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Jan. 14 Tallahassee City Commission meeting. (Aja Waseem\/FAMUAN)<\/p>\nJan. 14 Tallahassee City Commission meeting. (Aja Waseem\/FAMUAN)<\/p>\n
In a 3-2 vote\u00a0on Jan. 14, the City Commission cleared the way for the city manager to negotiate the sale of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital to Florida State University, a move that would transfer ownership of the city-run hospital to FSU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The goal of the proposed sale is to create a major academic medical center, transforming the hospital into FSU Health. Supporters say the move could expand medical education and research, attract nationally recognized\u00a0physicians\u00a0and develop new specialties such as cancer,\u00a0heart\u00a0and neurological care, while also stimulating economic growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The decision, however, drew significant concern from commissioners and residents who questioned the hospital\u2019s assessed value and the long-term impact on public control and patient care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several residents urged commissioners to delay the decision, citing unanswered questions about the deal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a business decision. This\u00a0is a moral decision,\u201d\u00a0Dr. Bruce Strouble states, calling on the commission to slow the process and\u00a0ensure protections\u00a0for vulnerable communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
City\u00a0Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who voted against the motion, said public frustration stems from how the city is handling what he describes\u00a0as a valuable public asset. He raised concerns about the proposed $109 million payment from FSU over 30 years, saying it is far below\u00a0the hospital\u2019s market value.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s drastically low for\u00a0what property\u00a0owned by the city of Tallahassee is worth,\u201d Matlow said, adding he hoped appraisals would place the value between $250 million and $500 million.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Matlow said an academic affiliation could\u00a0benefit\u00a0the hospital, he argued the current deal raises concerns about transparency and fairness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
City\u00a0Commissioner Jack Porter also questioned how the hospital\u2019s value was calculated, asking why the benefit Tallahassee Memorial Hospital has provided to the community was deducted from the proposed sale price.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
City Manager Reese Goad said the adjustment reflects the\u00a0hospital\u2019s\u00a0long-standing lease arrangement, noting that TMH has not been paying\u00a0rent\u00a0and\u00a0that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not a tangible asset the city can sell,\u00a0but rather a lease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matlow proposed a substitute motion to delay negotiations until two appraisals could\u00a0determine\u00a0the hospital\u2019s market value. Commissioner Jack Porter seconded the motion,\u00a0but it\u00a0failed\u00a0oin a 3-2 vote, with Mayor John Dailey, Commissioner Curits Richardson,\u00a0and Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox voting against it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tallahassee Memorial\u00a0Hospital CEO\u00a0Mark O\u2019Bryant said serving a larger population and forming academic partnerships are key to expanding medical programs and specialized care. He said academic medical centers help\u00a0establish\u00a0a reputation that attracts nationally recognized specialists and draws patients from across the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAcademic\u00a0centers are differentiators,\u201d O\u2019Bryant said, adding that building the right reputation could bring patients from cities such as Pensacola, Mobile,\u00a0and Jacksonville in search of specialized care.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Concerns were also raised about reproductive rights and potential discrimination under university ownership. When asked how such issues would be addressed, FSU President Richard McCullough said similar fears have not materialized at other state overseen hospitals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand the fear of the people,\u201d McCullough said. \u201cBut the reality is that\u2019s just not happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Commissioners who supported the motion emphasized the long-term benefits of\u00a0the\u00a0sale.\u00a0Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said the discussion has been ongoing for\u00a0nearly a\u00a0year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThis is not going to happen overnight;\u00a0it\u2019s an evolution, but you\u2019ve got to start somewhere,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Commissioner Curtis Richardson called the decision \u201ctransformative\u201d for Tallahassee and Leon County, and\u00a0Mayor\u00a0John Dailey said he was in full support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city manager will now begin negotiating the terms of the sale with FSU. A final agreement is expected to return to the City Commission in March for approval.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jan. 14 Tallahassee City Commission meeting. (Aja Waseem\/FAMUAN) In a 3-2 vote\u00a0on Jan. 14, the City Commission cleared…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-161904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-tallahassee","9":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","10":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}