What Should I Know About Sebastian River Medical Center?
Fully accredited by the Joint Commission, Sebastian River Medical Center offers emergency services; surgical services including general, spine, orthopedic, bariatric, thoracic oncology, endoscopy, colonoscopy; vascular and cardiac procedures including interventional procedures; wound care; Transitional Care Unit; outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation; radiology; mammography; and laboratory services to patients on the Treasure Coast. Sebastian River Medical Center boasts several awards and distinctions including the only ACC Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI in Indian River and Brevard Counties, awarded Primary Stroke Center Accreditation from the Joint Commission, a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American College of Surgeons) and a Blue Distinction Centers+ for Bariatric Surgery.
Sebastian River Medical Center is committed to achieving the highest level of measurable quality and efficiency in the delivery of health care services that are responsive to the needs and values of our patients, physicians, employees, and visitors.
Hospital Awards & Accreditations
Hospital Service Designations and Awards
- ACC Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI - at this time, the only hospital in Indian and Brevard Counties (2021)
- Gold Seal of Approval for Primary Stroke Center Accreditation by The Joint Commission (2021)
- State of Florida Level One Interventional Cardiac Catheterization Lab
- Emergency Room Level IV Trauma Center
- Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) - 2015 -2021
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Distinction Centers+ for Bariatric Surgery(2020)
- Best Weight Loss Clinic - Hometown News 2020 Readers Choice Award 2020
- Robert A. Warriner III, MD Center of Excellence Award 2015-209
- Wound Care Center of Distinction Award 2014-2019
- Three-year accreditation by the American College of Radiology for Mammography Services - 2021 (renewal)
Sebastian River Medical Center History
The year was 1965, and Dr. Kip Kelso dreamed of bringing a first-class hospital to Sebastian. A resident of Roseland, Kelso watched as hundreds of lots were bought and sold in the Sebastian Highlands, and he knew those people would soon need a hospital.
When Kelso visited the World's Fair in New York, he got his first glimpse of a futuristic facility, dubbed the atomedic hospital for its cutting edge technology at the dawn of the Space Age in the early 1960s. Designed as an exhibit and to serve as a medical clinic for the fair's 80 million visitors, the mostly aluminum structure was round and windowless, framing was primarily lightweight steel to meet code requirements, and both exterior and interior walls were composed of aluminum and polystyrene-foam sandwich panels- it looked nothing like a typical hospital.
The floor plan was a series of concentric rings, with the outer corridor for visitors. Patient rooms formed an inner circle, and the central core was where professional services such as surgeries were performed. Kelso was fascinated by the building, so he purchased it and had the disassembled structure shipped on a barge to his property on U.S. Highway 1.
After a long battle with the Florida State Board of Health, a temporary permit was finally granted and a grand opening was planned. But it was not to be- the structure Kelso hoped to be Sebastian's first hospital burned to the ground.
That fire didn't stop him, though. Kelso organized a group of developers and consultants and finally, thanks to his perseverance and persistence, Kelso's dream of a first-class facility in Sebastian was realized in February of 1974 when the 103-bed hospital finally opened its doors.
In October 2010, a $25 million expansion project was completed that added 42 private patient rooms and a 16-bed Intensive Care Unit. Shortly after construction of the patient tower was completed, more than $3 million was invested in a brand-new cardiac catheterization lab. In 2013, a second cath lab was added to meet the demand for interventional cardiology services.
In 2020, Sebastian River Medical Center completed and opened a new addition to the facility, located off Bay Street. This addition gave the hospital a new, large lobby; increased surgical capacity with six fully operating OR suites and two shells to be completed in the future; 48, private patient rooms; the latest in sterilization and cleaning equipment; three procedure rooms; new pre-operative and post-operative patient bays; and the latest surgical technology.
Sebastian River Medical Center continues to provide the latest treatments and technology to improve the delivery of healthcare to our communities. Some of the facilities advanced technology systems include advanced robotic-assisted surgical systems; joint replacement and knee replacement surgical systems including ExacTech GPS and Conformis; Veran's SPiN Thoracic Navigation System in the diagnosis of lung cancer; Abbott CardioMEMS HF System for the treatment of heart failure; and the EMBLEM Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) System for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death.
The facility is licensed for 178 beds and serves residents and visitors of the Sebastian and Vero Beach communities. With over 100 physicians and a nursing and ancillary staff of approximately 500, the hospital continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology.
Sebastian River Medical Center has come a long way since Dr. Kelso first dreamed of opening a hospital. Thanks to the dedication of all those involved, the hospital continues to grow, adding services, technology and life-saving procedures. However, SRMC is proud to say that the main focus for staff and physicians still remains clear: to provide quality health care with the highest level of caring and compassion on the Treasure Coast.