TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Community push back over finalized MOU proposal between the City of Tallahassee and Florida State University over the sale of TMH.
- The City of Tallahassee projects the deal will add more than $3.6 billion to the local economy and create over 900 jobs.
- Community groups are still concerned about the speed of the sale and are requesting more details.
- Watch the video below for further details about the MOU and to see why community members have concerns.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
After months of discussions, we now know some of the numbers that will make up the potential final sale of Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare to Florida State University.
Per Tuesday's announcement, FSU will invest $1.7 billion over the next 30 years. FSU President Richard McCullough sending a note to the FSU community Tuesday, calling the pending agreement a "result of positive collaboration" and a "shared vision for the future of health care, education, and research in our region."
A big topic of conversation: the MOU does stipulate indigent care will remain.
"I think the commitment is the most important piece of it, because FSU will make the financial commitment," said Reese Goad, City Manager, in a phone call with ABC 27 Wednesday, that keeping indigent care was a priority.
Analysis of the MOU projects the deal will add more than $3.6 billion to the local economy, creating over 900 jobs.
"Those jobs would be healthcare related, so these predominantly would be considered professional jobs related to healthcare and healthcare research, so they would be, in all likelihood, above average wage jobs," said Goad.
Yet, groups like Tallahassee ALERT remain unhappy with the deal as it stands, saying they will want to see metric to validate the impact of the deal.
"I think we're interested in seeing some of the numbers in terms of health care. Are there any guarantees to do things like expand access to clinics, cut down ER wait times?" said Melanie Andrade.
The numbers we do have in the MOU: FSU will pay the City $109 million for the current facility over the next 30 years.
On top of that, FSU will invest $100 million to upgrade facilities and $150 million for lab resources and research, with a goal to reduce the need for neighbors to travel outside of Tallahassee for treatment.
However, Bruce Strouble, with Tallahassee ALERT, said he wants to see data about how these investments will better the community.
"You can't just come and tell us you're gonna have all this many jobs and this is going to happen without showing us the exact how and when," said Strouble.
Continuing their advocacy, Tallahassee ALERT said they are continuing to call for 6 town hall meetings before a vote is taken on the deal.
The city is set to vote on this MOU on January 14, 2026. If approved, the City Manager says that will then start the process to create the final contract that will be voted on at a later date.
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