City Commission approves transfer of city-owned Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare assets, clearing the way for next steps with FSU
This step supports the ongoing work between FSU and TMH that envisions Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare serving as the clinical anchor of FSU Health, Florida State’s academic health ecosystem that integrates clinical care, medical education and research.
“TMH and Florida State University are continuing to work together to reach consensus as we carefully finalize the agreements that will guide our long-term partnership. These negotiations are being approached with a shared commitment to the future of healthcare in our community,” said Mark O’Bryant, CEO of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. “Once the agreements are complete, we look forward to working alongside FSU to build on our strong foundation of care and further improve healthcare for the people of North Florida.”
The collaboration builds on years of work between the two institutions. As an example, construction is underway on the FSU Health Research Center on the Tallahassee Memorial campus, a 140,000-square-foot facility designed to bring clinicians, researchers and students together to advance medical research and patient care.
Once the closing occurs, Florida State University would own the hospital property, while Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare would continue to operate the hospital under a long-term lease and maintain responsibility for hospital operations, employees and patient care.
University and hospital leaders emphasized that Tallahassee Memorial’s longstanding mission of serving all members of the community will remain unchanged.
The City’s deed restrictions will ensure the continuation of TMH’s longstanding charity-care commitments. FSU also must maintain the property as a hospital in perpetuity.
Officials from both organizations said the partnership represents an important step toward building a fully integrated academic health center that will enhance clinical care, expand medical training and advance research for patients across Tallahassee and the Florida Panhandle.
City Commission Approves Transfer of City-Owned Hospital Assets Cementing the Future of FSU Health
Today, the Tallahassee City Commission approved the transfer of City of Tallahassee-owned hospital assets to Florida State University, marking a historic milestone toward expanding access to high-quality healthcare and advancing medical research and innovation in the Big Bend region.
This action by the City Commission sets in motion the transformation of the community’s hospital into FSU Health, a full academic health center. The approved transfer agreement includes an FSU investment of $1.7 billion.
“This is a milestone moment for our entire community! After more than 20 years in public service, I can honestly say this is the most important decision that I have been a part of,” Mayor John Dailey said. “The Commission’s decision to advance the agreement negotiated by City Manager Reese Goad cements the creation of an academic health center combining research, clinical care and teaching that will bring healthcare innovation and cutting-edge medical advances to residents of Tallahassee and across North Florida.”
“I am extraordinarily proud of the work accomplished over the past year and of today’s action, which lays the foundation for creating the best healthcare system possible to serve our residents for generations to come,” Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Richardson said. “What we achieved today by executing this agreement represents a historic investment in the health and well-being of our community.”
“Today, we made history! This is a transformative moment for our community and the surrounding counties that depend on Tallahassee for healthcare,” Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said. “We listened to the many voices throughout the community who share a desire for the highest quality care to be accessible, and today we are turning that goal into reality. Learning from our past, we are taking an active role in shaping our future, and I am beyond proud to be part of making the future of FSU Health possible and whole-heartedly celebrate our shared success.”
FSU Health is a healthcare ecosystem that combines research, clinical care and teaching to bring healthcare innovation and cutting-edge medical advances directly to patients across North Florida.
Academic health centers are integrated healthcare institutions that combine patient care, medical education and research within a university-affiliated hospital system. These institutions play a central role in advancing medical innovation, training future healthcare professionals and providing specialized medical services that may not be available at community hospitals. Typically affiliated with medical schools, research universities or teaching hospitals, academic health centers serve as regional hubs for complex and specialized care.
The creation of an academic health center in Tallahassee will bring world-class medical training, cutting-edge clinical research and expanded healthcare services to North Florida, lessening the need for Tallahassee citizens to travel for health care and providing opportunities for others outside the region to travel to Tallahassee for health care.
From its origins as a municipally established community hospital through decades of operations under a public-nonprofit model, Tallahassee’s healthcare system has undergone a steady and purposeful strategic evolution. Today’s approval of the Transfer of Assets Agreement represents the culmination of a deliberate and multi-stage public process that honors the City’s historic stewardship of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital while positioning the community for its next era of healthcare growth. Through carefully structured safeguards, enforceable deed restrictions, reconveyance protections, bondholder assurances and a defined compensation and investment framework, the agreement preserves the hospital’s public mission, charity care commitment and regional service obligations. Simultaneously, it provides meaningful and measurable value to the citizens of Tallahassee and positions the City and its broader region to compete more effectively in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Done deal: City commission casts 3-2 final vote for TMH sale to FSU
Under terms of the sale, the university will pay the city $109 million for the assets over a 30-year period, while FSU will invest $100 million in existing hospital facilities and another $150 million on the newly branded FSU Health. The university also has "aspirational plans" to invest $1.7 billion in healthcare improvements, contingent upon legislative appropriations and state and federal grants.
Recap: Tallahassee approves hospital transfer to FSU
A new era of healthcare was made a reality in Tallahassee Wednesday morning as city commissioners approved the transfer of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to Florida State University in a final vote.
The transfer of assets is a major step in launching the capital city's very own academic medical center, a medical enterprise that would add more of a research and teaching component to TMH.
It won't happen overnight, but "we're laying the foundation for an incredible system," he said.
The deal is anticipated to create 900 jobs over 30 years which isn't just significant, "it's transformational."
FSU Vice President Kyle Clark said they talked about a lot of different things during negotiations, including what FSU wanted to do in terms of improving healthcare in the community.
Clinical research would be expanded to attract additional grants and funds to support initiatives, Clark said.
How much is TMH being sold for?
The city's agreement with FSU includes a pledge that university administrators will spend $1.7 billion to invest locally over the next 30 years – though the agreements make clear that this is on the condition of the legislature appropriating "a sufficient amount for FSU to perform its obligations under this agreement."
For the transfer of the assets, the city will charge FSU $109 million, which will be contributed back to citizens in annual installments of $3.63 million dollars over the 30 years.
What should patients expect if FSU acquires the hospital?
With the promise of a full-fledged academic medical center on the horizon, the access to high-level care has been one of the biggest pledges to patients in the area if a reengineered FSU Health were to take shape.
For many capital city patients the issue revolves around a single issue: Will I have to travel hundreds of miles to see a specialist?
FSU and TMH officials have long touted the partnership's ability to attract more specialty care options to Tallahassee, as working for an academic hospital is often an incentive that draws new doctors in. As a result, joining forces is instrumental to providing care in Tallahassee that patients would otherwise need to leave the city for.
