Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, Central District, Seat 1: Sarah Lodge

Age: 43

Current occupation: Certified financial planner and first vice president for the Gress Lodge Group at RBC Wealth Management.

Resident of Sarasota County: 18 years.

Why are you running for reelection?

I am passionate about our community, and I know firsthand how important it is to have excellent healthcare available for our community members. All three of my children were born at Sarasota Memorial; members of my family have undergone surgery at Sarasota Memorial. Sarasota Memorial is near and dear to my heart.

Have you ever run for public office before? If so, for what office?

Yes, I am the current chair of the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board and I have served on this board since May of 2020.

What experience and/or special skills do you have that make you a better candidate than your opponents?

My career requires me to have extensive knowledge in long-term strategic planning and financial problem solving. This, along with my degree in health science, brings a unique combination and skill set to serve on the board. 

The board needs someone who is able to understand complex financial and strategic planning and to have healthcare knowledge in addition is a further asset. 

I understand your needs, and I am positioned to make strategic fiscal decisions to grow where necessary to meet these needs.

What do you see as the top three or four priorities that the hospital board needs to address? And how should those priorities be addressed?

Sarasota County is growing at an unprecedented rate, which means that we as a community hospital need also to grow to properly service the community’s healthcare needs. 

Our range and capacity of healthcare services offered to meet this growing and diverse population will need to be addressed. This will include adding new specialties, expanding existing facilities, as well as possibly opening new clinics. While doing this we will need to maintain simultaneously the excellent level of care that our community deserves. No small task!

With growth and expansion being a priority, we also need to be able to attract excellent staff while retaining our current providers. We can do this by fostering a positive work environment where our staff is proud to work and where we are continuously recognized and applauded for their hard work.

We need to continue to invest in education and training to help staff stay current with the latest medical advancements and career growth. 

It is imperative that we maintain our position as the employer of choice in Sarasota County so that we can retain top talent and provide the best medical care to our community.

Technology is incredibly important to a healthcare system, and we need to make sure that we stay on the cutting edge to provide the best care possible for our patients. By implementing advanced technologies, we will be able to drive innovation and improve treatment outcomes. These initiatives can help reduce errors and enhance patient benefits.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System should remain the elite and valuable public asset that it is today and for years to come. By prioritizing staff engagement and development, continuing to improve quality of care and growing our services to serve a growing population, we can continue to improve our patient outcomes and community health.

We will need to regularly evaluate where we are and look at emerging trends so that we can continue to progress and be an excellent healthcare system. To be the best, you have to constantly assess and reevaluate the current situation. 

On a scale of A to F, with A being excellent, what grade would you give the performance of the current SMH executive team? Why, and what if anything should change in the way SMH leadership operates the SMH system?

I believe SMH is an A+ healthcare system with a focus on being the best place to be a patient and to work. Its leadership team is forward-thinking, innovative, fiscally responsible and in touch with the Sarasota community.

The hospital’s property-tax millage rate has been 1.042 mills. In 2023, that generated $81.9 million in property-tax revenue, accounting for 58% of the hospital system’s surplus over its expenses. What is your position on the hospital’s millage rate — should it remain 1.042 mills; should it be reduced or increased? Why?

Over the years this rate has been brought down multiple times, and I believe that continuous evaluation of where we stand on this is very important. At this current rate, we are able to move forward with the strategic plan of the healthcare system so that we can continue to provide excellent care and services to our community. At this moment, the rate should remain the same but continuously evaluated.

A faction of Sarasota County citizens contends the hospital should be sold and privatized. What is your position on this and why?

Absolutely not! We are incredibly lucky to live in an area with an excellent community hospital that listens to the needs of the community. I want this to continue on for the future generations! 

We are so fortunate to live in a community where nearly all medical needs can be met by our community hospital. Why would we ever jeopardize that?

Why did you support the board's position as outlined below?

(Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, the hospital board recently rejected a motion from Board Member Victor Rohe to add on the SMH website, among other points, the following: “to fully inform the public of the lack of pre-authorization safety data, the evidence of probable risks of these injections and of [Florida Surgeon General] Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s recent call to immediately halt the use of these COVID-19 mRNA injections. … Further, all staff and employees should be instructed, when they interact with patients or other members of the community who make inquiries about the COVID-19 vaccine, to refer those patients or community members to the information available on the SMH website concerning the risks and lack of safety data, rather than simply referring those individuals to local pharmacies that continue to dispense these potentially dangerous injections.”

Instead the board unanimously voted to support the following: “That the Board will continue to respect and honor every patient’s right to make [his/her] own health care decision within the patient-physician relationship, and using all resources available to them to inform the discussions surrounding those decisions … [T]he Board will continue to endeavor not to invade the physician-patient relationship or mandate treatment regimens for patients to its physicians.”)

I believe in medical choice, and the board passed language that provides for that medical freedom for our patients. Every patient is entitled to review the medical options available and make the decision that he or she believes is best. The language approved by the board supports this position.