SARASOTA – Sharon Roush, a well-known and respected hospital executive and community leader in Florida, will be the founding president of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH)’s new south county hospital and 65-acre medical campus on Laurel Road, Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder announced today. Roush is slated to step into the new executive role in July to oversee the design, construction and opening of Sarasota Memorial Hospital – Laurel Road, and its ongoing operations. A resident of Sarasota, Roush comes from South Bay Hospital in Sun City, Fla., where she served as CEO of the 138-bed community hospital in HCA Healthcare’s West Florida Division for nearly 10 years. Before that, she served as CEO for two other HCA hospitals in Florida: Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee and Columbia Hospital in West Palm Beach. Over the course of her 25-year career, Roush successfully led the development and design of one of HCA’s largest building projects – the replacement hospital, Capital Regional Medical Center – and expanded multiple service lines in the communities she served. She is familiar with the Suncoast region, as she and her husband, Darryl, have had a home in Sarasota County for eight years and have lived in Sarasota full-time for the past two years. “Sharon is a proven leader with the unique insight, knowledge and experience to lead Sarasota Memorial’s expansion into south county,” Verinder said. “She understands the complex healthcare and regulatory issues in our region and the importance of employee, physician and community engagement. I think she’ll be a great advocate and asset to the community and to the health system.” Founded in 1925, Sarasota Memorial is Sarasota County’s only public hospital, and the only not-for-profit health system and health-care safety net in the region. In addition to its 829bed hospital in Sarasota, Sarasota Memorial offers a broad continuum of outpatient care – from urgent care, trauma and emergency services to laboratory and diagnostic imaging, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. The Laurel Road hospital will be the most significant addition in Sarasota Memorial’s 93-year history. Roush said she is looking forward to being part of that historical milestone and working with community leaders and residents to ensure the new facility fits in with the community and addresses the growing south county needs. Future plans also include a new community hospital in North Port.
“SMH serves a unique role, and I feel privileged to help start this new chapter in a community that has long supported and welcomed its arrival,”
Roush said. Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration granted preliminary approval of SMH’s Certificate of Need application in 2016, but the project was delayed after surrounding hospitals challenged the state’s decision. A judge affirmed AHCA’s decision in May. The state is expected to issue a final order in the coming weeks. Selecting Roush for its president is SMH’s first step in building its south county leadership team. Her first priorities will be overseeing the campus’ pre-construction plans, including hosting community workshops and meeting with city officials. As the hospital takes shape, she also will focus on staffing and assembling a specialized medical staff and clinical team. It will take about three years to build the new hospital, which will have 90 acute-care beds, 20 beds for observation patients and an Emergency Care Center with 25 treatment rooms. Services include emergency care, medical, surgical and intensive care units, surgical suites, including a dedicated operating room for obstetrical procedures or medically necessary C-sections; cardiac catheterization/ interventional services; endoscopy suite; respiratory services; infusion/ chemotherapy services; rehabilitation services, radiology/imaging services; a laboratory and pharmacy, among other clinical services. The campus will offer all private rooms, advanced hurricane hardening and a seamless connection to SMH’s electronic medical records and information technology. It also will offer a full complement of outpatient services.
