Sarasota Memorial Hospital New Tower Grand Opening, Sarasota, FL. After more than a decade of planning and construction, Sarasota Memorial Hospital held a Grand Opening of the New Tower for the community at large on Saturday, September 7, 2013. The new $186 million addition is a crowning achievement of an already impressive hospital.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital has received HealthGrades highest ranking for six years in a row as one of "America's 50 Best Hospitals" ranking it among the top 1% of the country's hospitals for clinical excellence. The addition of the new tower will certainly help keep Sarasota Memorial Hospital's top ranking.
The Grand Opening Saturday began mid-morning with opening remarks and continued until mid-afternoon. The public was invited to have photos taken in a large snow globe as a thank you gift to the community. Tours were given by the staff of the orthopedic and pediatric floors. It was obvious that the staff is extremely proud of the new tower, and their dedication and passion for what they do was evident as they lead the tours and explained all the impressive features of the new facility.
The design of the new tower included input from nurses, support staff, physicians, patients, families of patients and many others during the design and construction phase. "We talked to people with skin in the game," according to Thomas Perigo, Sarasota Memorial's director of architecture and construction. "We mocked up the new rooms first, so people could check them out - the floors, the paint colors, the equipment, how much natural lighting came through the shades."
Almost 70% of the rooms will be private, featuring sofa-beds with storage. There are family lounges on each floor, large windows for lots of natural light and beautiful views of the Sarasota Bay and surrounding area, a beautifully landscaped center courtyard with lots of greenery and fountains. A beautiful collection of original art selected from local artists adorns hospital walls. Especially impressive are the pediatric floors where newborn Sarasotans will enter the world. Some of the maternity private rooms feature jetted tubs in the bathrooms.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital is a privately run community hospital that opened its doors on November 2, 1925 and has evolved into the crown jewel of health care here in Southwest Florida. For a lot more detailed information and statistics on Sarasota Memorial Hospital check here at Wikipedia.
Fortunately, I have not had the opportunity to be a patient, but I have great comfort in knowing we have this wonderful facility here in our own backyard. I am very glad I took the tour at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital New Tower Grand Opening, Sarasota, FL.
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