Sarasota County Public Hospital Board votes for Sarasota Memorial

After nearly one-and-a-half hours of public comment, the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board unanimously agreed the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System isn’t for sale March 18.

The board determined selling Sarasota Memorial to a for-profit or non-profit firm wouldn’t benefit the system.

The average homeowner in Sarasota County paid about $200 in the 2012 fiscal year to Sarasota County Public Hospital District.

The taxing authority, which the Florida Legislature established in 1949, runs Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System.

That could change if the district’s nine-member board decides to sell the hospital system’s assets, a move that became a possibility during a March 18 public hearing that revealed Sarasota Memorial is worth between $425 million and $475 million.

Ponder & Co. performed five varying valuations using the hospital’s financials and three methodologies with results that ranged from $328 million to $558 million.