Sarasota Memorial Health Care System earned the top spot in Florida on Forbes' 2026 list of America's Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals.

The community-owned health system, which operates a freestanding emergency room in Lakewood Ranch, ranked No. 17 nationally among 250 health care organizations on the list, according to an SMH announcement published Monday, Sept. 28. It is the second consecutive year SMH has appeared on the list, which Forbes launched in 2025.

Nearly 3,500 SMH employees live in Manatee County, roughly 30% of the health system's workforce. Manatee County residents accounted for more than 185,000 patients in 2025, about 25% of SMH's overall volume, according to the health system.

How Forbes built the rankings

Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to develop the rankings. The survey polled more than 30,000 employees at health care and social services providers with at least 1,000 U.S. workers. Participants rated their employers on wages, working conditions, schedules, career advancement and safety.

SMH President and CEO David Verinder credited the ranking to the system's workforce, calling employees its "greatest strength" in a statement.

SMH employs more than 11,000 people and is Sarasota County's largest employer. The system handles about 2 million patient visits a year across two full-service hospitals in Sarasota and Venice, freestanding ERs in Lakewood Ranch and North Port, a rehabilitation hospital, urgent care clinics and physician practices.

Ranking arrives amid Manatee County expansion

The ranking arrives as SMH pushes deeper into the Lakewood Ranch corridor. As the Lakewood Ranch Beacon reported Sept. 28, the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board on Sept. 22 approved a nearly $60 million purchase of roughly 120 acres at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 64 in Manatee County for a future medical campus. In a separate vote in July, the board approved buying an adjacent 10-acre parcel, where the first phase of the campus would add a freestanding emergency department.

The land deal still requires rezoning and local development approvals before construction can begin.

A string of 2026 workplace honors

The health care list adds to a string of employer awards for SMH in 2026. Forbes also named the system among America's Best Large Employers and America's Best Employers for Company Culture. In August, SMH landed on Forbes' separate America's Best-in-State Employers list for the seventh straight year, as WWSB reported.