Sarasota Health News

About Sarasota Health News

Sarasota Health News is an online newspaper focusing on the quality of health care and access to medical services in the greater Sarasota area.

It provides independent, straightforward reporting, without opinion, on developments at the region’s hospitals, long-term care facilities, medical practices and health-related government agencies and nonprofit groups. It also will track hard-to-find national news that has relevance to a Sarasota audience.

Sarasota Health News is the first venture of Sarasota News Online, a registered Florida not-for-profit corporation. The founder and editor is David Gulliver, who covered the business of healthcare for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune from 2006 until the paper’s third round of layoffs in early 2009.

The company is founded in the belief that the community needs more insight and timely information on healthcare and other critical issues than financially struggling newspapers can provide. Sarasota Health News and Sarasota News Online seek to fill the gap left as newspapers shrink their staff and pages, and to spark more discussion and coverage of healthcare and social services.

If you support the goal of a better-informed community and, ultimately, better health care, consider becoming a sponsor. Contact sponsorship@sarasotahealthnews.org.

About this site

We’ve kept the design simple, for a reason. This is about providing you with useful information in the most straightforward manner possible.

The day’s main stories are front and center, with a headline and the beginning of the story. That may tell you all you want, but we hope it also will be compelling enough for you to click the link and continue reading the rest of the story.

We expect to post, on average, one story every business day, with longer, detailed features every week.

To the right is a column by editor David Gulliver that will occasionally offer perspective on why we’re covering what we’re covering, and what it means to you.

Bear in mind that the writing on this site is not the personal opinion prevalent on the Internet. This is objective, expert reporting on the events and trends in the region’s health care system. It’s news that we hope will help consumers make informed decisions about healthcare, and keep medical professionals informed about local developments in their field.

Who we are

Editor and executive director David Gulliver is a veteran reporter who has won many local, state and national awards for his work, most recently first place in business reporting from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors in 2008.

His major award-winning projects include a year-long investigation of nursing homes in Ohio, an analysis of physicians’ performance records in Virginia and an examination of a non-profit hospital’s charity exemption in Maryland. He performed data analysis for a Pulitzer Prize-winning story in 1998. He also has been a frequent trainer and speaker for two leading journalism groups, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. He has been a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists since 2006 and led a panel on aging issues at its 2008 conference.

David lives in the Gulf Gate section of Sarasota with his wife and twin three-year-old boys. When he's not writing or playing with the twins, he's likely to be bicycling over the Ringling Bridge and out Longboat Key.

Board of Directors

Board President Michael Rolph, C.P.A, M.B.A., has served as chief financial officer of Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Venice Health System, the predecessor to Venice Regional Medical Center. He is now a director with Grobmyer Associates, a healthcare consulting firm, and president and chief executive officer of Via Financial Insight, an investment advisory firm.

Darla M. Gulliver, R.D., L.D., has worked in public health nutrition for over 10 years, most recently with the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Virginia Beach as both a nutrition counselor and administrator. She recently took a similar position with the WIC program in Sarasota County. She is a graduate of University of Delaware and University of Maryland.

Guy Mileni worked 36 years for IBM as a financial analyst and team manager. After retiring to Sarasota 19 years ago, he spent 12 years as a tour manager, leading groups to destinations in the U.S. and Europe. He was a volunteer for seven years at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and now is a USTA-certified umpire who often judges tennis matches at clubs across the region.

Ann Piscitelli, M.D., is a board-certified Internist with Internal Medicine Associates of Venice. She has served as Chief of Section for Medicine at Venice Regional Medical Center. She received her degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta.

One board position is currently open and the company is accepting nominees.





	About Sarasota Health News Sarasota Health News is an online newspaper focusing on the quality of health care and access to medical services in the greater Sarasota area. It provides independent, straightforward reporting, without opinion, on developments at the region’s hospitals, long-term care facilities, medical practices and health-related government agencies and nonprofit groups. It also will track hard-to-find national news that has relevance to a Sarasota audience. Sarasota Health News is the first venture of Sarasota News Online, a registered Florida not-for-profit corporation. The founder and editor is David Gulliver, who covered the business of healthcare for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune from 2006 until the paper’s third round of layoffs in early 2009. The company is founded in the belief that the community needs more insight and timely information on healthcare and other critical issues than financially struggling newspapers can provide. Sarasota Health News and Sarasota News Online seek to fill the gap left as newspapers shrink their staff and pages, and to spark more discussion and coverage of healthcare and social services. If you support the goal of a better-informed community and, ultimately, better health care, consider becoming a sponsor. Contact sponsorship@sarasotahealthnews.org. About this site We’ve kept the design simple, for a reason. This is about providing you with useful information in the most straightforward manner possible. The day’s main stories are front and center, with a headline and the beginning of the story. That may tell you all you want, but we hope it also will be compelling enough for you to click the link and continue reading the rest of the story. We expect to post, on average, one story every business day, with longer, detailed features every week. To the right is a column by editor David Gulliver that will occasionally offer perspective on why we’re covering what we’re covering, and what it means to you. Bear in mind that the writing on this site is not the personal opinion prevalent on the Internet. This is objective, expert reporting on the events and trends in the region’s health care system. It’s news that we hope will help consumers make informed decisions about healthcare, and keep medical professionals informed about local developments in their field. Who we are Editor and executive director David Gulliver is a veteran reporter who has won many local, state and national awards for his work, most recently first place in business reporting from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors in 2008. His major award-winning projects include a year-long investigation of nursing homes in Ohio, an analysis of physicians’ performance records in Virginia and an examination of a non-profit hospital’s charity exemption in Maryland. He performed data analysis for a Pulitzer Prize-winning story in 1998. He also has been a frequent trainer and speaker for two leading journalism groups, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. He has been a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists since 2006 and led a panel on aging issues at its 2008 conference. David lives in the Gulf Gate section of Sarasota with his wife and twin three-year-old boys. When he's not writing or playing with the twins, he's likely to be bicycling over the Ringling Bridge and out Longboat Key. Board of Directors Board President Michael Rolph, C.P.A, M.B.A., has served as chief financial officer of Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Venice Health System, the predecessor to Venice Regional Medical Center. He is now a director with Grobmyer Associates, a healthcare consulting firm, and president and chief executive officer of Via Financial Insight, an investment advisory firm. Darla M. Gulliver, R.D., L.D., has worked in public health nutrition for over 10 years, most recently with the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Virginia Beach as both a nutrition counselor and administrator. She recently took a similar position with the WIC program in Sarasota County. She is a graduate of University of Delaware and University of Maryland. Guy Mileni worked 36 years for IBM as a financial analyst and team manager. After retiring to Sarasota 19 years ago, he spent 12 years as a tour manager, leading groups to destinations in the U.S. and Europe. He was a volunteer for seven years at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and now is a USTA-certified umpire who often judges tennis matches at clubs across the region. Ann Piscitelli, M.D., is a board-certified Internist with Internal Medicine Associates of Venice. She has served as Chief of Section for Medicine at Venice Regional Medical Center. She received her degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta. One board position is currently open and the company is accepting nominees.