Sarasota Memorial Hospital unveils $75M research, education center

A new 82,000-square-foot facility was unveiled this week at the downtown Sarasota Memorial Hospital campus that health care officials say will be a hub for medical and clinical innovation.

The $75 million Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute will provide a place for those studying new treatments and mastering the latest tools and techniques in patient care, according to a statement.

Located at 1880 Arlington St., the institute spans five stories. Each floor includes learning spaces such as classrooms, advanced medical simulations labs and a 360-degree immersive training room. It also contains an advanced medical library and 400-seat, first-floor auditorium that will be used for research conferences, events and Sarasota County Public Hospital Board meetings.

Courtesy image

The center is named for local philanthropists Jerry and Karen Kolschowsky, whose $25 million gift to Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation provided the catalyst for its construction.

“You don’t always understand how important clinical research and advanced therapies are until they save your life, or the life of someone you love,” Tim Kolschowsky, president of the Gerald A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation, says in a statement. His mother was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in 2008 and was successfully treated by Dr. James Fiorica, a gynecological oncologist who brought the latest women's cancer treatments and research to Sarasota Memorial, according to a statement.

“I can’t overstate what the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute brings to Sarasota Memorial and our community,” Dr. Fiorica, who was named Sarasota Memorial’s chief medical officer in 2017, says in a statement. “It creates a sense of place, a center for innovation, inspiration and discovery where physicians, researchers and clinical educators are excited to come and work. The collaboration, compound learning and benefits to patient care will be huge.”

In recent years, Sarasota Memorial’s research and graduate education programs have more than tripled in size, with more than 140 active studies underway and thousands of physicians competing for residency and fellowship opportunities within the system annually, according to a statement. Officials say the institute will provide a collaborative learning environment for Sarasota Memorial’s research team of physicians, nurses and other clinical specialists as well as clinical educators and FSU/Sarasota Memorial-sponsored graduate medical education faculty, physician residents and fellows.

While the Kolschowskys have made a series of contributions over the years to further education and research opportunities at Sarasota Memorial, officials say their $25 million donation inspired others to provide funding for the project.

“Their gift was the catalyst for bringing the new Kolschowsky Institute to life,” Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation president Stacey Corley says in a statement. “This new hub for innovation, education and medical research attracted many other supporters, and demonstrates how critical the community and philanthropy are to ensuring we remain at the forefront of medical excellence.”

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System has more than 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers, treating nearly 2 million patients a year. Its network includes full-service hospitals in Sarasota and Venice; freestanding emergency rooms in North Port and Lakewood Ranch; a rehabilitation hospital; behavioral health hospital; skilled nursing facility; and outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. It posted nearly $1.88 billion in operating revenue in 2024.

This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.