Tallahassee-based Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare have struck an agreement that will transform the hospital into an academic medical center.
The parties signed a memorandum of understanding that formally establishes a framework for a comprehensive academic medical center, according to a Sept. 16 FSU news release. Under the agreement, both parties will work with the city to transfer the hospital’s assets to FSU. The university is then expected to lease the assets to Tallahassee Memorial under a 40-year lease and operating agreement.
Tallahassee Memorial 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,” according to the release.
The hospital will transition its brand to FSU Health, but the hospital will continue to operate under its existing management. The hospital’s board will continue to set strategy and approve budgets, but the board will now include FSU representation. Current partnerships with Florida A&M University and Tallahassee State College will continue.
Discussion about transforming Tallahassee Memorial into an academic medical center began in 2008 when its board outlined the vision in a strategic plan, the release said. The hospital has since added multiple residency programs in internal medicine, general surgery and psychiatry.
FSU President Richard McCullough and Tallahassee Memorial 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.”
Additional definitive agreements regarding the partnerships must be signed in the months ahead, according to the release.
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