Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) have approved the structure for a historic partnership agreement to create an academic health center in Tallahassee, a development that will transform health care in North Florida and expand FSU’s mission in education and research.
In a joint statement, FSU President Richard McCullough and TMH CEO Mark O’Bryant said the partnership will “provide the opportunity to establish the hospital as a true quaternary center — expanding services, extending our reach, generating jobs, and fueling regional growth, all while preserving it as a community-focused hospital.”
“By uniting TMH’s longstanding commitment to community care with FSU’s mission of academic excellence and service, we are seizing an extraordinary opportunity to shape the long-term future of health care in North Florida and beyond,” they said. “This partnership will elevate the quality of health care for our community, create dynamic educational pathways for students, and foster groundbreaking research.”
The TMH Board of Directors voted unanimously Monday to proceed with the framework for the partnership, marking a pivotal moment for healthcare, research, and education in North Florida. Additional definitive agreements must be finalized in the coming months.
The idea of transforming TMH into an Academic Health Center has been under discussion for more than a decade. The TMH Board of Directors first outlined the vision in its 2008 strategic plan, and the hospital has since added multiple residency programs in internal medicine, general surgery and psychiatry.
In 2021, the TMH and FSU Boards jointly approved the FSU/TMH Academic Health Center Strategic Alignment Plan which laid out plans for an Academic Health partnership.
The partnership further builds on the momentum of the FSU Health Research Center, launched in 2022 with a $125 million appropriation from the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis to expand health care access and innovation across North Florida. Construction is under way on this facility on the TMH campus. The 140,000-square-foot building, expected to open in 2026, will house clinical research space, a family residency practice, laboratories, and other facilities designed to connect research and patient care.
FSU and TMH have now advanced that vision through this Memorandum of Understanding that formally establishes the framework for a fully encompassing academic health center. Under the agreement, FSU and TMH will work with the City of Tallahassee on the transfer of the hospital assets to FSU, including the 75-acre property, 2-million-square-foot hospital building, and related assets. It is anticipated that FSU will then lease the assets to TMH under a new 40-year lease and operating agreement.
TMH will remain the licensed operator of the hospital, preserving its independent, tax-exempt status, while collaborating with FSU through research, branding, academic and clinical agreements.
The hospital will transition its brand to FSU Health. The hospital’s board will continue to set strategy, approve the budget and make decisions, though the board composition will now have FSU representation. The hospital will continue to operate under its existing management, and employees will remain TMH employees. There is no shift to state employment, and day-to-day hospital operations will not change. Current partnerships with Florida A&M University and Tallahassee State College will continue and opportunities for future expansion of these partnerships will be encouraged.
SU Health will be a quaternary care facility (TMH CEO and FSU president). This means that it will be on level with Shand's and Mayo by offering the highest level of care.More information from https://www.physio-pedia.com/Levels_of_Healthcare :Quaternary care has been defined as an extension of tertiary care in reference to advanced levels of medicine which are highly specialized and not widely accessed, and usually only offered in a very limited number of national or international centers. Experimental medicine and some types of uncommon diagnostic or surgical procedures are considered quaternary care.
Florida surges to forefront of rare disease research with boost from Sunshine Genetics Act
Florida is poised to become a national beacon for pediatric rare disease research as Gov. Ron DeSantis signs HB 907, the Sunshine Genetics Act. The act jumpstarts the Sunshine Genetics Pilot Program with $3 million, establishes the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases within the Florida State University College of Medicine and lays the foundation for a new $100 billion genomic medicine industry in Florida.
In addition to the pilot program funding, the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases at Florida State University will also receive an additional $4.5 million to boost research. The funding will empower the institute to pioneer groundbreaking treatments and end the previously lengthy search for a diagnosis by families battling the more than 7,000 rare diseases affecting 30 million Americans.
Demonstrating FSU’s dedication to this initiative, President Richard McCullough committed $2 million from the university’s budget to support the Sunshine Genetics Pilot Program
