This Friday, head over to the Mara Art Studio and Gallery to check out Emerge - Translation from Sight to Surface, the latest exhibition from local artist Brigitta Wagner Sultana. Emerge marks the first gallery opening for Sultana in over a decade. Since her last showing, she’s been balancing her artwork with being a full-time mother of two. “I took painting through my whole college career, and print-making. I never stopped painting after I graduated college. I always did it as an outlet, a creative outlet, other than what I was doing in graphic design,” says Sultana. “I haven't really shown since 2010, because I had another baby, and then I took a pause, but I've always just been creating. As an artist, you never stop.”

Emerge will feature a new direction in Sultana’s painting - landscapes. The showing will draw from two separate series, Salt Flats and Stones. Where her painting prior to this series was more transitory, her focus on the geometric aesthetic of these landscapes has proven fruitful to her work. “I just created what I wanted to at the time, there wasn't a specific subject matter. Now, I feel like I have a specific subject line that I'm working on and a way that I'm doing it – but it’s taken me a long time to figure out,” attests Sultana.

Fittingly, both the Salt Flats and Stones series draw inspiration from time spent vacationing with her family. The Salt Flats series is based upon photographs Sultana took of the salt pans along the coastline of the island nation of Malta, where her husband hails from. Sultana, who mixes her own acrylic-based paints, depicts the rectangular landscapes in various colors and formats, some of the paintings feature hard lines and bold colors, while others are more ethereal in their style.

Much of the same can be said for her Stones series, which draws its inspiration from photographs she took of her children while they built a stone wall on a sandy beach. Similarly to the Salt Flats series, the paintings from Stones are based upon Sultana’s initial photography – during her creative process she decides whether or not to transfer the image directly onto the canvas or paint from memory. Regardless of how she comes to it, Sultana has hit her stride with her latest gallery opening.

Opening Night Event, Friday, October 7, 2022, 5:30-7:30pm, Mara Art Studio + Gallery, 1421 5th St. Rosemary District, Sarasota, 941-914-8110. 

Pictured: Salt Flats 4 - acrylic on canvas, 2019. Photo courtesy of Brigitta Wagner Sultana.

Emergency room physicians at HCA Florida Blake Hospital and HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital are seeing an increase in injuries related to clean up from Hurricane Ian. Injuries involving chain saws and orthopedic injuries from falls from roofs, ladders and tree removal are up significantly. Physicians are also concerned about respiratory problems that may arise from residents burning storm debris on their property and an increase in cardiovascular conditions like heart attacks from residents who are over exerting themselves with cleanup work. Scott Selph, M.D., medical director of emergency services at HCA Florida Blake Hospital, will be available to speak about the trends emerging in the emergency room and offer advice on how to prevent injuries on Thursday, October 6 at Noon, outside near the hospital’s main entrance at HCA Florida Blake Hospital, 2020 59th Street West, Bradenton. HCA Florida Blake Hospital is the only Level II trauma center and burn center in Manatee County. Dr. Selph will be able to offer advice to residents on how to reduce traumatic injuries. 

Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, making $50 million available — at least $10 million of which must go to small businesses that are agricultural producers — for those impacted by Hurricane Ian. Small businesses in the most impacted communities, which includes Sarasota County, will be escalated and prioritized as they are received. Loans are available up to $50,000 per eligible applicant. Loans made under this program are short-term, personal loans using State of Florida funds – they are not grants and must be repaid. The deadline to complete the application is Friday, December 2nd. Visit www.FloridaJobs.org/EBL to learn more or call 833-832-4494. DEO administers the Emergency Bridge Loan Program alongside its fiscal administrator, Florida First Capital Finance Corporation. As always, our team can be reached at info@edcsarasotacounty.com, or by calling 941-309-1200. We will keep you informed as Hurricane Ian business recovery details continue to develop. Below are helpful resources and pending information we will share more about soon. 

To learn more click here.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System stood strong through Hurricane Ian and is serving a record number of patients and evacuees from the southwest Florida region. The health system’s flagship acute-care hospital and emergency/trauma center in Sarasota and the new 110-bed acute-care hospital it opened in Venice last November remained fully functional on backup generator power throughout Hurricane Ian, providing shelter for nearly 2,500 staff and physicians who served on the health system’s hurricane response team for several days this week, leaving their families and homes behind as they cared for and supported well over 700 patients throughout the storm. During the hurricane, SMH “sheltered in place,” meaning it continued to care for patients 24/7 with physicians, nurses and support staff who hunkered down and worked around-the-clock to care for patients and medically dependent persons (MDPs) that local emergency management officials brought to the hospital for shelter. (SMHCS is a designated medical shelter for MDPs, who may require hospitalization during emergency situations).

SMH assessed the condition of all of its facilities after Hurricane Ian left the Suncoast region, and most of its facilities weathered Hurricane Ian well. The health system has devoted significant funds and resources to ensuring that our hospitals are hurricane hardened, and both hospitals and its skilled nursing facility remained fully operational during and after the storm, with no injuries reported. We reopened all six of SMH’s urgent care centers and most of its physician practices and outpatient centers almost immediately after the storm passed. The only facilities sustaining significant damage were our freestanding emergency room in North Port and a medical office building at SMH-Venice. Both are closed for repairs. Despite roof damage and some water intrusion, damage inside is minimal, and SMH anticipates reopening both facilities in a phased approach starting this weekend. Most hospitals south of Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast were evacuated and remained closed for several days due to damage from the storm. Sarasota Memorial’s Sarasota and Venice campuses have seen record numbers of patients streaming into their emergency care centers, and have worked closely with emergency management officials and hospitals around the state to manage the influx. After the storm passed, Sarasota County and the state dedicated strike teams with nearly 20 ambulances to help transfer patients, and on Sunday (Oct. 2), state and federal emergency officials sent a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) to help manage the surge of emergency patients at SMH-Venice. The DMAT set up a 30-bed tent facility just outside our Venice hospital’s ambulance bay, with a team of 37 doctors, nurses, physician assistants, paramedics and pharmacists working with our Venice staff to provide 24/7 emergency and urgent care to help manage the surge. A second DMAT opened in Charlotte County, to help reduce the strain in local ERs while hospitals in that region gradually reopen. 

Click here to view a recorded video with Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties and All Faiths Food Bank announce a Food Pantry distribution at the Gene Matthews Club in North Port to take place Friday, October 7, 2022, 9:00 am until supplies last at Gene Matthews Club, 6851 Biscayne Drive, North Port, FL 34287

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties have played an integral role in the lives of local youth for more than 50 years, providing daily programs and services to thousands of young people. The mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The vision is to provide a world-class Club experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who walks through our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle. For more information, visit www.bgcsdc.org or call 941-366-3911. All Faith's Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties, providing millions of meals each year with nearly 200 agencies and programs throughout the community. All Faiths works not only to fight hunger today but also strives to end hunger - forever - by helping families and individuals gain long-term food security, enjoy better health outcomes, and achieve self-sufficiency. In 2021, All Faiths distributed 19 million pounds of food – equating to 17 million meals, provided 36% more meals than 2019 (pre-pandemic), and remained steadfast in its commitment to provide nutritional assistance to community members, including 44% who were new to the food bank. For its efforts, All Faiths was honored as the 2021 Nonprofit of the Year by the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; the organization was also recognized as a Top 4 Food Bank in the country in 2020. All Faiths is rated 4 stars. 

When a natural disaster occurs in our community, the ability to deliver care falls on the shoulders of the health system’s 8000+ employees. They have trained for this type of catastrophic event and bravely demonstrated not only their preparedness but their unwavering dedication to ensuring that patient care is at the forefront. Sarasota Memorial’s hurricane response included making room for and caring for evacuated patients from the hardest hit communities to our south. Nearly 25% of the health system’s employees live in South County and other severely impacted areas. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been for them to leave their families and friends behind during this hurricane to care for others. These are the same people who risked their lives for us during the pandemic. We want to help them rebuild their homes and their lives. The Healthcare Foundation has established the SMH Employee Hurricane Relief Fund. We have just received a heartfelt $250,000 gift from Eliza and Hugh Culverhouse who are hoping to inspire others to support the brave men and women who are always there when we need them. Because of the number of employees who may need financial assistance—possibly thousands—we need your support, too. There are three easy ways to make your gift: 1. On our website at smhf.org/ian, or by clicking here. 2. Send a check to: Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, 1515 S. Osprey Ave, Ste B4, Sarasota, FL 34239. 3. Call us at 941-917-1286. We are truly grateful for all you do. Together we strengthen healthcare. 

CLOSE KNIT | Brothers Steven and William Ladd interweave experiences past and present into their textile-based artwork.

Learn more about the Ladd brothers through this link, on our social media, or in the October edition of SRQ Magazine! 

Read Here!