Tallahassee city staff laud TMH-FSU hospital agreement in agenda

In preparation for the special meeting next week, the city has released its agenda that breaks down the new agreement between Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Florida State University for commissioners.

The informational item is a glowing portrayal of the budding partnership and how it benefits the future of healthcare in Tallahassee, even though two commissioners have expressed deep reservations about FSU and state political leaders having a controlling interest in the local hospital.

Now commissioners are left to weigh the options of maintaining ownership of the hospital or handing over the assets to FSU.

“This partnership is contingent on the transfer of ownership,” the agenda materials say. “This step would mark the next chapter in a successful public–private partnership, safeguarding TMH’s future, keeping healthcare locally led, and aligning our community with one of the State’s premier universities.”

The hospital and university negotiated this deal for months before finally coming to an agreement last week. The “landmark agreement” could mean the end of community ownership of the hospital in favor of an academic medical center.

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What city administrators say patients can expect from FSU-TMH partnership

Although the city has to decide, staff did not offer any guidance on whether the hospital should be sold or transferred, and no potential price for the hospital was suggested.

Instead, it focuses on what the community will be gaining through the means of an academic health center, though it provides no timetable on when residents will see such benefits.

“The affiliation ensures that North Florida patients will no longer need to travel to Gainesville, Tampa, or Miami for advanced treatments, and it positions Tallahassee as a leader in academic medicine throughout the state,” the agenda says. “Without this step, our community risks falling behind while others consolidate resources, attract top physicians, and secure the bulk of research and state funding. With it, Tallahassee secures its future as the hub of healthcare innovation and excellence for the region.”

Patients can also expect access to a “wide range of subspecialities, multidisciplinary teams and advanced technologies that community hospitals may not routinely offer.”

If FSU were to be granted hospital ownership, the acquisition would also pave the way for “specialized facilities, research-focused installations and procedural training areas that would be challenging to execute otherwise,” according to the agenda.

“For the community, the partnership promises expanded access to advanced healthcare, new opportunities for local students and professionals, and significant economic benefits from the jobs and investments associated with an academic medical center,” the agenda says.

Opposition to hospital agreement takes shape amid fears of state control

City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow, who is running for mayor in 2026, is leading the opposition to the agreement, calling it a “coerced deal” that effectively puts the community hospital under state control with political appointees to FSU’s board deciding strategy.

The Leon County Democratic Party, led by Matlow’s aide Ryan Ray, has taken it a step further promoting a video of a recent Network of Entrepreneurs & Business Advocates meeting before the deal was announced in which FSU College of Medicine Dean Alma Littles addressed the group.

When asked for an update on the discussions, she says the conversation is ongoing and she’s optimistic it will move forward.

“The decisions are being made, they are at levels above me and so I just let them figure that out … although I was at the governor’s office and surgeon general yesterday,” she said, which elicited laughter from the group.

At another point at the NEBA meeting, a person who has followed coverage of the hospital drama in the newspaper asks what are the benefits of FSU control of the assets. She responds “What I tell our students is just stop reading the newspaper … at least that part of it.”

She goes on to explain that an academic medical center will enable the operation to attract top tier physicians and specialists that will ultimately diminish the need for patients to travel outside for care.

Matlow has countered that “any conversations that involve ‘transferring’ a billion dollar asset to the State for anything below market value is a smash-and-grab display of political power.”

“The value of TMH came from all of us who have received care, went to the ER or had children at our community hospital,” he wrote on Facebook on his mayoral campaign page. “Why would we just give our hospital for free to Ron DeSantis and the whims of the state?”

DeSantis’ office did not respond to a question asking if the governor, his administration or the surgeon general were involved in discussions or if they have any opinions on what is being heralded as the “landmark agreement” between FSU and TMH.

Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.

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