Venice, FL— Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice is set to unveil additional beds in less than two months, announced Public Relations Director Kim Savage. The new Northeast Tower will see its top three levels open on April 1st, with the fourth and fifth floors adding 34 patient rooms each, bringing the total capacity to 178.
Originally opened in November 2021 with 110 beds, the hospital quickly reached capacity, prompting plans for expansion. The closure of ShorePoint Health Venice exacerbated the overcrowding issue in September.
The fourth level of the tower will cater to cardiac patients, while the fifth level will be dedicated to orthopedic care. Meanwhile, existing rooms in the Southwest Tower will be repurposed for general medical/surgical and neurology patients.
Further expansion is anticipated in the fall, with a dedicated unit for surgical oncology patients opening on Level 2 of the Northeast Tower, nearly doubling the facility’s original capacity to 212 rooms, all of which will be private.
Recruitment efforts have been ongoing since October to staff the new beds, with over 200 employees slated to be hired. Additionally, the hospital is expanding its emergency department and operating room capacity, set for completion in November. This expansion includes the addition of two new operating rooms in January, with plans for a total of 10, and a significant increase in exam rooms and imaging facilities.