Sarasota Memorial To Build 2 Outpatient Cancer Treatment Centers

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Sarasota Memorial Hospital is moving forward with the expansion of its Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, as it plans to build two, new outpatient treatment centers in Sarasota and Venice, SMH said in a news release.

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, Sarasota Memorial’s governing board, gave the hospital the green light for its preliminary site and design plans for the new oncology facilities: a six-story cancer pavilion on the hospital’s Sarasota campus and a two-story cancer center on its developing Venice hospital campus.

The new outpatient cancer facilities are the next phase of Sarasota Memorial’s cancer institute, a comprehensive cancer program SMH began developing in 2018 to provide oncology patients with seamless access to the latest treatments, technologies, support services and clinical trials in the greater Sarasota community, the hospital said.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Sarasota newsletters and real-time email alerts.

In 2020, the health care system opened a new outpatient Radiation Oncology Center at its University Parkway campus, introducing a new clinical specialty for the hospital. This fall, it will also open a new, eight-story tower dedicated to cancer patients on the Sarasota hospital’s campus.

The new 150,000-square-foot Cancer Pavilion in Sarasota will be built across the street from the new inpatient oncology tower, SMH said. Outpatient services offered there will include a new breast health center, outpatient surgery suites, radiation and infusion services, diagnostic services, integrative and supportive care, and administrative and clinic space for physicians, counselors and navigators who provide coordinated care for patients and families.

The 50,000-square-foot Cancer Center in Venice will offer radiation oncology, advanced diagnostic imaging, infusion services, supportive care and medical office space.

The schematic design phase for these projects will take six to eight months, SMH said. Construction could begin late next year depending on funding approval by the hospital board.

“Cancer care is far more than facilities, treatments and technology,” David Verinder, president and CEO, said. “It takes tremendous coordination and collaboration across multiple subspecialties and disciplines to accurately diagnose and develop targeted treatments. That’s where a comprehensive cancer center like Sarasota Memorial’s Jellison Cancer Institute can really make a difference.”