Sarasota Memorial Hospital CEO resigns

Gwen MacKenzie, CEO and president of Sarasota Memorial Hospital Health Care System, will leave her position at the end of May.

MacKenzie, hired by Sarasota Memorial in 2005, is taking a position with Ascension Health, the country’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. MacKenzie will return to her home state and assume executive oversight of the organization’s Michigan Ministries, the hospital announced in a release this morning.

“Sarasota Memorial is a very special organization with outstanding doctors and staff, and it’s been an honor to serve this community,” MacKenzie said in the release. “It will be hard to leave so many good friends and colleagues. I’ve had the privilege of working with a phenomenal team. I’m proud of all we have accomplished these past nine years, and I know that SMH is on a path to continued success.”

The release states that Sarasota Memorial has gone through a period of growth under MacKenzie’s leadership, opening seven outpatient centers in the past nine years and undergoing a $250 million campus improvement project.

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board appointed Sarasota Memorial Chief Operating Officer David Verinder as interim CEO. Verinder, who will assume that role on June 1, has served as the hospital's COO since 2010. Marguerite Malone, chairwoman of the public hospital board, said the group was optimistic as it plans to begin a nationwide search for MacKenzie’s successor.

“Thanks to Gwen’s outstanding leadership and vision, she is leaving Sarasota Memorial in an exceptionally strong position, from both a quality and financial perspective,” Malone said. “We have an experienced board and strong leadership team in place, ready to maintain and build upon the stable foundation Gwen has shaped.”

Contact David Conway at [email protected].