Sarasota Memorial Hospital has cleared a major hurdle in its efforts to build a new hospital in the Venice community (Sarasota Memorial Hospital – Laurel Road).  Yesterday, an administrative law judge recommended that Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration give final approval to the plan to open the new facility with 90 acute-care beds on Laurel Road. The ruling in SMH’s favor affirms AHCA’s preliminary decision to approve the new hospital and rejects challenges from local for-profit hospitals. AHCA and the judge agreed that SMH’s new facility not only will greatly improve south county residents’ access to high-quality, affordable care, but that it also will ease congestion and capacity challenges at its main hospital campus in Sarasota. SMH has seen unprecedented growth in patient volumes in recent years. AHCA is expected to give final approval to the new hospital in the coming weeks. While it awaits this last step, SMH is proceeding with initial site plans so it can meet its goal to open the new hospital in approximately three years.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System