Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH) Named Among America's 'Best Employers for Women'

In partnership with research company Statista, the annual designation is given to less than 1% of large companies across the United States

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Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

Jul 27, 2021, 08:00 ET

SARASOTA, Fla., July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has been named among America's best employers for women.

Forbes, in partnership with research company Statista, developed a list of the 300 Best Employers for Women after surveying 50,000 Americans, including 30,000 women, working for businesses with 1,000+ employees. The employees representing 31 industries were asked to share opinions about their respective employer's culture, image, opportunities for career development, working conditions, salary and wages and diversity.

SMH ranked in the top 12% of 300 multinational companies, and top 10% in the "Healthcare & Social" category. The ranking comes on top of a growing list of national accolades for SMH, including several "Best Hospital" rankings and ratings the organization also received today from U.S. News & World Report.

David Verinder, president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, credits the health system's longstanding mission and vision, and forward-thinking leaders, including two female presidents - Lorrie Liang, president of SMH-Sarasota campus, and Sharon Roush, president of the soon-to-open SMH-Venice campus - for helping to build a diverse team dedicated to supporting each other and caring for the community.

"Our longstanding vision has been to be the best place to be a patient, the best place to work and the best place to practice medicine, and we are honored to be recognized for achieving that level of excellence on several fronts," Verinder said. "I am proud to work with such a caring, compassionate team. Our extraordinary leaders and staff truly set us apart."

Founded in 1925, SMH is Sarasota County's largest employer, with 7,000 employees and 1 million+ patient visits each year to its network of care.

Lorrie Liang, president of the SMH-Sarasota campus, said the hospital is committed to creating an inclusive workplace through strong hiring practices, family-friendly policies, diversity training and leadership development. More than 70% of Sarasota Memorial's leaders are female, including half of its directors and executive team.

"When it comes to gender, women bring a valuable and unique set of communication and leadership skills to the table," Liang said. "We tend to be more holistic and focused on strategies that encourage collaboration and mutual respect, which in turn, enhances job satisfaction, engagement, productivity and organizational outcomes."

SMH-Venice campus President Sharon Roush, who is recruiting hundreds of healthcare workers to help open the new Venice (Fla.) hospital this fall, said diversity is especially important in healthcare, where people from every race, gender, age and belief system count on you to help overcome myriad medical and life challenges.

"Diversity increases the cultural and clinical competency of our staff and leads to better care and outcomes for our patients," said Roush.

Media contact Kim Savage: 941-893-7649 or [email protected].

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Sarasota Memorial Named Among America's Best Employers for Women
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Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

SOURCE Sarasota Memorial Health Care System