Florida State University (FSU) and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) have endorsed a partnership agreement to establish an academic health centre in North Florida, US.
The initiative will transform healthcare in North Florida and expand FSU’s education and research mission.
The TMH Board of Directors unanimously approved to proceed with the partnership framework. Further definitive agreements will be finalised in the coming months to conclude the collaboration.
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 centre, expanding services, extending our reach, generating jobs, and fuelling regional growth, all while preserving it as a community-focused hospital."
The idea of an academic health centre has been debated for over a decade. Since the board of directors first outlined the proposal in its 2008 strategic plan, the hospital has introduced residency programmes in psychiatry, internal medicine, and general surgery.
The TMH and FSU boards jointly endorsed the FSU/TMH Academic Health Centre Strategic Alignment Plan in 2021. The partnership enhances the progress initiated by the FSU Health Research Centre, which was launched in 2022 with a $125m allocation from Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature.
Work on the 140,000ft² facility at the TMH campus is currently ongoing. The building, anticipated to open in 2026, will feature laboratories, clinical research areas, a family residency practice, and other facilities intended to link research with patient care.
FSU and TMH will collaborate with the City of Tallahassee on transferring hospital assets to FSU under the agreement, which encompasses the 75-acre property, the two-million-square-foot hospital building, and associated assets.
FSU will then lease the assets to TMH for 40 years under a new lease and operating agreement.
TMH will continue as the licensed operator, retaining its independent, tax-exempt status while partnering with FSU through academic, branding, research, and clinical agreements. The hospital will rebrand as FSU Health.
