Local Focus, National Acclaim

Sarasota Memorial aims to offer our community the highest-quality healthcare and best patient experience in the nation. Here are a few of the many accomplishments that recognize our focus on your care.

Awards & Honors

• Highest 5-Star rating from Medicare for quality and safety, 2021
  • Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital in Florida to have consistently earned the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's highest 5-star rating for overall quality and safety since the rating system launched in 2016. 
  • The Sarasota Memorial Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the Sarasota Memorial Home Care team also have 5-Star ratings from the CMS.


• Named among 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in US, 2022
  • Sarasota Memorial Hospital is one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in the US, named by IBM Watson Health in the 2022 Fortune/IBM Watson Health list. According to the Watson Health, more than 7,000 lives could be saved and more than 5,000 heart patients could be complication free, if all hospitals performed at the level of the top 50 award winners.


• "A" Grade for Patient Safety, Fall 2021
  • Sarasota Memorial Hospital has received consecutive “A” grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group — a national organization that evaluates hospitals' efforts to protect patients from preventable injuries and harm — since SMH began participating in Leapfrog's survey in 2016.


• U.S. News "Top 50 Best Hospitals in America" for specialized rehabilitation for people recovering from serious injuries and debilitating diseases, 2021-2022


• U.S. News High Performer, 2021-2022
  • Earned top ratings in 15 procedures and conditions evaluated in U.S. News' "Best Hospitals" study:
    • Heart Attack(TAVR)
    • Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
    • Diabetes
    • Stroke
    • Back Surgery (Spinal Fusion)
    • Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
    • Aortic Valve Surgery
    • Heart Failure
    • COPD
    • Kidney Failure
    • Lung Cancer Surgery
    • Colon Cancer Surgery
    • Hip Replacement
    • Knee Replacement


• Named among the World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek, 2021
  • Sarasota Memorial Hospital was once again named one of the World's Best Hospitals in the 2021 global ranking of hospitals compiled by Newsweek magazine, in collaboration with global market research and consumer data company Statista Inc. SMH was one of 13 Florida hospitals to make the list, which spotlighted 2,000 hospitals across 25 countries.


• Named among Top 100 Hospitals in US, 2020
  • Sarasota Memorial Hospital is one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the US, named by IBM Watson Health in 2020. Chosen from 3,134 hospitals across the country, the Top 100 Hospitals outperformed peer-group hospitals on all evaluated clinical and operational performance benchmarks.


• Forbes' Best Employers for Women, 2021
  • Sarasota Memorial was named among the 2021 Best Employers for Women in the US by Forbes, a designation given to less than 1% of large companies nationwide. SMH ranked in the top 12% of 300 multinational companies and in the top 10% in the “Healthcare & Social” category.


• Designated as a Baby-Friendly Hospital in 2018, the first hospital in southwest Florida — and among a select group in the nation — to earn the designation from Baby-Friendly USA Inc., part of a global initiative by World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund to promote mother-baby bonding, successful breastfeeding and best practices in maternity care.


• Sarasota Memorial is designated as a Gold Standard Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR), one of the largest and most influential medical associations in the U.S.


• Sarasota Memorial's Breast Health Center is a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence, as designated by the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers (NQMBC) program.


• ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center
  • Sarasota Memorial is designated as a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology. This elite distinction recognizes facilities that have committed to practice safe, effective diagnostic care for individuals at the highest risk for lung cancer.


• Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the most prestigious distinction for nursing excellence and high-quality patient care.


• SMH Nurse Residency Program is accredited with distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Research indicates that residency programs can increase job satisfaction, reduce nurse turnover and improve clinical competence, which ultimately impacts safety and quality. 


• Certifications as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and a Hip & Knee Replacement Center of Excellence from DNV Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading accrediting organizations. 
   
• American Heart Association and the Mitral Foundation awarded SMH the 2021 Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award for a demonstrated record of superior clinical outcomes.  Sarasota Memorial Hospital is one of 15 hospitals across the nation to receive this recognition.


• State certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.


• Top honors for medical outcomes and excellence in the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) annual “Get With The Guidelines” assessments. SMH was awarded three designations in 2021: “Heart Failure Gold Plus Honor Roll,” “Stroke Gold Plus with Honor Roll Elite” and “Gold Plus Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.” 


• Full three-year accreditation for Cancer Care Services from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. Sarasota Memorial has maintained continuous Commission on Cancer accreditation since 1988. 


• Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehab Facilities (CARF) for Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Specialty Stroke programs. 


• Recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System.


• SMH's Bariatric and Metabolic Center is accredited as a higher level “Comprehensive Center” under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.


• Three Beacon Awards for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for high-quality patient care: Gold Beacon Award of Excellence for the Cardiac Acute Telemetry Unit; Silver Beacon Award of Excellence for the Critical Care Unit; and Silver Beacon Award of Excellence for the Cardiovascular Thoracic Stepdown/Cardiac Progressive 3 Unit.


• Named one of the American Hospital Association’s 2021 "Most Wired" tech-savvy hospitals in the nation for pioneering IT systems to promote security and safety.


• Sarasota Memorial's Palliative Care program is named a Gold Winner in the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) / John A. Hartford Foundation's 2021 Tipping Point Challenge, for delivering enhanced and customized care for those living with serious illness.


• Sarasota Memorial Hospital was named one of the world’s “Most Wired” hospitals in 2021, ranking in the 98th percentile of healthcare facilities in the annual College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Digital Health “Most Wired” program for advancing a broad range of digital health technologies promoting better and more secure patient interactions and care.


• Sarasota Memorial's main campus Emergency Care Center is the only emergency department in Florida to earn the Emergency Nurses Association's 2018 Lantern Award for excellent practice and innovative performance.


• Accolades from insurers:
  • Aetna Institutes of Quality Designation for Cardiac Rhythm
  • Aetna Institutes of Quality Designation for Total Joint Replacement
  • Florida Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care


• Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Center of Excellence for Laboratory Services.