Opening anticipated in early 2028
The Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH) is proceeding with plans for a new, $82.5-million Rehabilitation Pavilion on its Venice campus, “bringing its nationally recognized inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services” into South County, the system has announced.
“Locating the pavilion on the Venice hospital campus will ensure a seamless, more convenient transition” for patients in the hospital, a news release explains.
The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board approved funding for the project in September, the release notes. Further, this month SMH leaders “selected architects Gresham Smith, who designed the rehabilitation pavilion on SMH’s Sarasota campus,” and general contractor DeAngelis Diamond of Sarasota to design and build the 83,000-square-foot facility, the release points out. “Construction is expected to take roughly two years,” the release says, with the pavilion opening for patient care in early 2028.
The pavilion will consist of four floors, the release continues. “Levels two and three will be dedicated inpatient rehabilitation units with 50 private patient suites, advanced therapy gyms, mobility-training areas, and therapy tools and spaces that replicate real-life activities and environments, including an apartment, kitchen, car and grocery store, to support recovery and independent living,” the release points out.
“The first level will provide outpatient rehabilitation therapy and administrative space, while a shelled fourth floor will allow for future expansion,” the release says. “To accommodate the structure, campus parking in front of the facility will be reconfigured but preserved,” the release adds.
“This pavilion reflects our long-term commitment to providing comprehensive rehabilitation for people of our community,” said Maria DeCarlo, SMH vice president of post-acute care & rehabilitation, in the release. “It will mirror the nationally recognized programs and amenities at our Sarasota campus while offering care closer to home to residents in the growing South County community,” she added.
“The Rehabilitation Pavilion at SMH-Sarasota has been operating at or near full capacity since it opened in 2017,” the release notes. It was expanded from 44 to 54 beds in 2018 and then to 60 beds in 2022, the release says. “Last month, the hospital board also approved $5.6 million to expand the Sarasota campus rehabilitation pavilion again,” with plans for seven more beds, bringing the total to 67, the release points out. That expansion will begin next spring, with the new wing scheduled to open in early 2027, the release adds.
SMH’s Rehabilitation Pavilion in Sarasota is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for its comprehensive Medical Rehabilitation Program, the release says. That pavilion also has a Stroke Specialty Certification, “recognizing excellence in stroke rehabilitative care,” the release notes. “It has consistently been recognized for superior patient outcomes and care by several independent rating organizations, including U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek,” the release points out.