Sarasota Memorial names new COO

SARASOTA — Maryland health care executive Lorrie Liang has been named chief operating officer of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Liang, currently vice president of LifeBridge Health System/Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a $1.3 billion nonprofit integrated health system, will start her leadership position in Sarasota Feb. 16, according to a release. Liang is the second top executive in recent months to take on a new position at Sarasota Memorial, the largest hospital system in the Sarasota-Manatee region; former COO David Verinder was named CEO last summer, when he replaced Gwen MacKenzie.

“We are excited to welcome Lorrie to the Sarasota Memorial team,” Verinder says in the statement. “She is a seasoned executive with a proven track record for transforming vision into results. Among other priorities, she will play an essential role in Sarasota Memorial's efforts to improve population health and develop and enhance programs to better serve the community.”

Sarasota Memorial conducted a national search for the position. Liang has more than 25 years experience in leading hospital operations, service lines, physician practice groups and other areas. She has been especially focused on improving population health through disease management and readmission reduction programs, Sarasota Memorial officials say in the statement.

“Sarasota Memorial has an outstanding reputation and a strong foundation of support from the community,” Liang says in the release. “I look forward to getting to know everyone and helping to build upon the health system's many successes.”

Sarasota Memorial is an acute-care hospital with 806 beds, 4,000 employees and 800,000 patient visits a year.