Sarasota Memorial ranks among top 5 Florida hospitals, U.S. News & World Report says

U.S. News & World Report rates Sarasota Memorial Hospital as the top hospital in the Bradenton-Sarasota area and fifth among all Florida hospitals.

Sarasota Memorial achieved a top-50 national ranking in two specialties. It was 31st in rehabilitation and 46th in obstetrics and gynecology, according to the rankings released Tuesday. Last year, SMH ranked sixth in the state.

The hospital achieved 18 high-performing areas, two more than last year.

Specialty Ratings

▪ Gastroenterology and GI surgery

▪ Geriatrics

▪ Neurology and neurosurgery

▪ Orthopedics

▪ Urology

Conditions/procedures

▪ Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

▪ Aortic valve surgery

▪ Heart bypass surgery

▪ Heart failure

▪ Colon cancer surgery

▪ Heart attack

▪ Hip replacement

▪ Knee replacement

▪ Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma

▪ Lung cancer surgery

▪ Prostate cancer

▪ Stroke

▪ Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

“SMH’s high-performing status in oncology is a credit to our expanding Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute and team of dedicated, highly skilled cancer specialists,” Lorrie Liang, president of SMH-Sarasota, said in a press release.

“One of our most important priorities is to continue making targeted investments to ensure the Suncoast community has access to comprehensive, coordinated cancer care residents can count on,” Liang said.

In the same press release, David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, said: “This year’s rankings and ratings from U.S. News are a tribute to the breadth, depth and quality of care Sarasota Memorial provides every day, from routine treatments and procedures to complex, rare and high-risk cases.

“The consistent, high performance of our hospital and care providers is something our health system and community can all take pride in,” he said.

Top 10 Florida hospitals

1. Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville

2. UF Health Shands Hospital (tie)

2. AdventHealth Orlando (tie)

4. Tampa General Hospital

5. Sarasota Memorial Hospital (tie)

5. Baptist Health Baptist Hospital (tie)

7. Cleveland Clinic Weston (tie)

7. Orlando Health-Orlando Regional Medical Center (tie)

9. University of Miami Hospital and Clinics-UHealth Tower

10. Mount Sinai Medical Center

HCA Florida Blake Hospital, Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center did not make U.S. News’ best list.

The three Bradenton hospitals did, however, make high-performing ratings:

▪ Manatee Memorial in stroke

▪ Lakewood Ranch in knee replacement

▪ HCA Blake Medical Center in four areas of care, including hip replacement, knee replacement, stroke and heart failure.

To be eligible for ranking, hospitals must meet certain criteria based on structural characteristics and also meet a volume/discharge threshold that varies by specialty, U.S. News said.

A hospital that met any of the following criteria was initially eligible:

▪ Member, Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH)

▪ Medical school affiliation (AMA or American Osteopathic Association [AOA])

▪ At least 200 hospital beds set up and staffed (from FY2021 AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals, variable BDTOT)

▪ At least 100 hospital beds set up and staffed and availability of at least four of eight important key technologies

The U.S. News rankings are in their 34th year with the objective of providing patients with data-driven decision tools.

“Consumers want useful resources to help them assess which hospital can best meet their specific care needs,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a press release.

“The 2023-2024 Best Hospitals rankings offer patients and the physicians with whom they consult a data-driven source for comparing performance in outcomes, patient satisfaction and other metrics that matter to them,” Harder said.