Manatee Memorial Hospital: Past, Present and Future

June 26, 2018

Manatee Memorial Outpatient Services Center in 1992.

Manatee Memorial Hospital has come a long way since the doors first opened in 1953 as the Manatee Veterans Memorial Hospital with 100 beds. There have been many changes over the years, but one thing has remained consistent — the commitment to quality, growing the service lines and caring for the community. As new, innovative technology has become available, it has allowed the hospital to improve care.

The rapid growth in the region during the last 15 years led to the addition of a four-story tower, which doubled the size of the hospital in 2007. Most recently, the Mother/Baby Unit was remodeled in April 2018, and construction is currently underway for the hospital’s latest addition — a new emergency care center. The 34,000-square-foot addition will feature four nursing team clinical care areas, with a total of 48 exam rooms, some of which have flexible functionality. Also available will be three behavioral health rooms; two resuscitation rooms; one bariatric room with integral patient lift; one gynecology room; and two negative pressure/contact isolation rooms.

Manatee Memorial Hospital Timeline

  • June 1951 — Construction begins on the six-story county owned Manatee Veterans Memorial Hospital
  • October 1951 — The Women's Auxiliary of Manatee Veterans Memorial Hospital is formed, raising funds to support the hospital
  • February 1953 — Manatee Veterans Memorial Hospital opens its doors with 100 beds
  • December 1958 — Three-story annex building is completed
  • July 1963 — The hospital is renamed Manatee Memorial Hospital by the state legislature
  • December 1969 — The $3.5 million addition of the radial units is completed
  • February 1976 — New emergency room costing $1.8 million opens
  • June 1984 — Manatee Hospitals and Health Systems, Inc., a not-for-profit Florida corporation, purchases Manatee Memorial Hospital
  • October 1992 — $17 million surgery, outpatient services center and medical office building is dedicated
  • September 1995 — The hospital is purchased by a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
  • March 2001 — A $3 million re-modeling/expansion of the current emergency care center is completed
  • May 2001 — Certificate of need is approved by the state of Florida to build Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, moving 120 beds from Manatee Memorial Hospital
  • April 2005 — Groundbreaking of the patient tower and garage
  • June 2007 — Opening of the new $51 million four-story patient tower and parking garage with the main entrance facing the Manatee River
  • June 2011 — Doctors of Osteopathy Residency Program, called Graduate Medical Education, starts with six residents training in internal medicine and family practice medicine
  • July 2017 — Groundbreaking of the new emergency care center

View the Photo Gallery >

Looking to the Future

There’s so much more in development for this year in addition to the new emergency care center, scheduled to open in December. Other plans include opioid-free care options in the emergency care center; a comprehensive stroke center with a new bi-plane room; and 3D mammography.

Learn More About Manatee Memorial Hospital >