On Friday, November 6, 2026, Sarasota Memorial broke ground on a new Rehabilitation Pavilion at the SMH-Venice Hospital campus, bringing top-tier rehab services closer to residents in south Sarasota County. Hospital leaders and visitors filled the morning with excitement as they gathered for the ceremony to start construction, which featured speeches from leaders, a ceremonial digging with shovels, and opportunities for photos and questions from the community.
They plan to open the Rehabilitation Pavilion in summer 2028. Inside, patients will find 50 private inpatient rooms, comprehensive outpatient rehab services, advanced technology, and innovative therapy spaces, all designed to help people regain their strength, mobility, and independence after illness, injury, or surgery.
The pavilion connects directly to SMH-Venice, making it easy for patients to move from hospital care to intensive rehab without leaving their community or care team. The new facility builds on the reputation of SMH-Sarasota’s nationally recognized, 5-star-rated rehabilitation program.
The pavilion, which spans four stories and covers 83,000 square feet, focuses on recovery. It’s designed with both patients and families in mind, ensuring that every stage of rehabilitation has the right support and environment. Beyond inpatient care, the pavilion will offer outpatient rehab for everything from ankle sprains to traumatic injuries. Physical, occupational, and speech therapists with advanced certifications will help patients recover from strokes, neurological conditions, joint replacements, spinal injuries, and sports accidents. There’s also cardiopulmonary rehabilitation tailored for people with heart, lung, and vascular conditions, focusing on improving health, quality of life, and activity levels.
Therapy environments inside the pavilion set the stage for real-world recovery, including an outdoor mobility garden, a transitional apartment suite, practice kitchen and grocery space, and a vehicle transfer station. These features help patients safely practice daily activities before returning home.
The pavilion will also showcase advanced rehabilitation technology: Videostroboscopy, Bioness H200® and L300® systems, Bioness Integrated Therapy System (BITS), ZeroG® 3D, Augmented Reality, and XCITE2 Biofeedback.
The care model focuses on individualized treatment, with physicians, nurses, and rehabilitation specialists working as a team. Patients dealing with strokes, neurological conditions, orthopedic injuries, trauma, and other complex medical conditions will have access to this award-winning level of care right in their backyard.
The ceremony to mark the start of construction took place from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital–Venice, 2600 Laurel Road E., North Venice, FL 34285.
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