Despite challenges to supply chains and uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarasota Memorial’s new oncology tower crested its highest point of 233 feet, a construction milestone SMH leaders celebrated this week with inspiring messages of hope. As work intensified on the inside of the building this week, dozens of hospital staff members, construction workers and others dedicated to the project have taken turns inscribing messages of hope on a banner attached to a concrete wall in the tower lobby. The banner will be sealed by a sheet of drywall and become a permanent part of the building.

Slated to open in the fall of 2021, the tower is the cornerstone of Sarasota Memorial’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute. The tower will have 56 private inpatient suites dedicated to cancer treatment and recovery, the latest treatment and surgical technology, nine new operating rooms, and a full array of patient navigation, counseling and support services. A rooftop café will crown the tower.