Sarasota Memorial will break ground on its new Venice hospital this Thursday, April 4. The new facility is situated on a 65-acre campus on the corner of Laurel and Pinebrook Roads, located off I-75 in Venice. Speakers at the event include Sarasota County public hospital board chair Joe DeVirgilio; Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder; and Venice Hospital president Sharon Roush. The event will be streamed live at smh.com/live.

Founded in 1925, Sarasota Memorial is Sarasota County’s only public hospital and the only not-for-profit health system in the region. The Venice hospital is the most significant addition in the health system’s 94-year history; the campus will bring SMH’s physician base further south, which in turn will help build the medical staff for a future hospital in North Port. The four-story, 350,000-square-foot hospital and medical campus is anticipated to open in the fall of 2021.