malpractice suits had become a cottage industry for attorneys as they, the insurance industry, physicians, and patients became pitted against one another.

The Herald-Tribune publicized this troublesome trend in 1975, reporting that insurance rates for physicians and medical facilities were on the rise due to malpractice claims. As lawyers worked on a contingency fee, the more money their clients received, the more they were paid, with the report noting it was a risky business but “large awards made it worthwhile.”

Doctors who had never faced a suit found it necessary to carry expensive insurance, the cost of which was passed on to their patients.

Dr. Windom admitted there were a few doctors who “were beyond their stage of ability to do certain things,” and SMH developed a stringent meth-

1984

In October, Sarasota Memorial names Philip Beauchamp its new CEO. He is the first academically trained hospital administrator.

Valet service at the main entrance begins.

The hospital’s Tel-Med Library service offers the public medical advice via recorded telephone messages. Sarasota Memorial Hospital Foundation Samaritan Program sponsors the service; Auxiliary volunteers operate it.

MRI installation at SMH, 1987

od to determine who should—and who should not—practice there. The hospital also provided ongoing training in new procedures and required annual reviews of their physicians.

Hunter Gibbons, one of Sarasota’s expert malpractice attorneys, agreed with Windom that some doctors practiced above their capabilities and should be weeded out. However, Gibbons also acknowledged that to some attorneys, “Malpractice is a game. They try several cases and occasionally, they get lucky and get a big settlement.”

With insurances rates skyrocketing, some physicians gave up their practice.

Sarasota obstetrician Dr. Philip K. Nelson, who delivered more than 6,500 babies, said his annual premium was expected to climb from $28,000 to $48,000. Consequently, he gave up his obstetrics practice.

The AIDS Epidemic

In 1984 the AIDS epidemic began to grip the nation.

As with polio, initially its transmission and the risk factors for contracting the deadly virus were unknown, generating the same fear and anxiety associated with earlier infectious diseases.

Attempting to put the public at ease, SMH’s Infectious Disease team embarked on a major initiative to educate the public about ways to reduce their risk of infection and fear that caused society to shun its victims.

So they would feel more supported, the hospital provided a lounge for AIDS patients and their families to interact with other AIDS patients. Psychiatric nurses also were on hand to provide mental-health support to patients and their families dealing with the emotional trauma caused by the disease.

Balloon angioplasty is a new technique to treat local heart patients. Physicians insert a small balloon on the end of a catheter into the restricted blood vessel of the heart, then inflate it to improve circulation.

1986

Despite debates that the hospital may benefit from private status, Hospital Board members are receptive to public opinion and explore other ways to remain competitive with the growing number of for-profit hospitals in the area.

With legislative approval, the Hospital Board creates a public, not-for-profit, side-by-side corporation, the Community Health Corporation, which allows the hospital to enter into joint ventures with physicians and other private healthcare organizations.

Others did likewise throughout the state. Insurance payouts throughout Florida for obstetricians/gynecologists jumped from $595,266 in 1975 to an alarming $16,907,031 in 1984. Fourteen members of SMH’s ObstetricsGynecology Unit followed Dr. Nelson’s lead and threatened to stop delivering the babies of lower-income mothers at SMH.

SMH intervened to provide extra resources and support to ensure every pregnant woman, regardless of income, had access to quality maternity care. Many for-profit hospitals scaled back or eliminated their OB services. Today, SMH’s two hospitals remain the only ones in Sarasota County delivering babies.

In 1986, SMH opened a $7 million psychiatric hospital known as Lakeside Pavilion, moving patients from its North unit inside the hospital to a 3-acre parcel off Clark Road. The unit was staffed with 16 psychiatrists, 65 nurses, and other psychiatric workers, plus a pharmacy of 28, a Dietary Department, and other services.

Turning away from the bleak institutional appearance often associated with past psychiatric institutions, the building generated a sense of peace and comfort. SMH assuaged the concerns of its neighbors with extra layers of safety and security measures.

1986

The Hospital Board acquires Florida Health Services as a new subsidiary corporation that provides skilled care under the Medicare guidelines to patients with acute diagnoses who are confined to their homes.

The program provides nursing, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and home health aides and social workers as needed.

Sarasota Memorial announces that a $2.4 million rehabilitation center would be built on the hospital campus, thanks to a donation from the Sudakoffs.

Through Beauchamp’s guidance, numerous other health facilities would follow on the surrounding acreage, then known as Care Centre East. In addition to a greater emphasis on outpatient programs, Beauchamp’s new initiatives at SMH included plans for a critical care tower, new emergency care center, expanded surgical suites, and state-of-the-art intensive care units.

Today, the campus on Clark Road, previously known as Care Centre East, is a go-to destination for a wide range of health and wellness services, including imaging, lab testing, rehabilitation, and the region’s first and only medically integrated fitness center, HealthFit. SMH’s 5-star skilled nursing home also is located on the 80-acre campus.

Thanks to a $2.6 million donation to the Hospital Foundation from Longboat Key residents and former patients Harry and Alwena Mayer, Sarasota Memorial purchases an MRI scanner, the most expensive piece of equipment ever purchased by the hospital.

The MRI’s 10-ton magnet (25,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field) produces crosssection images of the body, best suited for the diagnosis of strokes, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

SMH opens the Lakeside Pavilion to care for those suffering from mental health issues on a portion of its 80-acre Clark Road campus. The campus later evolves into a destination for diagnostic testing, specialized services, and rehabilitation, as well as home for SMH's skilled nursing facility and medically integrated fitness center.

Strides in heart care continued. Among the hospital’s many firsts, in 1985 balloon angioplasty was added to its array of modern equipment to treat heart patients. The advanced procedure used a small balloon on the end of a catheter to be inserted into the restricted blood vessel of the heart, then inflated to improve circulation.

The hospital also was among the first medical facilities to use LASTAC lasers (laser assisted angioplasty system) on an experimental basis to unblock arteries and restore blood circulation in the heart.

By the end of the decade, SMH was poised to begin electrophysiology procedures (EP) to evaluate irregular heartbeats and try to prevent sudden cardiac death.

Having long recognized the correlation between smoking and numerous life-threating diseases, in November 1989, SMH, in conjunction with the Florida Clean Air Act, began phasing in restrictions to create a smoke-free environment on its campus (there was still a provision allowing patients to smoke, if ordered by their physician). However, the entire campus would not become smoke-free until January 2008.

1986

After 20 years, the Sarasota County Chapter of the American Red Cross ends its service at Sarasota Memorial. Most volunteers join the Hospital Auxiliary, maintaining their relationship with the hospital.

SMH installs a second cardiac catheterization lab, and the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit is recognized as one of the most modern and fully equipped in the nation.

SMH is the third largest facility in the state, with 825 licensed beds.

EXCEL, The New Initiative

Since its inception in 1925 as Sarasota Hospital, then Sarasota Municipal Hospital, and finally Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH), the facility was perennially noted for its culture of friendly, expert service and individual initiative.

To reward staff who “distinguished themselves by superior performance,” in March 1988, former board member and chair of the board, Jim Tollerton, underwrote a new program called EXCEL. The new initiative, which continues to be supported by Tollerton and other contributors today, recognized hospital staff for excellence in the workplace.

1987

As the AIDS epidemic tightens its grip on the nation, Sarasota Memorial’s Infectious Disease staff educates the public, hospital staff and patients about the disease to help reduce the stigma and prevent transmission.

1988

Former Hospital Board member Jim Tollerton underwrites a new program called EXCEL to recognize staff for excellence in the workplace. He continues to donate to the program and has opened a community fund for future contributions.

Sarasota Memorial deploys LASTAC lasers on an experimental basis to restore blood circulation to both totally and partially closed arteries of the heart.

Tollerton with Excel recipients in 2011

A few years later, SMH would establish a Center for Advanced Surgery. Together, the advanced surgery and clinical research teams would run dozens of clinical trials that brought innovative procedures and treatments to the community—long before they became commonplace.

1988

In conjunction with the Florida Clean Air Act, Sarasota Memorial begins to phase out smoking on its premises. Nonetheless, a provision allows patients to smoke, if ordered by their physician.

George Bishopric, MD, an internal medicine specialist who taught at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Duke University School of Medicine, begins holding popular Friday morning “case conferences,” providing accredited continuing medical education to local physicians.

SMH was among the first to offer stereotactic image-guided surgery, which involves loading MRI and CT scan data into operating room computers, then using that information to create a neural map of the brain that guides surgeons during brain surgery.

1989

The World Wide Web is invented. The network creates an efficient means of communication between scientists in universities across the world.

The Cape Surgery Center is the only outpatient surgical facility in the area to be accredited by the Joint Commission.

By the end of the decade, Sarasota Memorial includes a NeuroIntensive Care Unit and advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Unit among its array of services.

SMH also remains a selfsupporting public hospital with extremely low tax millage and the lowest patient charges around.

CHAPTER

THE RISE OF ROBOTICS

By 1990, one of the most important non-clinical departments at the hospital was the Business Office.

Far from the disarray that greeted Jack Floyd when he was hired to put the mishmash of the office’s paperwork in order, the modern unit was staffed by 50 highly trained workers who dealt with myriad healthcare issues, unheard of just a generation before.

In-house financial counselors reviewed all admissions and patient costs. Hospital billers dealt with reimbursement from commercial insurance providers and Medicare/Medicaid’s evolving billing codes and regulations. Teams were assembled to assist patients seeking financial aid as well as receive payments for ER and outpatient treatment.

The personal safety needs of the people in the hospital were also a top priority. SMH increased the number of officers in the Security Unit and provided them with ongoing, specialized training.

The 1990s bring a decade of economic prosperity and optimism. The era of electronic medical records begins. SMH's First Physicians Group starts with a handful of physicians. The hospital opens its Community Medical Clinic to provide free care to the county's uninsured and low-income residents.

1990

SMH moves forward with initiatives for a Critical Care Tower, new Emergency Care Center, expanded surgical suites, and state-ofthe-art intensive care units.

SMH Fire Brigade

In the 1980s and 1990s, fire safety was a pressing priority. SMH had its own all-volunteer fire brigade at the hospital that trained at the City of Sarasota Fire Training Academy. The brigade did not replace calls to the Sarasota Fire Department for help. Rather, volunteers were an onsite back-up unit to minimize fire hazards until the fire department arrived.

SMH fire brigade volunteers put out a mattress fire during a training session on the roof of the hospital parking garage.

In 1991, Philip Beauchamp left SMH to become CEO at nearby Morton Plant Mease Hospital. By the time he left, an article in the Centurion, a foundation newsletter, noted that SMH had gained access to “Medical marvels… inconceivable except to science buffs, and doctors now have skills undreamed of a generation ago.”

1991

The World Wide Web, originally conceived during 1989, is released to outside research institutions.

1992

SMH hires Michael Covert as CEO, succeeding Philip Beauchamp who would serve nearby Morton Plant Mease Hospital for the next 10 years.

Sarasota Memorial opens the Community Medical Clinic, partnering with volunteer physicians to provide free care to low-income and uninsured residents of Sarasota County.

Caring for Critically Ill Newborns

One of the advanced services that set SMH apart, and continues to elevate it today, is the hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), an intensive care nursery for premature and critically ill babies.

The NICU was established in the mid-1980s under the direction of neonatologist John Gallagher, MD. In 1992, SMH recruited perinatologist Washington Hill, MD, to manage the care of high-risk mothers.

A nationally recognized leader in his field, Dr. Hill developed the hospital’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Department, providing education, advocacy, and vital care to at-risk mothers and babies throughout the region for more than three decades.

Just one year after joining SMH, Dr. Hill delivered one of the smallest babies born in the United States to survive pre-term labor. Caci Renee Burke weighed just 12.9 ounces—about as much as three sticks of butter—and measured a mere nine inches long when

1992

First Physicians Group starts with a handful of Sarasota Memorial Hospital-employed physicians. The physician network eventually would grow to almost 600 providers by 2024.

The University of South Florida Nursing Program partners with the Century Foundation to offer bachelor’s and master’s degree nursing programs in Sarasota County.

A contribution from nursing supporter Leona Hughes allows USF to endow the first Nursing Informatics Program.

Dr. Hill was among the first African American specialty physicians on SMH’s medical staff who became community partners working with SMH to reduce racial health disparities.

she was born May 7, 1993 at SMH. Chronic high blood pressure complicated the pregnancy, putting both Caci’s and her mother’s lives at risk. Dr. Hill delivered the baby three months early, and Caci not only survived, but thrived. “I’ve been delivering babies for 25 or 30 years and I don’t remember another live birth of an infant under one pound,” Dr. Hill said at the time.

Caci remained in SMH’s NICU for four months, cared for around-the-clock by a team of neonatologists and SMH’s specially trained NICU nurses.

For the first several weeks, Caci’s head and body fit perfectly in the palm of her father’s hand. When Tina Smith and husband Avery Burke were able to take their daughter home, she was doing well despite weighing only 3 pounds, 7 ounces. “It’s like heaven has opened up and everyone is smiling on me,” her mom said at the time. “Caci—she’s a big girl now.”

Sarasota Memorial focuses on patient satisfaction. Employees attend classes based on programs offered by the Ritz-Carlton and Walt Disney World. Two years later, patients would give the hospital a 99.18% approval rating.

With 850 beds, SMH is Florida’s second-largest acute-care public hospital. It ranks among the top 20 U.S. hospitals for openheart surgeries and among the top 10 for hip replacements.

SMH's Rehabilitation Unit shows it has the right stuff, with shorter stays and superior outcomes.

Dr. Hill and Caci Renee Burke share a hug at a NICU reunion in 2005.

In January 1992, Michael Covert was hired to lead SMH. Having been awarded a Master of Health Administration degree at the Washington School of Medicine, the CEO also was a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. It was said that he brought to the position “a new vision” as SMH continued to advance.

SMH was already firmly established as one of the top hospitals in the nation, recognized for its comprehensive services and progressive approach in embracing new medical techniques and technology.

But building on that momentum would be no mean feat, especially with a continuing wave of federal funding cuts to Medicare and declining reimbursements for home health and other important services.

Also in 1992, the hospital district created First Physicians Group (FPG), physicians recruited and employed by SMH to help fill gaps in care caused by a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors.

1997

The era of electronic medical records advances as SMH rolls out “CareVISION” software in a patient care unit—it is the first patient care application in the nation.

The Century Club merges with the Hospital Foundation, becoming the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Century Foundation.

The Foundation donates $5.6 million to build the Jo Mills Reis Urgent Care Center, a family-centered addition to SMH’s Emergency Care Center.

SMH CEO Michael Covert brought a “new vision” to SMH in 1992.

Despite the financial challenges of the times, SMH opened the doors of its Community Medical Clinic in 1992, which was hailed as a national model in how a hospital can care for low-income and uninsured people in its community.

Now called the Community Specialty Clinic, SMH continues to provide free care and specialty procedures to Sarasota County residents who fall within 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. As they have done from the beginning, physicians donate their time in the hospital clinic, or at their private practices, caring for patients—and SMH donates all the diagnostic and hospital services needed to support their care.

FPG, which began with a handful of physicians, has grown to more than 600 today under the leadership of Jack Rodman, MD, (front row, third from right, with the FPG family practice team at Blackburn Point). FPG now also includes cardiac, neurology, perinatology and other specialties.

Internal Medicine physician

Rickey Wiseman, MD, was among the first group of physicians volunteering their time to care for low-income and uninsured patients at SMH’s Community Medical Clinic. Now retired, he continues to serve as medical director.

Except during lulls triggered by economic downturns, and the Korean War of the early 1950s, SMH never stopped expanding and never stopped seeking and finding the best staff, nurses, physicians, and sophisticated medical equipment available.

Supported by a $500,000 gift from Jo and Sanford Reis in 1997, the first floor of the Critical Care Center established three streamlined centers of emergency care with specialized clinicians all under one roof—the 25-bed Emergency Care Center, a new 10-bed Jo Mills Reis Center for urgent but less serious illness/injuries, and an 8-bed chest pain center.

No other institution in Sarasota County managed to keep pace with the county’s continued, sometimes frenetic, growth and development for which the area had become known.

The new Critical Care Center opened in 1993, as one of the most technologically advanced centers of its kind in the southeast United States. The addition of the Center for Advanced Surgery and Clinical Research Center began making SMH a regular testing site for promising technologies and new therapies.

By 1995, SMH was licensed for 850 beds, employed 3,700 staff members, and had become the second-largest public hospital in the state. During this time SMH created its Corporate Volunteer Program to build

1997

Although SMH cares for more than 177,348 patients, the hospital suffers from shaky finances, longoverdue expansions and renovations, operating losses, and staff layoffs.

1999

The Joint Commission rates Sarasota Memorial among the top 20 hospitals in the nation for the number of openheart surgeries performed annually.

SMH is the second U.S. hospital approved to perform open-heart surgery using the Zeus robotic surgery system, precursor to today’s da Vinci Surgical System.

White House Recognition

In early 1995, President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton selected SMH as the site for a breast cancer awareness forum. The White House staff said SMH was chosen because of its public mission and excellent reputation for cancer care services, research and education.

strong community relationships. An ever-expanding team of SMH employees began volunteering their services at community events benefitting local nonprofits.

Keeping its focus on local citizens and families, the hospital also expanded services for women and children during this time, gaining national recognition for its Breast Health Center.

Sarasota Memorial’s needed renovations and expansions didn’t happen as the hospital’s financial position declines.

Efforts to contain costs prove unpopular with the physicians and staff.

CEO Michael Covert resigns to become president of a Washington D.C.-based hospital.

Chief of Staff Issam Soussou, MD, and CEO Michael Covert gave Mrs. Clinton a painting by a local artist in appreciation of her visit to SMH.

As of 1995, more than 57,000 babies were born at SMH since WWII.

As of 1995, more than 57,000 babies were born at SMH since WWII. Today, maternity care remains a vital service to the community and part of its public mission, with more than 4,000 special deliveries each year.

Nationwide, the hospital ranked among the top 20 in the volume of open-heart surgeries, and top 10 for hip replacements. During its 1997 fiscal year, SMH cared for more than 177,348 patients.

During the same period, however, SMH’s shaky finances made long-overdue expansions and renovations impossible. The hospital had experienced operating losses and layoffs since 1997, with a 2004 loss of $14 million.

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, efforts to contain costs— including layoffs—proved unpopular with physicians and staff, and the hospital’s overall morale declined.

CEO Michael Covert resigned at the end of the decade to become president of a Washington, D.C.-area hospital.

1999

Former Chief Medical Officer Duncan Finlay, MD, is named president and CEO.

Under Dr. Finlay’s guidance, morale improves and Sarasota Memorial continues to grow its reputation as one of the finest medical facilities in the United States.

As the eve of 2000 approaches, some fear that at midnight on New Year’s Day, the computerized world inside and outside Sarasota Memorial would grind to a halt. It did not.

SMH delivered its first set of quadruplets, conceived by in vitro fertilization, in 1996. Twenty years later, SMH’s “quad squad” (shown above) delivered the hospital’s fifth set of quads, conceived naturally by Englewood residents Amanda and Kyle Corcoran.

RISING HIGH & REACHING OUT

The new millennium began at Sarasota Memorial Hospital with the former Chief Medical Officer Duncan Finlay, MD, assuming the role of president and CEO. Not since the 1940s had the hospital been administered by a medical professional. And he brought with him a reassuring, human touch that helped to improve morale, quickly.

As 1999 was about to click over to 2000, there was widespread worry and apprehension among many; a belief took hold that at precisely midnight, a world dependent on technology, especially computers, would fail when the midnight hour struck.

In this scenario, planes would fall, elevators would stop running, cash registers would not work, gasoline could not be pumped, banking could not be conducted, lift stations would not be able to provide tap water, and on and on the list of fears about what might happen grew.

The 2000s are the age of the Internet and international turmoil, as the 9/11 terrorist attacks plunge the nation into war. In Sarasota, the building boom comes to an abrupt end when the city emerges as an epicenter of the 2008 real estate crash. As the secondlargest acute care public hospital in Florida, SMH continues to gain national attention for specialized services and is one of the first non-academic, community hospitals in the U.S. to develop a clinical research center. As it continues to expand, the hospital changes its name to Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

2000

Sarasota Memorial continues to grow into the second-largest acute care public hospital in Florida.

SMH took all the precautions necessary to prevent this doomsday fear from affecting its operation and was complimented for being fully prepared in the event of a catastrophe.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune noted that Dr. Finlay “was the right doctor, selected at the right time” for the top position at the hospital, which was amid a period of change and turmoil.

A self-described “Florida boy,” he earned his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Florida and completed his internship and residency at Grady Memorial Hospital at Emory University in Atlanta.

Under his leadership as CEO, the hospital continued growing its reputation as one of the finest medical facilities in America. By 2001, SMH employed more than 3,000 staff, had 600 physicians and 1,000 volunteers, had 845 beds, and operated with a $350 million budget.

SMH had grown into a regional medical center, with highly regarded specialties ranging from cardiovascular services and cancer care to orthopedics and neurosciences. The hospital was well known for its Women’s & Children’s Services, including the area’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for high-risk newborns. The growth mirrored that of Sarasota County, which was ex-

Dr. Finlay, who specialized in pulmonary medicine, began practicing in Sarasota in 1972, and became SMH’s chief of staff in 1988 and chief medical officer in 1996. He was appointed President and CEO in 1999 after the resignation of Michael Covert.

Outpatient services continue to expand, with SMH care centers on University Parkway and Blackburn Point Road now open.

2001

With a $350 million operating budget, Sarasota Memorial employs more than 3,000 people, with 600 physicians and 1,000 volunteers in 2001.

Sarasota Memorial ranks second in the number of employees in Sarasota County with the public school system ranking first. By the end of the decade, it would become the largest employer in the county.

periencing another boom. The population increased from over 277,000 in 1990 to nearly 330,000 in 2010. Reflecting the influx of newcomers, in 2001 SMH treated more than 29,000 inpatients, 155,000 outpatients, and 70,000 emergency patients from Charlotte, Desoto, Sarasota, and Manatee counties.

Hospital leadership recognized that care needed to quickly move beyond the hospital’s walls, so SMH began to develop an extensive network of ambulatory centers to bring outpatient and diagnostic services closer to people’s homes. SMH also launched outpatient disease management clinics aimed at keeping patients out of the hospital.

Today, SMH neighborhood care centers stretch from Heritage Harbour Sarasota Memorial’s network of neighborhood outpatient campuses significantly expanded from 2000 to 2010, including expansion of the Clark Road campus in 2007. The Institute for Advanced Medicine (right) offered the latest imaging and diagnostics. Although the name of the building was changed during subsequent expansion, the campus continues to offer an array of specialized diagnostic/ treatment services and SMH's medical fitness center HealthFit.

2001

CEO Duncan Finlay rolls out “Get Well Sarasota,” an initiative to help address racial health disparities in the Newtown community. It pairs health educators with community leaders to promote prevention and early detection.

SMH participates in many leading-edge clinical trials for cancer and other specialties.

Bill Gates nominates Sarasota Memorial on two occasions for a Computer World Smithsonian Award for its use of innovative information technology. Today, Sarasota Memorial continues to be recognized among the world’s “Most Wired” hospitals.

in Manatee County to North Port. This decade also marked the opening of SMH’s first urgent care centers to provide prompt, expert care for non-emergent conditions (SMH now has seven throughout the region).

Due to the multitude of services provided on its Sarasota campus, as well as the growing network of outpatient centers, medical offices, and community outreach programs, Sarasota Memorial Hospital expanded its name to Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

In the early 2000s, the federal government began evaluating and reporting hospitals’ patient satisfaction results. SMH performed above national benchmarks, thanks to initiatives to boost employee morale and encourage staff to “Take Pride” in their work. In 2001, SMH earned the Florida Governor’s Sterling Award for Performance Excellence, an honor given sparingly to exceptional organizations with superior management approaches and role model results.

In 2003, SMH moved forward with Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), encouraging physicians to manage patient medical records electronically. By 2009, SMH physicians had entered their 50 millionth order into its computerized system. At the time, SMH Chief Information Officer Denis Baker said: “There is perhaps no initiative we have taken more seriously or invested more time and resources in than our electronic medical system and the safety features it lends to patient care.”

The growth of the Sarasota campus and addition of outpatient centers during this decade prompts a name change: Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System treats more than 29,000 inpatients, 155,000 outpatients, and 70,000 emergency patients from Charlotte, Desoto, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Under CEO Duncan Finlay's leadership, Sarasota Memorial earns the Florida Governor’s Sterling Award for Performance Excellence.

Pioneering Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery

In the late 1980s, Zeus represented a great leap forward in robotic surgery. After participating in clinical trials of the firstgeneration surgical robots, SMH deployed the first commercially available da Vinci surgical robot in 2006, and has remained at the forefront of robotic and minimally invasive surgical techniques ever since. The advanced technology and techniques have enabled surgeons to treat a wide range of conditions through tiny incisions—and sometimes no incisions at all—with less pain, fewer complications, and faster recovery for patients.

2003

U.S. News & World Report ranks Sarasota Memorial among the best hospitals in the country for heart surgery, urology, geriatrics, cancer, digestive disorders, orthopedics, and ear, nose, and throat disorders.

To support the transition to electronic medical records, Dr. Finlay works closely with the medical staff to encourage computerized physician order entry.

Sarasota Memorial earns Magnet status, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in nursing, for the first time.

Thomas Kelly, MD, demonstrating how Zeus' robotic tools could enable surgeons to perform minimally invasive heart surgery. In the late 1980s, Zeus was a precursor to the da Vinci robot that has revolutionized minimially invasive surgery today.

James Fiorica, MD, a GYN-Oncologist who helped pioneer the use of robotic and minimally invasive surgery at SMH for two decades, now serves as chief medical officer for SMH, overseeing the health system's 2,500-plus medical staff and use of emerging treatments and technologies.

After more than a decade of research, the Human Genome Project is completed, revealing the first sequence of the human genome and vital information that accelerates the study of human biology and improves the practice of medicine.

Today, SMH's robotic and minimally invasive surgery program is the region's most comprehensive, delivering the greatest number of robotic specialties and the widest range of minimally invasive procedures available.

2005

The Hospital Board’s charter is amended, allowing SMH to expand outside the boundaries of the district, while restricting use of ad valorem tax funds to facilities and services within the district.

The amendment helps SMH expand profitable outpatient services to offset charity care and costly safety net services in the district.

SMH Nursing Leaders

During this decade, SMH greatly expanded the use of electronic medical records. Bill Gates nominated SMH on two occasions for a Computer World Smithsonian Award for its use of innovative information technology.

In 2003, the hospital earned its first Magnet Recognition, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in nursing.

Lynn Whisman, who served as SMH’s chief nursing officer (CNO) from 1994 to 2003, said at the time that earning Magnet status was “kind of like winning the gold medal in nursing,” with Magnet hospitals demonstrating greater patient and staff satisfaction and better outcomes. Under Whisman’s successors, former Chief Nursing Officer Jan Mauck and current CNO Connie Andersen, SMH nurses have continued to rank among the top 1% in the nation.

2005

Dr. Finlay retires as CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

In May 2005, the Hospital Board appoints Gwen MacKenzie as CEO. She focuses on the hospital’s finances while maintaining its patient-oriented culture.

MacKenzie prioritizes developing a regional network of care centers and recommends buying property for future off-site facilities. It later proves insightful, given the dramatic increase in Sarasota County real estate prices.

Following its first “Magnet” designation in 2003, SMH would earn the prestigious honor from the American Nurses Credentialing Center five consecutive times. Today, it remains the only hospital in the region with Magnet status, and one of less than 1% in the nation to maintain the designation for 20 years and counting.

Lynn Whisman (1994-2003)

Connie Andersen (2016 to present)

Jan Mauck (2003-2016)

During this time period, the hospital forged strong ties and educational partnerships with the region’s nursing schools, and a clinical alliance with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Other clinical education advances in the first decade of the millennium included the launch of the hospital’s first patient simulation lab.

Dr. Finlay retired in 2005. When he left, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that “Dr. Duncan Finlay… gave the hospital five good years of leadership—focusing on healthcare and service to patients and repairing relationships with doctors and staff.”

Upon Dr. Finlay’s retirement, a national search began, ending with the Hospital Board appointing Gwen MacKenzie as SMH’s first female CEO. She was a former oncology nurse practitioner with a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan, as well as a Master of Nursing degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

In April 2005, the Herald-Tribune wrote: “Fortunately for MacKenzie and the people of this region, her immediate challenge is not to save a failing hospital or remake an institution. Rather, the tasks she faces are to build upon the strong efforts to continually improve the hospital’s service, balance its charitable obligations with fiscal responsibility, maintain the

2006

SMH begins its transition to a teaching hospital as thirdyear medical students from Florida State University begin training at the hospital under SMH faculty physicians.

SMH deploys the first commercially available da Vinci surgical robot in 2006.

2007

SMH's Institute for Advanced Medicine opens on Clark Road, offering outpatient services and the latest diagnostics.

Gwen MacKenzie, SMH’s first female CEO, began her nine-year tenure in 2005.

SMH leaders, physicians, and staff celebrated the opening of a 25-room Emergency Care Center expansion in 2005.

quality of care and eliminate medical errors, build partnerships with other healthcare providers and, perhaps most important, maintain public support for the hospital and its mission.”

She did not disappoint.

Before coming to SMH, MacKenzie spent 25 years at the Detroit Medical Center as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the nonprofit academic system of nine hospitals.

During Finlay’s five years, he improved and shored up the hospital’s morale and took staff and patient satisfaction to new levels. In her turn, MacKenzie would focus on the hospital’s financials while maintaining its patient-orientated culture.

One of her first initiatives at SMH was to improve the flow of patients through the Emergency Care Center. The hospital opened a new ER wing in 2005 and implemented new processes to enhance efficiency and the patient experience.

Most importantly, the improvements eliminated longstanding wait problems that at times required SMH to go on diversion, forcing paramedics to take patients to other ERs.

Great strides also were made in clinician training and physician recruitment. One of MacKenzie’s goals was to make SMH a hospital so diverse and

2008

Sarasota becomes an epicenter of the 2008 financial crisis and collapse of the real estate market.

2009

SMH expands into Manatee County, opening an outpatient and urgent care center in Heritage Harbour.

Forbes Magazine rates Sarasota Memorial among the safest hospitals and best workplaces in the country, while Nursing Professionals magazine names it among the nation’s top 100 hospitals for nursing professionals.

so proficient in its medical opportunities for citizens that there would be no reason to seek medical care anywhere else but Sarasota.

In 2005, SMH began its transition to a teaching hospital as third-year medical students from Florida State University began training at the hospital under SMH faculty physicians.

MacKenzie also focused on turning around the organization’s finances, hiring David Verinder as chief financial officer in 2006 to help put the health system on sound footing.

In 2009, SMH demonstrated its commitment to strengthening services in south Sarasota County by opening a freestanding Emergency Room and Health Care Center in North Port. Among the first of its kind in Florida, the center included 21 ER treatment rooms and an array of outpatient services. A local newspaper described it as a “testament to perseverance, sound decision-making and value of a public hospital system.”

Sarasota Memorial builds and opens a 50,000-square-foot emergency care and outpatient center in North Port.

Equipped with a landing pad for helicopters, the North Port facility is one of the state’s first and largest freestanding emergency care centers.

SMH’s freestanding ER and Health Care Center has provided 24/7 care to the North Port community since opening in 2009.

Within the decade, Sarasota becomes the largest employer in Sarasota County and the region.

Chief Financial Officer David Verinder was recruited in 2006 to help put SMH on sound financial footing.

CHAPTER

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE

After a decade of expansion and nationwide recognition, the newly named Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has come into its own as a leading hospital in the nation. The 2010s solidified that reputation and built upon it.

The decade began with work underway to build a new nine-story Courtyard Tower.

Backed by an ambitious $250 million plan to transform and modernize the campus, the new tower would become the centerpiece of the complex, with a spacious light-filled

As the nation emerges from the Great Recession, the 2010s are an era of smart phones and social media. David Verinder succeeds Gwen MacKenzie as CEO, and ushers in a period of transformative growth. Following the opening of the Courtyard Tower, Sarasota Memorial opens a Trauma Center and state-of-the-art new Rehabilitation Pavilion. SMH earns the federal government’s first 5-star rating for overall quality and partners with the Florida State College of Medicine to complete its goal of becoming a teaching hospital.

2010

David Verinder is named COO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. He had been chief financial officer since 2006, helping to turn around the health system’s struggling financial situation, and later would succeed Gwen MacKenzie as CEO.

The Courtyard Tower was said to be one of the largest construction job sites in the region, employing hundreds of workers during an economic downturn.

lobby and reception area, as well as 220 state-ofthe-art patient rooms to replace many of the oldest, cramped areas of the hospital.

CEO Gwen MacKenzie indicated that one of her most difficult challenges concerned relocation of the hospital’s back-up generators to make way for and support the expansion. The hospital power plant, which was in front of SMH’s main entrance at the southwest corner of Waldemere Street and U.S. 41, had to be moved further down Waldemere Street toward Osprey Avenue. Many residents in the neighborhood expressed concern over potential noise from the proposal. However, working together with its neighborhood advisory council and individual residents, SMH appeased neighbors with a specially designed energy center that included sound-absorbing cooling towers and a fuel system combining diesel and natural gas.

SMH built a soundabsorbing central energy plant to provide a cleaner, quieter, longer-lasting source of backup power for the hospital campus.

The Florida Planning and Zoning Association recognized SMH as a role model for the innovative design of its new central energy plant and the collaborative efforts taken to address neighbors' concerns.

2012

U.S. News & World Report ranks Sarasota Memorial among the top 50 hospitals for gynecological care, one of only 3 percent to achieve national recognition, and among the best hospitals in Florida.

SMH announces a strategic collaboration between its cardiology team and Columbia University Medical Center to expand and enhance treatment options for patients with heart disease.

2013

The Courtyard Tower opens with dedicated Cardiac and Orthopedic Units, an expanded Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Labor & Delivery and MotherBaby suites equipped with the latest technology and amenities.

Thousands of community members turned out for the opening of SMH’s new 300,000-square-foot, 9-story Courtyard Tower, which modernized the campus.

2014

David Verinder is named President & CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Financed and built during the Great Recession, it was oft noted that SMH had the only construction crane still operating on the Suncoast.

When the new 9-story Courtyard Tower opened in 2013, approximately 6,000 community members and leaders turned out to celebrate the milestone achievement and mark the start of another chapter in the hospital’s history.

Sarasota Memorial opens its fifth urgent care center on Bee Ridge Road.

For the third time, Sarasota Memorial is recognized as a Magnet Nursing Hospital, a feat accomplished by only 1 percent of the nation’s hospitals.

“This has been long awaited,” MacKenzie was quoted in the HeraldTribune: “When I came here in 2005, one of things I heard loud and clear was the need for the rejuvenation and renovation of this main campus.”

The 300,000-square-foot patient tower became the focal point of the new hospital entrance—in effect the new front door. The tower offered well-appointed private patient rooms, new state-of-the-art Cardiac and Orthopedic Units, an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to replace the old, ward-style unit, and spacious Labor and Delivery and MotherBaby suites.

The entrance to the new facility was akin to a grand hotel—with large picture windows that afforded an abundance of natural light and a central courtyard with beautifully landscaped trees, fountains, and outdoor seating that provided a welcome respite for people working in and visiting the growing campus.

Throughout the decade, the health system also continued adding new outpatient and urgent care centers, making care more affordable and accessible in fast-growing areas of the community. Among other services and locations, SMH opened urgent care centers on University Parkway, Stickney Point, the U.S. 41 Bypass in Venice, Bee Ridge Road, and St. Armands Circle.

2015

Sarasota Memorial opens the first and only Trauma Center in Sarasota County, providing local residents with immediate access to around-the-clock, life-saving care.

Reuben Holland, MD (left), medical director of SMH emergency and urgent care services, and then Hospital Board Chair Dick Merritt and COO David Verinder celebrate the opening of a new urgent care center at University Parkway in 2012.

The hospital system’s medical staff grows to 800. SMH employs a staff of 4,000 and becomes the largest employer in Sarasota County. By 2024, that number would increase to more than 10,000 employees.

2016

Sarasota Memorial earns 5 stars for overall quality in the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s new hospital ratings program. As of 2024, it remains the only hospital in Florida to receive the highest 5-star grade in every reporting period since the program’s inception.

The Sarasota Memorial Health Care Center at University Parkway and Urgent Care Center on Stickney Point Road were among the new outpatient/urgent care center locations SMH opened to make care more convenient throughout the region.

In 2012, SMH announced a strategic collaboration between its cardiology team and Columbia University Medical Center to expand and enhance treatment options for patients with heart disease.

Minimally invasive techniques and advances in cardiac care also continued at a rapid pace during this decade. In 2012, SMH began a strategic collaboration with Columbia University Medical Center to expand and enhance new treatment options for patients with heart disease. Bolstered by its collaboration, SMH opened a new Heart Valve Clinic, to identify patients who could benefit from a new minimally invasive procedure— transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The clinic is now called the Structural Heart Clinic to reflect many more advanced therapies available to promote heart health.

2016

The hospital’s sixth urgent care center opens on St. Armands Circle, offering medical services to permanent residents, snowbirds and vacationers.

The once-heralded Retter Wing is demolished, making way for a new, 74,000-square-foot, fourstory Rehabilitation Pavilion. The $50 million state-of-the-art facility opens in April 2017.

In 2013, the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board confirmed its commitment to its public mission, voting unanimously to

2017

Sarasota Memorial partners with the Florida State College of Medicine to launch an Internal Medicine Residency Program, helping to train the next generation of physicians.

maintain SMH’s status as a public hospital. The vote came after an in-depth review, prompted by a new state law that required public hospital districts to consider the benefits of selling or leasing the hospital to a private company.

In 2014, SMH was ranked as a Magnet Hospital for the third time, a feat accomplished by only 1% of the nation’s hospitals. Hospitals undergo new surveys every four years to maintain the prestigious designation; SMH nurses displayed their diligence and dedication again to earn redesignation for a fourth time in 2018.

In 2013, SMH purchased its first TRU-D robot. Short for “Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfection,” the super sanitizing robot emits a disinfecting dose of UV-C light that kills nearly 100% of pathogens and superbugs that pose serious infections. Over the next several years, and with Foundation support, SMH would purchase more of the germ-slaying robots. They would become a key part of the infection control arsenal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018 celebration of the hospital’s fourth consecutive Magnet designation. At left, a cake celebrates the third designation in 2014.

SMH continues outreach services in Newtown, opening a new Internal Medicine Practice and the Jean & Alfred Goldstein Health Center.

Staffed by SMH board-certified internal medicine physicians and resident physicians, the facility provides greater access and a reliable source of adult primary care for a vulnerable and underserved population.

2018

The Newtown practice partners with local agencies to provide legal aid, help filling prescriptions, nutritional support and other social services for at-risk patients.

SMH CEO David Verinder recognizes CNO Jan Mauck and nursing leaders Connie Andersen and Sue Shkrab during a

After nearly a decade of leadership marked by expansion, quality achievements, and a return to financial health, Gwen MacKenzie announced she was leaving SMH in June 2014 to take on a senior executive role at Ascension Health.

The Herald-Tribune said of her departure, “For nine years as chief executive of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, MacKenzie demonstrated grace under fire, displayed the caring soul of a nurse… and exhibited a sharp mind on the economic side.”

By the time MacKenzie left, the Herald-Tribune pointed out, “The hospital is held in high regard—almost revered as an institution—in most sectors of the community.”

Since its inception, SMH has demonstrated a singular ability to hire the right person at the right time to fill the top position. So, too, was the appointment of David Verinder to CEO in 2014.

Verinder first joined SMH as chief financial officer in 2006. Previously, he had served in senior leadership roles at Scott & White Memorial Health Care in central Texas. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana State University, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn University.

Verinder played a key role in SMH’s financial turnaround in his four years as CFO. After he was promoted to chief operating officer in 2010, he was responsible for shepherding multiple departments and expansion efforts. His depth of experience, expertise, and proven track record made him the Hospital Board’s unanimous go-to leader when MacKenzie left the organization.

Under Verinder’s leadership over the next decade, SMH would embark on critical initiatives that expanded the community’s access to world-

CEO David Verinder

class care, while burnishing the health system’s national reputation for quality and safety.

Shortly after assuming the CEO role in 2014, Verinder focused on a number of transformative projects and programs. Among the first was establishing Sarasota County’s first and only Trauma Center, so that severely injured residents could receive advanced, lifesaving care in their community.

Opening the Trauma Center in 2015 required a significant commitment from SMH staff and specialists, as the program needed a team of highly specialized surgeons and a wide range of trauma-trained clinicians and subspecialists ready to provide lifesaving care around the clock.

It also required a substantial and ongoing financial investment to build, equip, and operate the specially designed trauma bays, operating rooms, intensive care pods and nursing units.

“Earning trauma designation was a tremendous effort that required extraordinary passion, expertise, and a highly specialized team to respond 24/7 around-the-clock to any critical situation,” said Verinder.

Research indicates that having trauma care close to home, within “the golden hour”— the first 60 minutes of traumatic injury—can determine the patient’s outcome. So the new center was essential to the health of the community and region.

SMH’s Trauma Center passed its provisional period with flying colors. The hospital was quick to remove "Provisional" from the Courtyard Tower's new Trauma Center sign.

Opening a Trauma Center in 2015 required a widerange of trauma-trained clinicians, surgeons and ER teams ready to provide life-saving care around the clock.

During its first year of operation, the trauma team cared for more than 1,000 patients. Today, it treats nearly 5,000 patients a year, with survival rates significantly better than national benchmarks.

The once-heralded Retter Wing was demolished and replaced in 2017 with a new $50 million, four-story facility, that provides a full range of specialized inpatient and outpatient therapy to restore function and mobility to people recovering from disabling illness and traumatic injuries. For several years running, SMH has been named among U.S. News & World Report’s 50 "Best Hospitals" for Rehabilitation Care.

SMH’s Rehabilitation Pavilion, which opened in 2017, also plays a key role in patient recovery.

Sarasota Memorial continues to operate the county’s only Trauma Center, providing lifesaving care to thousands of patients each year, including Congressman Greg Steube, above, who held a press conference in 2023 to thank SMH’s skilled Trauma experts for their care after he fell 25 feet in an accident on his property. The Congressman was joined by “King of the Highwire,” Nik Wallenda, who also praised SMH for helping several members of the Flying Wallendas recover following a tightrope accident in 2017.

Training the Next Generation of Clinicians

In 2017, SMH became a training ground for new generations of physicians, as it established the first of three physician residency and fellowship programs in partnership with Florida State University’s College of Medicine. Today, there are approximately 70 residents and fellows training each year in high-demand areas, including Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

The Jean & Alfred Goldstein Health Center at the Sarasota Memorial Internal Medicine Practice in Newtown also opened in 2017. Staffed by resident physicians working with SMH’s experienced board-certified internal medicine physicians, the practice provides primary and preventive care to uninsured and low-income residents and the Newtown community.

Since the graduate medical education programs began at SMH, nearly half of the residents and fellows who have completed the advanced training at SMH have opted to remain in the region, while nearly 70% have stayed in Florida, helping to offset local and statewide physician shortages.

In addition, SMH’s nurse and pharmacy residency programs help new clinicians successfully transition into professional practice.

SMH and FSU faculty, staff and residents celebrated the opening of the Sarasota Memorial Internal Medicine Practice and Jean & Alfred Goldstein Health Center in Newtown in 2017.

SMH/FSU ER residents in training.

CHAPTER 12

THE FUTURE IS NOW

“Our longstanding vision has been to be the best place to be a patient, the best place to work and the best place to practice medicine.”

— David Verinder, President & CEO

As the 2020s dawned, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System embarked on its most significant expansion in its century of service—a $1 billion-plus investment to fill gaps and enhance care in the community.

The expansion included three transformative projects designed to meet pressing community needs:

• Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, a comprehensive cancer center that would provide state-of-the-art oncology facilities and specialized oncology teams to expand and coordinate cancer care close to home.

• SMH-Venice, a full-service hospital to ensure the rapidly growing south Sarasota County region had more convenient access to safe, high-quality care.

• The Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion, a new behavioral health hospital that would replace the 1950s-era Bayside Center for Behavioral Health with a healing environment and expanded services to meet the region’s deepening mental and behavioral healthcare needs.

SMH’s vision to transform cancer care began nearly 10 years earlier, when Verinder and Richard Brown, MD, medical director of the Cancer Institute, discussed the community’s rapid growth and increasing number of cancer cases.

With a belief that no one should have to leave home for advanced cancer care, Sarasota Memorial embarked on a plan to recruit additional, highly trained cancer specialists to the community and develop a world-class center focused on expertly coordinated, quality-driven, patient-centered care.

To turn this vision into reality, the health system launched the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute in 2020, supported by a $25 million landmark donation from the Brian and Shelia Jellison Family Foundation to the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation. The Jellison Cancer Institute opened in phases during the height of the COVID pandemic, starting with a radiation

The eight-story Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute Oncology Tower opened at the SMH-Sarasota Campus in November 2021, providing 56 private patient suites and a full spectrum of advanced therapies and surgical treatments.

The Radiation Oncology Center at University Parkway uses linear accelerators to provide targeted radiation therapy to cancer patients.

oncology center on University Parkway in 2020, followed by the inpatient and surgical Oncology Tower on the SMH-Sarasota campus in 2021.

The new facilities, new services and growing multi-disciplinary team of oncology specialists and subspecialists were game-changers, allowing SMH to offer the most personalized and promising treatments, and a full continuum of cancer care services — from prevention, screening and diagnosis to treatment, clinical trials, survivorship support and more.

“Thousands of local cancer patients are now receiving the highest level of care, close to home,” Verinder said. “We are truly offering new hope and healing to our community, thanks to the vision and support of our hospital board, our excellent physicians and the dedication of our entire cancer care team.”

Dick Vitale, shown here with his family, was among the first patients to complete treatment in SMH’s Oncology Tower. The ESPN college basketball announcer battled several kinds of cancer from 2021 to 2024. After completing treatment in 2022 for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Vitale selected a river rock inscribed with the word “Love” to leave behind in the tower ’s rock garden to inspire cancer patients following in his footsteps. The oncology team in turn presented him a hand-painted rock with a basketball, March Madness brackets, and the NCAA Final Four theme. At his completion ceremony, Vitale recognized his medical team and nurses by name, saying “If I were on ESPN now, I would simply say—They are Awesome, Baby!— with a capital A!”

In 2023, ground was broken on a new seven-story outpatient Cancer Pavilion, the third in a series of premier facilities that make up the expanding Cancer Institute. The Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion now under construction on the SMH-Sarasota Campus will provide a full range of outpatient oncology services.

The Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation announced a $16 million donation from philanthropist Susan Milman to support the new state-ofthe-art pavilion.

Meanwhile, SMH simultaneously worked to enhance access to medical care in south Sarasota County.

Verinder commented that the opening of SMH-Venice in 2021 was among the health system’s most significant achievements in recent years. Building a hospital in south Sarasota County had long been in SMH’s expansion plans, but the timing was accelerated in 2015 “after community outcry over conditions at Venice Regional Medical Center,” Verinder said at the time. The 1950s-era hospital on Venice Island had started as a community hospital, but had changed hands numerous times since the 1990s, and ultimately became a private, for-profit hospital owned by a large corporate chain. In 2015, the aged facility faced complaints and concerns from regulators and residents.

In November 2015, SMH celebrated its 90th anniversary and announced it would build a new hospital to serve Venice. SMH also disclosed that it had tried unsuccessfully to purchase the struggling for-profit Venice Regional.

After fending off legal challenges from local for-profit hospitals and navigating Florida’s complex (and now defunct) hospital Certificate of

In 2023, SMH broke ground on the MilmanKover Cancer Pavilion.

Construction of the outpatient facility (shown in a rendering above) is scheduled to wrap up in late 2025.

Need application process, SMH received state approval to open the new, full-service acute-care hospital on a 65-acre parcel on Laurel Road, which it had purchased in 2005.

SMH completed the 365,000 square-foot, five-story facility in November 2021, with two patient care towers, 110 private suites, a 28-bed emergency care center, eight surgical suites, and an inpatient rehabilitation/recovery gym.

SMH-Venice was fully occupied practically from Day One. With patient volumes exceeding all projections its first month, SMH quickly rolled out plans to double the campus capacity. By 2024, SMH had opened a third patient care tower, increasing the number of patient suites to 212, and doubled the size of its emergency care center, from 28 rooms to 61. The hospital also increased the number of surgical suites and expanded registration, imaging, and other support areas.

Plans to expand SMH-Venice took on even greater urgency when the for-profit hospital on Venice Island (renamed ShorePoint Health Venice) closed in the Fall of 2022 with little warning.

In addition to improving patient care, SMH-Venice has been a major economic engine for the region, with construction generating hundreds of jobs and the campus employing well over 1,000 staff.

Verinder assured the Venice community that SMH was working to fill gaps in care, and hired over 100 staff displaced by ShorePoint’s closing. “We have a history of caring, a 100-year history, and we’re not going to let the community suffer,” he said.

SMH-Venice experienced an enormous surge of patients from southwest Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. To help with the influx, federal and state officials deployed a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) to set up a temporary tent facility to help SMH-Venice staff triage and treat patients.

One month later, Hurricane Ian struck the region in September 2022, causing widespread damage and hospital closures. SMH’s two hospitals were among the few in southwest Florida to remain fully open and operational during and after the storm.

The third transformational project that got underway during the early 2020s was construction of the new Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion.

The new center, located on the Sarasota Campus along Osprey Avenue, replaced the aged Bayside Center for Behavioral Health, which had played a vital safety-net role for more than 50 years.

Hurricane Ian outside SMH-Venice

Opened in December 2023, the three-story facility was made possible by a $10 million gift by philanthropists Brian and Martha Cornell, who embraced SMH’s vision to create a warm, healing environment where people could access a full spectrum of behavioral health services under one roof. The pavilion offers a seamless continuum of care, from outpatient therapy and procedures to inpatient care, with private rooms and clinical units dedicated for children, adolescents, adults, and senior patients.

Verinder pointed out that the success of these projects would not have been possible without the ongoing commitment of the Hospital Board, the support of the community, and the expertise and dedication of staff.

“While these new facilities are beautiful, innovative centers, we all know it’s the people inside who count,” Verinder said. “Our talented and compassionate teams are offering new hope and healing to more people than ever before.”

Today, the health system continues to lead the region in quality and safety. SMH has maintained its five-star rating for overall quality from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

Indeed, as of 2024, it was the only hospital in Florida (and one of only 17 in the entire nation) to repeatedly earn CMS’ highest quality award since the rating system launched in 2016.

SMH also continued to receive national recognition as one of the “World’s Best Hospitals” in a 2024 ranking of hospitals compiled by Newsweek. SMH has earned a spot on the list every year since the global rankings began in 2019, and is the only hospital in southwest Florida ever to make the list.

2023 marked a new era for behavioral health in Sarasota, with the opening of the Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion. Community members and staff had the opportunity to tour the spacious facility before it opened for patient care.

SMH Becomes Ground Zero for the Covid-19 Pandemic

No one expected Sarasota to become ground zero for the first confirmed COVID-19 case reported in Florida. But that’s exactly what happened when the state announced Florida’s first two cases on March 1, 2020—with one hospitalized in Sarasota County.

Within a few weeks, SMH had more than 70 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus SARSCoV-2.

During the course of the pandemic, more than 70% of all COVID patients hospitalized in Sarasota County were cared for at SMH, including the new SMH-Venice hospital that opened during the Omicron wave in November 2021.

Early in the pandemic, SMH leaders and physicians and Congressman Vern Buchanan held a media briefing to discuss the response to COVID-19.

Hospital teams worked 24/7 to manage critical supply shortages and source and secure personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential items.

The Sarasota Campus was operating at full capacity before the onset of COVID-19, and stretched beyond its limits for most of the pandemic.

Despite the patient surges and other challenges prompted by the pandemic, a review of SMH’s COVID-19 care, conducted in late 2022/early 2023, found that patients had better survival rates than most other facilities in Florida and nationwide.

While hospitals across the nation experienced record employee turnover, SMH's core team held strong through the crisis, with some veteran staff postponing retirement plans to support hospitalized patients and each other.

Despite concerns for their own personal safety, SMH physicians and staff were resolute in their commitment to the community.

In 2021, SMH nurses from were among the healthcare heroes invited to Super Bowl LV as guests of the NFL, to thank them for their dedication during the pandemic.

In 2022, SMH garnered national attention when three candidates running on a "Health Freedom" slate won seats on the locally elected Hospital Board, after expressing skepticism of COVID-19 vaccine and other FDA-authorized treatments.

Gregory Carter, the longest-serving member on the current Hospital Board, was the only incumbent up for re-election to retain his seat that year. Despite differing viewpoints at times, over the next few years, the new Hospital Board would listen and learn from each other as they worked collaboratively to continue providing quality care to the community.

“No matter the obstacles, SMH has always stayed true to its public mission,” Carter said, reflecting on the past few years. “Just looking back at some of our latest projects—the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, the SMH-Venice Hospital, and the Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion—all moved forward despite the disruptions and difficulties of the global pandemic.”

Gregory Carter, first elected in 2002, is the longest-serving member on today's Hospital Board.

Despite a difficult labor market that followed the pandemic, SMH grew to become the largest employer in Sarasota County, and the region, with the number of employees increasing from 4,000 to more than 10,000. Over the years, many staff members have demonstrated their dedication to the organization, serving for 20, 30, 40, and even 50 years.

The medical staff has more than tripled in size from 800 to 2,500 clinicians. Contributing to the growth of the system’s healthcare team is the health system’s First Physicians Group, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024. Today, FPG sees more than 840,000 patient visits each year. The primary and specialty care network includes approximately 600 physicians and advanced practice providers across the Florida Suncoast.

SMH’s expansion is far from complete. At the end of 2024, the health system was on track to open a new freestanding Emergency Room near the corner of Lorraine Road and University Parkway to better serve patients in the northernmost portion of the county.

In 2019, SMH celebrates the opening of two new primary care practices,

FPG Pediatrics at Lorraine Corners and FPG Internal Medicine at Lorraine Corners, in the rapidly expanding communities around Lakewood Ranch.

A $25 million gift from the Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation supported construction of the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute. It was the latest in a series of family donations to Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation that has helped spur lifechanging research and draw top-tier physicians to SMH and southwest Florida region.

In 2025, as it celebrates its centennial year, SMH plans to open the five-story Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute. A $25 million gift from the Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation is supporting the Institute’s vision to provide an innovative research and education environment and bring cutting-edge treatments and specialists to the community. The Institute will house a new medical library and advanced simulation center that expands hands-on training opportunities for physicians, nurses, and students mastering new treatments and technologies. It also will be the new home for graduate medical education programs, which have grown significantly in recent years.

SMH also continues to expand into South County, with plans to open North Port’s first hospital. Master planning got underway in 2024, with groundbreaking slated in 2025.

The community now served by SMH encompasses an entire region, as well as people seeking out SMH specialists from across the nation.

As it looks forward to its next 100 years, SMH is well-positioned to continue to provide the most advanced medical technology, treatments, and facilities, as well as the highest quality of care, delivered by the finest physicians and staff in the healthcare industry.

Verinder attributes SMH’s longevity and success to the entire SMH team and the community they serve.

“Our century-long tradition of healthcare excellence wouldn’t be possible without the strong support of our community and the tireless efforts of our staff," he said. "Amid all the growth and change over the years, our team has remained committed to providing the best possible experience for each and every patient who comes through our doors.”

After contracting COVID-19 in March 2020, Sarasota resident Steve Huse returned home 102 days after he left his driveway on an ambulance stretcher. He defied the odds, but insists he did not do it on his own.

“I feel so lucky,” he told reporters not long after an emotion-filled discharge from the hospital. “But also, I thank God, thank the doctors, thank the nurses, the nurse’s aides, everybody I dealt with. They all contributed to making me well.”

★ New Facilities to Serve North County Residents

Work is under way to construct a new freestanding Emergency Room on Lorraine Road and a new Urgent Care Center on State Road 70 to help serve residents in the northernmost portion of our community, which is experiencing significant population growth.

★ North Port & Wellen Park Campuses Moving Ahead

M aster planning is under way for two new south county medical campuses, including an undeveloped 32-acre site at Sumter Blvd. at I-75 in North Port and a 28-acre vacant property in Wellen Park.

Sarasota Memorial will work with city leaders and surrounding neighborhoods to develop the two sites. The health system plans to break ground in 2025, with t he goal of providing residents convenient access to the full range of hospital services, outpatient care and physician offices.

SARASOTA MEMORIAL NETWORK OF SERVICES

1 Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care & Health Care Center at Heritage Harbour

1040 River Heritage Blvd., Bradenton

2 Sarasota Memorial Health Care Center at University Parkway

5350 University Parkway, Sarasota 3 Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care Center at University Parkway

5360 University Parkway, Sarasota 4 Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute Radiation Oncology Center 5370 University Parkway, Sarasota

5 Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care Center at St. Armands

500 John Ringling Blvd., Sarasota

6 Sarasota Memorial Breast Health Center Waldemere Medical Plaza 1921 Waldemere Street, Sarasota

Sarasota Memorial Heart Pavilion 1540 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota 8 Cornell Behavioral Health Pavilion 1625 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota 9 Sarasota Memorial Hospital, ER & Trauma Center - Sarasota Campus 1700 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

! Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care Center at Bee Ridge

5590 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota

# Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care Center at Stickney Point 6331 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

$ Sarasota Memorial Health Care Center at Clark Road 5880 Rand Blvd., Sarasota

% Sarasota Memorial HealthFit 5880 Rand Blvd., Sarasota

& Sarasota Memorial Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 5640 Rand Blvd., Sarasota

( Sarasota Memorial Health Care Center at Blackburn Point 929 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey

) Sarasota Memorial Hospital & ER - Venice Campus 2600 Laurel Rd. E., North Venice

* Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care & Health Care Center at Venice 997 U.S. 41 Bypass N., Venice

+ Sarasota Memorial Urgent Care Center at South Venice 8431 Pointe Loop Dr., Venice

, Sarasota Memorial ER & Health Care Center at North Port 2345 Bobcat Village Center Road, North Port

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author/historian Jeff LaHurd has lived in Sarasota since 1950, retiring as the History Specialist for Sarasota County in 2015. During the past 35 years, he has written 17 books about the history of the community, plus numerous articles in local publications. His historical research and writing have garnered a number of awards, including a Lifetime Achievement in History and Preservation from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. He and his wife Jennifer have four children and three grandchildren.

Author Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the many SMH leaders and Hospital Board members (past and present) who took the time to share valuable insights and information about SMH’s century of service to this community.

While hospital newsletters and annual reports provided many of the technical details and historical accounts, I appreciate the SMH communications team’s research assistance and editorial support. The SMH timeline and photos the team compiled truly help punctuate and illustrate the hospital’s rich history.

I received helpful information, always quickly, from Leah Lapszynski, assistant manager of the Sarasota History Center, and also obtained information from local publications, including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sun Media Group, Sarasota Magazine and Scene Magazine and archives from the former Sarasota Herald, Sarasota Sunday Times and The Sarasota Times.

I thank my sweet niece, Erin Brooks Marvin, and my patient wife, Jennifer, for their ongoing suggestions and help keeping me focused until the book was completed.

In closing, I would like to dedicate this work to Anna Heath. As Sister Margaret, she was and still is a bright spot in my life.