Manatee Memorial Hospital plans 3 free-standing emergency rooms as it marks 70 years

Manatee Memorial Hospital, which is marking its 70th year, is expanding its reach with new free-standing emergency rooms.

Officials mark the opening of the newest, Manatee ER at Bayshore Gardens, 5506 14th St. W., with a ribbon cutting 10 a.m. Thursday

The event, which is open to the public, will include tours of the 10,884-square-foot facility, equipped with six exam rooms, three rapid medical spaces, full-service laboratory, X-ray and ultrasound areas. CEO Tom McDougal and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan are set to offer remarks during the ceremony.

The new ER will officially open to patients on Monday, March 27, and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide care for all ages.

“We are honored to be extending Manatee Memorial’s community outreach by opening our first freestanding emergency room for Manatee County,” McDougal said in a news release.

“No matter what the emergency, the new Manatee ER at Bayshore Gardens is equipped to handle everything from minor conditions to stabilizing treatment for major conditions such as heart attack and stroke,” McDougal said.

Manatee Memorial opened its first free-standing emergency room in Bradenton on May 11, 2022, in Sun City Center, at 16504 S. U.S. 301.

Two weeks ago, Manatee Memorial broke ground for its third free-standing ER near the intersection of Manatee Avenue West and 75th Street West. That ER is scheduled to open in early 2024.

Manatee Memorial’s sister hospital, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, in 2022 opened the ER at Fruitville, 6760 Fruitville Road, Sarasota.

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota opened its first facility in Manatee County, a stand-alone emergency room, in 2018 at 8500 State Road 70 E., near Lakewood Ranch.

ER or urgent care clinic?

What’s the difference between an ER and an urgent care center?

Here’s what the Mayo Clinic Health System says:

“An Emergency Department treats life- or limb-threatening health conditions in people of all ages. It is the best option when you require immediate medical attention.

“Urgent Care is the middle ground between your primary care provider and the Emergency Department. If you have a minor illness or injury that can’t wait until tomorrow, Urgent Care is the way to go.”

Manatee Memorial’s 70 years

Manatee Memorial Hospital, originally named Manatee Memorial Veteran’s Hospital, opened its doors Feb. 23, 1953, as a 100-bed hospital.

The Bradenton Women’s Club started fundraising activities in 1939 for a new hospital to replace Bradenton General Hospital, which was outdated, inadequate and cramped.

But those plans were interrupted by World War II and didn’t see new life until after the war, when on Aug. 13, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the Hill-Burton Act into law. The law provided construction grants and loans to build hospitals around the country.

With federal support, a $400,000 county bond and resident donations, efforts resumed in 1947 to build Manatee Memorial Veteran’s Hospital.

In May 1954, the hospital won full accreditation by the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals

On July 1, 1963, the state Legislature renamed the medical center to Manatee Memorial Hospital.

“Confusion over the inclusion of ‘veterans’ in the name led many to believe the hospital was a Veterans Administration facility — for military only. The hospital, however, kept its commitment to veterans,” Kevin DiLallo, the then-hospital CEO, said in a Bradenton Herald guest column in 2018.

The Manatee County Veterans Memorial is still located on hospital property near the Bradenton Riverwalk.

Manatee Hospitals and Health Systems, Inc., a nonprofit Florida corporation, purchased Manatee Memorial Hospital in 1984.

In 1995, a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc., based in King of Prussia, Pa., purchased the hospital.

The range of medical services provided today includes emergency medicine, cardiac, cardiovascular, stroke, surgical,orthopedics, outpatient and inpatient radiology services, rehabilitation, respiratory care, sleep services, oncology, wound care and women’s and children’s services, including Manatee County’s only Level II neonatal intensive care unit.

“Not surprisingly, many of the 2,200 current employees were born at the hospital and have children and grandchildren also born there. Manatee Memorial Hospital has been a beacon of community health; ever improving, continuously advancing and always serving the growing needs of the community for seven decades,” a hospital news release said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers around the country gained new appreciation and respect from the public for their life-saving efforts and for their courage and dedication during a time of great uncertainty.

Manatee Memorial and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center became the first Bradenton-area hospitals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and start inoculating staff on Dec. 23, 2020.

Manatee Memorial initially received 1,300 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine about 9:30 a.m. and by 1 p.m. was already inoculating staff members.

For more information on the hospital, visit manateememorial.com.