The Tallahassee Branch of the NAACP has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the transfer of city-owned Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial HealthCare assets to Florida State University, arguing the city violated state law in approving the deal.
Spokespeople for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and FSU told Becker’s they do not comment on active litigation. Becker’s has reached out to the city and will update this story if a comment is received.
On March 11, the Tallahassee City Commission voted 3-2 to transfer TMH’s assets — including a 772-bed hospital serving a 21-county region — to FSU to support the creation of an integrated academic health center in the state capital.
Under the agreement, FSU would assume ownership of the hospital property while TMH would continue operating the facility under a long-term lease and retain responsibility for hospital operations, employees and patient care. The agreement also requires the property to continue operating as a hospital and maintain charity care commitments.
The lawsuit, filed April 30 in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, Fla., and shared with Becker’s, alleges the transfer constitutes the disposition of municipal hospital assets under Florida law and that it should have followed statutory requirements governing the sale or transfer of public hospital property.
The complaint also alleges the city failed to properly allocate sale proceeds for indigent care and economic development purposes, did not obtain TMH’s consent for the transfer and did not offer the hospital assets for sale to TMH before approving the agreement.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to block the transfer.
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