TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Tallahassee ALERT is raising community concerns about the TMH-FSU merger and taking them to the City Commission.
- Neighbors have worries that include the speed of the potential sale of the hospital and the involvement of community members.
- The City, FSU, and TMH have remained firm that local control of the hospital will remain.
- Watch the video below to see how you can get involved with these discussions.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
One organization is pushing for more conversation about the TMH-FSU merger, and they're bringing the community along with them. Tallahassee ALERT said the goal is to get questions answered and to show the City Commission why the sale needs to be slowed down.
The sale of TMH from the City to FSU back in the spotlight.
In November, the NAACP and Tallahassee ALERT held a town hall that showed many neighbors still have many questions they want to get answered about the merger.
"I'm not against it, but in its current format," said Tallahassee ALERT member Melanie Andrade. "I'm here to try to persuade commissioners to give this some more thought, give this more time, and include more people.
Andrade said she believes the community has not been included in a decision she believes is incredibly personal.
"I have three kids, I was in a car accident in February, I had to go to TMH, you know, my son ate fish, and he thought, you know, I thought he was having an allergic reaction, I rushed him to TMH," said Andrade.
Tallahassee ALERT said main concerns from the community include the speed of the potential sale and the lack of community member involvement.
"We are hoping to have at least six town hall meetings going forward where we get representation from all over the community, all the professionals, and we make sure that we leave no stone unturned," said Bruce Strouble, Chairperson of Tallahassee ALERT.
The organization has been joining with neighbors to meet with city commissioners.
"As more people are learning about this, and it's really great to get people who have not been involved at all, they're learning, and they're finding their voice," said Strouble.
Strouble said they want to see the timeline for when a decision could be made, as well as the final contract.
In late October, Mayor John Dailey said that all entities are focused on keeping the hospital catered towards the local community.
"I will say it again right now, it will remain a public hospital," said Dailey. "All the legal documents will be drawn up that it remains a public hospital. They will accept everybody that walks through the doors. Indigent care, Medicaid, Medicare, everybody that wants to come to the public hospital will be accepted."
In a phone call Monday, City Manager Reese Goad provided an update, he said they are "actively working on an MOU that creates a framework for the transfer of assets from the City to FSU" and that they're taking their time so a date has not yet been set for when these documents will be made available to the public and the City Commission.
The TMH-FSU merger is not on the agenda for Wednesday's Commission meeting. Tallahassee ALERT said they will still be at the Commission meeting and encourage neighbors to do the same.
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